Cricket.....the sport of Sri Lanka...

Sri Lanka ,my mother land is a country of vibrant cultural diversity.
 We have Sinhalese,Tamils,Muslims and Burgers.Among this ethnic groups again divided into up country Sinhalese,southern Sinhalese,Jaffna Tamils,Indiana Tamils,estate Tamils so and so.

Not only the ethnic groups again we are making own groups according to cast.Im not going to tell is this a good system or not but it s the way it has been here over hundreds of years.
Obviously in this mixed fruit basket we have lot of rotten fruits.
Also smart Sri Lankan politicians willing to take advantages of this ethnic diversity.Of course they took maximum of it and we suffered a civil war over 30years.

First Sri Lnakan Cricket team who represent Sri Lnaka for world cup .
But as Sri Lankans there is a one common thread which all of us always agree with..
That's nothing else it the Cricket.

The game of cricket was introduced to our reign by British.
Pakistan,India and Sri Lanka we are all world champions.

The country which introduced cricket to this reign never won the world championship so far.Imagine if this south Asian countries were gathered as an one country there is no other country to challenge us in CRICKET.

 But I know it want easy Even the united Europe looks like a possibility but the united south Asia is never be a conceptual possibility..

cricket is known to be as the sports of the gentleman,but as we do everything else we  reaganalised cricket as it fitting to South Asia.Instead of playing 3 days 5 days test matches we came up with 20/20 ended over matches.India introduced premier league and made cricket player a mode of income generators to the country.country.
Sri Lanka we don't have internationally recognized  academy awards wining movie starts or Nobel award winning writers,but we have cricket a cricket team who defeated Australia,Britain,New Zealand,India .Also who made Cowdrey lecture.

Former cricket Captain  Kumar Sangakara addressing at Cowdrey Lecture 2011

we have cricket players who rang the bell in lords ground.
the secret of our successful in cricket not because we have the best board of cricket council.it has so many criticism including misuse of money.
the Sri Lankan cricket team is a collective of all ethnic groups of Sri lanka.we had Muralithanan,Jehan Mubarak , T.M Dilshan, Russel Arnold,now we have Anglo Mathews.We Sri Lankan accepted all  of them as our loving Cricket Players.

                                                    Murali,...........
When Muralithara got hard time in Australia Former Sri  Lankan Cricket captain stood against it,As a team ,as a nation,That's how we won the world cup 1996.

Arjuna Ranatunga,the time He became to as the captain of Sri Lnaka our team was underrated,Bu he lead the team towards 1996  world cup championship.
There are stories even that time LTTE  celebrated the world cup victory.

                                       

                                          1996 world cup victory...

The South Asian three cricket nations,Who hold the world cup  for their countries.
Kapil Dew- 1983 India
Imran Khan-1992 Pakistan
Arjuna Rnatunga-1996 Sri Lanka
Except Kapil Dew both Imran Khan and Arjuna Rnatunga has entered into politics.
if we can apply this in to as a nation to as a country will be far ahead from current situation.

Anyway yesterday I went to the  cricket match at R.Premadasa ground Pakistan and Sri Lanka. True we lost the match .Nothing to worry all played well.

Till the last over it was uncertain who will win the match......

well that s what we call cricket.......





 

The Bicycle Diaries............

Wadjda is a mischievous tomboy in Rayadh,SaudiArabia,It does not matter which country do you live bicycle  is a dream of every child.
Children love their bicycles,adults never forget their bicycle,

Wadjda  only wanted to ride a bicycle but mother does not agreed to buy it,Also mother has to spend money instead of for a bicycle,for an  expensive frock  to seduce her husband  who is going to get a second wife soon.

Things are not fine with Wadjda,even she crammed all  verses in Quran and won the competition she did not get  the price,the school teacher donated to Palestine   as  a punishment of her honesty.
I don t think Islam does  punish  of being honest,it s only the way of you interpret the religion.

Her attempt of buying the bicycle failed,Mother also  failed of convincing  to her husband not to take a second wife. Later mother bought the bicycle instead of the expensive frock .

The father in that film is not a person who can't afford a bicycle ,but simply he does not want his daughter riding a bicycle.

There may be lot of reasons behind the father's decision but for my experience .
the reason is some  countries  which are consider loosing virginity before marriage is a serious crime so that they  do not allow girls to ride bicycle.This is not  only Islamic countries in middle east as well ,

Sri Lanka also with this matter nothing different  from Saudi Arabia,Still in Sri  Lanka loosing virginity before the marriage  is not accepted,this wont be a matter if the girl has sufficient amount of wealth as a dowry or fixed income through out life,otherwise what ever the reason loosing virginity before the marriage is a considerable problem.Most of the time it s not happening ride a bicycle but some parents avoiding the tinniest possible on safe side.

In Saudi Arabian tradition the groom has give a dowry to the bride,in that case the highest dowry will go  for a virgin bride, doesn't it make sense to be a virgin on the day of their  marriage?
But in Sri  Lankan brides never get a dowry from the grooms party.Bride has to give a dowry in most cases,  So why it is in Sri lanka?

Most of Sinhalese those who got married three four decades ago face this problem,Even it is a natural cause ,but the bride could not prove that she is a virgin it was  burden through out the life.After the wedding night  bunch of old ladies gathering  for evidence.in a room,Worst cases newly wed couple ended up going  to  courts straightaway form the Honeymoon.

There is a nice Sinhaleese  movie on this topic. Sanath Gunatileke and Sabetha Perera was playing the main roles.The graduated  couple who got married and wife could not prove her virginity at her wedding night,She was married to her own second cousin after a long term relationship,but still suspects his wife and send a beck to her home.

 Actress Sabeetha Perera during her Golden years in the Industry.

Sanath Sabeetha in Film Deveni Gamana (Home coming)


So then my mother's generation never ride bicycle,but she was like Wadjda's mother she bought me a red color bicycle for my tenth birthday.
Till I met a terrible accident while riding a motor bike I did not loose the  desire of riding a bicycle,
Actually it was my father  who bought the motor bike,while my mother strongly opposing the idea of motor bike.I think and I believe mothers do know what is good for their children,
All this came to my mind simply  because yesterday  evening I did ride a bicycle near Bellanvila temple ,the newly built cycle riding track.
Bellanvilla is a famous temple,situated on Maharagama-Dehivala road.

Bellanvill temple has elegant murals done by Somabhandu Vidhyapathi,

The marriage ceremony of the Prince Sidhartha.

Prince Sidhartha before leave the palace.

Even though we don t use bicycle as a transportation mode like  Netherlands or Beijing, still it s good way to burn some calories.There are lot of health benefits.
But in Jaffna and North of Sri Lanka bicycle is a way of transportation,Not that they wanted to burn calories simply  it is affordable.

Jaffna father riding Bicycle with his children to the school.

The newly built Bellanvila cycle track runs around the Bellanvila lake.In a nice evening it s a quiet subtle experience.Yesterday of course it a poya day bit crowded.but still it s different  riding a cycle hearing Pirith Chanting.
There are several places to rent a bicycle opposite the road.

You can rent a bicycle 100 RS for an hour.In the evening it s quiet nice. Street food also available after riding a bicycle have a fruit juice looking at the lake...
Anyone want  a bicycle ride?

Today Is a Poya day

Today is a Poya Day,In Sri Lanka every  full moon poya day is holiday. The month of July we got two full moon poya days.
Such a Buddhist country.If you  walk one or two km in a early morning   you can hear chanting Pirith  in Buddhist temples,But   we are two far away from Buddhism which Lord Buddha has  thought 2500 years ago.It isn't a religion it is a Philosophy.

                                             A Buddhist temple by Paddy fields.

Little Buddhist monks at  Mihintale,Where King Dewanampiyatissa First time become a devotee of Buddhism

Poya day people they gather to temple to  observe Sill.My mother is  also observing Sill,I dropped her early morning at  the temple
In Buddhism there are five basic fundamentals to follow.Those are not restricted orders,but if we can follow those five basic fundamentals my motherland would have been a better place

First fundamental is  to avoid killing  or  do harmful  thing full  any  living creature,not only humans as well all the other animals ,insects ,birds ect... including  even trees because  there is a life in it.But what we seeing is totally different.In  1960 sri lanka had total forest coverage of over 40-60%,now  it s less than 20%..That is about trees.During the past three decades of war we experienced all sort of killing in North and South,the paradise of of Indian ocean,the pearl of the Indian ocean become blood drop of the Indian ocean,
Even after the war Killing and  brutal touchering did not stop at all.Some villages in Sri Lanka experienced killing  specially women at nights for un known reasons ,Journalist were killed at high security zone in broad day light
The most powerful politicians and their sons were charged for most of these crimes.Breaking this basic fundamental of Buddhism  was every time experience to this country.

                   
 Angry Buddhist monks fighting each other must be on good reason.

The second fundamental is avoid stealing ,which means even the intention of steal is a breaking of this guideline.I will tell most recent experience that we are facing now.

Just after the Presidential election this year  the bribery and corruption commission re generated  with new Director.
As per their records withing last 6 months there are over 7000 complaints were made  by peoples,this is all about stealing  and money frauds by various people those who were placed in highest position and most of the are well educated.
None of them did not steal in millions,It was all in Billlions of rupees.Sri Lanka except the tea and  the garment industry  there are no any significant production to the world market.Within past decades as a country we  ended the war and  started large development projects such as air ports ,harbors, we have some natural sources ,actually we used to have clean water, but not  anymore.
Even the water has  become polluted ,
what  I was going to say was most of our country running with foreign aids and foreign debts.the unbelievable thing was they steal these foreign aids,
There are some housing projects which were started with big bill boards,but never build a single house,not even a foundation but billions of money ended up very few bank accounts in Sea Shells,Cayman Islands and Switzerland.The stealing has become like breathing to this Buddhist country,

 Ex president MR. observing sill with his friends and family at Temple trees.

These foreign aids were given as low interest rate Long term debt.
Majority of Sri  Lankan  did not get any benefits yes true I did  used  southern highway when we had site visits in Galle,But over vast population of Sri lankan still not been through highway even for a single time.So that the developments which carried out with unbelievable corruption did not made any good benefits to majority.But unfortunately   they are the people who had to pay for this all.It estimated every Lankan who just born to this country is in debt 300000 RS.

Former  minister Monitoring for external affairs now remanded for allegedly misusing state resources during past time it  is reported to have spent more than 175$ while he is staying in famous Waldorf  Astoria hotel In New York to view pornographic movies in governments expenses.

                                                 Ex minister with his infamous bill .

Waldorf  Astoria Hotel- Guess who is going to pay for this bill.
Al Sri Lankans are paying large amount as taxes,

It s not Just only Phonographic movies that cost government  money he had spend 234 $ for Wagyu Rib eye and 288 $ for special Japanese Wagyu.
The Japanese Wagyu beef is a special kind of beef which has it s distinguish look of which known has marble texture.The cows were being fed with gallons of beer to get this white fat wains in red meet.
I have never tested this not because that I am a  vegetarian Buddhist ,I can't afford it and the government never pay the bill for me,In Buddhism we believe that we will reborn in a good life when we do the good things  in previous birth. must be the ex -minister has done a lot of good things in past life.

The most importantly he has spend  390 $ for two glasses of 100 years old Cognac and another 616 $ for Banfi Brunello de Montalc wine.

.

The French cognac ,though France is responsible being the largest producer to the world,it is not a preferable drink in France.Their best customers are new rich Chinese.Our Ex-Minister must have got inspiration while his official duties in China.
Of course wine is good for him,but spending on pornography movies I don t think it s very Buddhist thing.
The important thing is  the third fundamental in Buddhism is to Avoid adultery,heve to maintain faithfulness  their partners not to have sexual activities  with others.
Pornographic movies are not that bad because there are Sri Lankan Minister Who were proud boast about having adultery and fearlessly spooked it in Parliament.

Ex- Minister of Public Transport  during the sessions in  the parliament was outspoken about being adultery.As per his own explanation he is   a six feet tall and handsome looking person ,who is very much attracted to women, since his he is comfortable with adultery there is nothing wrong .I think Rasputin  also had the same problem,women are guilty for this falling on this good looking guy.

We can consider this as a  moronic statement of a politician,but who is spending the  cost of the all his mistresses.
This is not the worst scenario,raping women,small children,school children while they are on their way to school at 7 a.m, has become daily experience,Even the supreme courts magistrate was charged against beating house maid and attempting for rape.

Sri Lanka has become number one google searcher for sex.Few years ago Sri Lankan  chief Justice of that time got caught to the police while he was enjoying adultery   in his car close by Sri Lankan Parliament.
The funniest thing is very recently the same  ex- chief Justice said he owns and apologies for giving  wrong partial  judgement during his period
.
In Sri Lanka there is a special TV channel for Buddhist.the same person appears  very often and discussing very deep Buddhist matters,In a way  he is very knowledgeable  .
I have heard Sir Issac Newton used logarithm table  to calculate arithmetic  at the fish market.
May be a common  thing to forget fundamentals while you thinking more advanced matters.

Anyway this is our Ex-minister of Transport.Is he good looking? looking at the picture anyone already get  attracted?Is this local Rasputin?

The fourth fundamental is avoid telling lies.Well I don't have nothing to tell more of it,this has  become a land of lairs,Some lies are unbelievable.I ll tell  you  a very good example.

Jackson Anthony,talented  actor in Sri Lanka during the Ex-Presidents time turned into a Historian.
He did a deep analysis of the family trees of Lord Buddha and said Ex -president is related to the King Sudhodhana,who was Lord Buddha's father. Apparently Ex president has a blood line to the lord Buddha,Jackson Anthony did not stop making Ex -President a king,he made him holy by doing this hard historical research work.
It 's good Jackson Anthony ended up becoming a Historian,Imagine if he had an idea of ended up as scientist he  will disprove Gravity.He is a genius.Don't you think?.

 The historian Jackson Anthony....In his fancy historian costume  and nicely colored  Jet black bear ,whatever he  is a very good actor,I enjoyed his acting over two decades.

So the last Fundamental of Buddhism is avoid all sort of liquor and drugs.
Generally in Sri Lanka female does not much involve in drinking alcohol of smoking,they may bite beetle leaves but alcohol.things are changing,it s starting with women ,Actually it was the former President CBK started giving liquor permit as a return favor when she got elected in 1994.

She had a justifiable reason to control illegal liquor such as local Kasippu she and that time financial minister   Kingsly Gunatilake  decided bring the tax down on Beer.Still in Sri lanka liquor is very affordable.With that government policy drinking  of Kasippu did not stop among locals.But average consumption of liquor went high.

This kind of income resources should not ignore even this is  predominately  Buddhist country.So everybody encourage this  as a governments policy and  some ministers also involved into the business, I think business is good.
Later on these they need expansion of the businesses, like another .So Sri Lanka became a center point of world drug business.Like any other big industry all the raw materials brought to Sri Lanka in  containers,I thinks we had enough drugs to make bricks even out of white sugar.

Ex- Secretary of defiance shaking hand with Malaysian based drug Lord at a film premier.Now he is saying shaking hands was without knowing who he was,but Defiance secretary does not know with whose is he handshaking? It s hard fact to believe

Politicians are claimed to be linked with drug dealers,recently movie star ,so and so,.Recently they brought back one person accusing to be a main distributor of the drug business, Now he is in remand custody.

Young sri lankans enjoying  bottle of old arrack

 During past time the crime rate of this country was increased unbelievably.Most cases before the crime the suspects were on heavy drugs always.There was a brutal  murder and a rape had happend in Hotel In Tnagalle,Four suspected were guilty and sent to the prison for 20 years,They were old drunk  took part of the crime.Sadly it was a Christmas day and the leader of the guilty party was a young local politician,

Sri Lanka has become a country which easily  ignore  essential basics.,Same thing has happened to the Buddhism.We have forgetting basic five fundamental getting lost at no where.For me it s kind of helpless feeling......who can help us More than Lord Buddha.

Being Happy.............

I m not sure who initiate this romantic  idea but in architecturally there is no good or bad buildings,It's  only happy buildings and sad buildings.

We have happy moments in life ,but happy building or buildings which make us happy?

I was very happy kid when I first time attend to Sunday service at Horana  church.

I have no idea who design this place or what it call church but I do remember one thing,that was very feeling of freedom space to run over one end to the other.this church was known as air craft because of the shape .

As an architect student later I came to know it was not air craft the arch.Velantine Gunasekara 's concept behind   this was a giant bird who is looking towards the other mountain.

However it  was not about the form it was the feeling I experienced ,the openness,stunning unobstructed view.the monsoon  wind which cleansed both our soul and the mind.

Believe me I was very very small,this was even before 1990 but still I feel it like yesterday....

Of course I was very  happy to go there.Every Sunday I was counting dates to be honest it s not about the faith to the god,it is about the feeling of that place.

                                                       the plan form of the building.

We played hide and seek  with this soft curve walls.walls. Damith,Madhura,Subhani we all enjoyed playing there.

the massive roof structure which  always made to think that someone always above me.

Horan church actually name was   St .Martin's DE Porres'  but all known as " Gal  edadugoda palliya" . Gal the meaning in Sinhalese was stone.Sri lankans those who really good in Sinhalese may aware of it the other meaning ,  I m sure  here it is only  meant boulders or stones., of course there are lot of boulders.Still,Arch.Velantine Gunasekara  nicely had manipulated those boulders as a part of the church.

                                             Arch.Velantine Gunasekara and his wife.

By the time I went to the church those benches were not there.The Parrish council by that time had decided the benches are not comfortable enough to  get close with the God. By that time benches had turn into long chairs with back rest...But still the place was open  like this.

                           The view of the paddy fields  and still remaining boulders at site.

Things were happy at those days,but then eventually I became a teenager,who was extremely confuse,nothing matter to me except looking  for a boy friend,During the Sunday mass I was out of luck.I guess the X- factor of my was not strong enough,ended up me being very confused,no  body is playing hide and seek anymore,Sri Lankan girls after the first period happens they become completely different but except me.

Simply I was not fitting to the church.....

But It s not only me that feel not fitting to the church..Even people who come to Sunday Mass started complains.

The monsoon,the wind the openness has become a  barrier to connect with the god during the mass.

Even the father not  to mention the name ,but said it s very difficult  to have the Sunday mass during the rain.Sri Lanka ,this is a tropical country we have heavy monsoons over three to four months. Apparently new father does not want  to get disturb  by rain during the Sunday service.

Newly elected Parrish  council decided to have special  meeting ,on  that matter.A genius Parrish Council member had suggested  to cover the entire  building with black glass windows with aluminium frame.

Everybody agreed on this brilliant idea.What next A raffle ticket for fund raising.

The ten commandments were written on a top of mountain,while Mosses was busy with writing ten commandments people did what the want ended up giving the biggest disappointment to the God.

People were not changing still,while the raffle ticket processing ,there were conflict among the Parrish council members.

It s not a major issue ,Just that someone wanted to become honest than the other..Imagine when you collect money  and when  there is no proper audit on it...

Even with all these debates there were Christmas,Easter Friday, of course I  was not happy at going to church now.

I had a feeling that father does not like me at all,simply because I started skip the Sunday Mass most of the time I sneaked off and started lean against a boulder.Actually father put me in to a some work but I was not enthusiastic.

Some how with all these nonsense  they finished covering the Church completely with Aluminium windows.I do remember after one Sunday service there was a demonstration how to open sliding Aluminium Windoors.

It was kind of new thing instead of timber frames.

Of courses now we don't get disturb during the monsoon,While there is no God we have the view which is now equally  divided into rectangles.

There is no rain,but thanks to the black win-doors inside  always feel it s raining outside.

The funny thing is even though it looked outside raining people did not want to stay much.As the moment Father finished the they want to push each other and get the hell out of the church.

I realized to know that happened  as soon as father ended his Sunday mass the care taker of the church turned off the fan. Everybody  was sweating  they wanted to get out to breath freely..

Now the happiness of the building going little by little away.Regular church ladies are bit worried there is no place to Gossip.Sunday mass is over,door doors were locked,fans lights switched off,everybody go home.

I stopped going to church at all.Now actually i got frustrated  when i go to church.

The entry door is locked.everybody out of the church premises with 15 minutes after the Sunday mass.

Also there were new members after the renovation work,they don' t know how this place used to be even.

I did not go to church  for a long time till I become architecture student.One day in a evening I went to church just  to see.

The place look like a desert, but there was a nice father,,,That was father Erinton  actually I spoke quite a long time a friendly chit chat.He did not ask why I am not coming to  the Sunday Mass any more,but he explained nicely  why should I come back  to church.Actually Horana Church  is a Calvary Shrine.

So father Erinton asked me to help on some work.Actually after quiet a long time I felt happy after going to the church,

So Father Erinton said he will talk with Parrish council, I don  t need to come even to a single meeting.

We did some Calvary shrine stations ,actually I did design a some crazy steps.It was not major modification,but some little interesting work.

The last station cave,steps..Actually I was happy.Still I did not go to Sunday Mass, but I did  go to church...Father Erinton did not say a word but he told me look at the statue of Jesus and try to listen to the Mass from outside.

Sometimes I did listen.But I stayed there till father finished the Mass.
To be very honest the first time I did smoking looking at this statue.....
Oh now I hate smoking.......
The unfortunate thing is happiness never going to be everlasting.Somehow It started deteriorating.

                                      Father Erinton with his pony...He was a great animal lover.


After five years of time Father Erinton was transferred into a church in Negambo,It was on  the beach road,Father Erinton was happy,he likes the beach than boulders I think so.

Due to so many reasons I could not go to church at all.But heard there is another fund raising for a major modification.Out of curiosity I went to see what has actually planned.
Hearing  what they planing to modify I was not sad...
I was angry....But new father was over confident  of what he is planing  to do...

He wanted to change the original layout.He wanted to break curve walls which we used to play hide and seek,...I feel it s waste t of time to trying  to convince the character of the building or the spatial quality....let them do what they wanted......

Later I saw they were asking donations through social medias.They broke curve walls and two  circular  chambers,as well they broke my heart into pieces,
After they break the curve walls I went  to see,actually they complained  about water leakage from walls.A building which is over 40 years  water leakage is not a punishable guilty   of  demolish .But they punished to the building  taking it s life out of it.
Instead of curves they they introduced  spikes with colored glass.

I don t think that  I ever be happy at this place again....
It is sad.....here for me it is sad forever.....

2000 years ago they punished to the son of the God, for being unconventional, for being free, for being honest, we are still worrying about the punishment they gave to him,But again it s God's wish.....
"Forgive them father,they not know what they doing"
                                            - Jesus Christ-