Opinion

Disguises of belief and disbelief!

Published

4 years ago

2021/07/30

A young father is bathing at the not so deep garden-well with his two kids and the bucket suddenly slips into the well. The little girls look distressed. Their dad thinks that it’s a good opportunity to have some fun at their expense. He pretends to be reflective for a few seconds and tells them that they had better let the bucket be in the well so that the fish could bathe with it! The kids seem scandalized and look at each other and at the father disbelievingly. The father enjoys his joke immensely- for a few seconds, though.

The elder kid picks up the bar of soap ingenuously and drops it into the well telling him “The fish need soap too, don’t they?” Now, it was the poor father’s turn to look dismayed- he had been too slow to have divined what she was up to. That’s hardly the climax, anyway. Down goes the towel next and the younger kid says, “Oh, don’t they need a towel too?” A visibly upset father whose sense of humour is no match for that of his progeny knows not where to put himself. True, the two scamps had looked confused at the beginning – but only for a moment. Next they pretended to believe that the fish actually needed soap and a towel, so that they could afford to have the last laugh by turning the tables on their father.

The episode narrated by a much wiser father to a sniggering audience of officemates the next day might provide comic relief to a layperson’s idle thoughts about belief and disbelief. Did the father succeed in wheedling the girls at least momentarily to visualize a weird shoal of fish bathing with a bucket? How did they, after recovering from the fleeting confusion, build on a blatant falsity to give it a preposterously logical end? Is there a neat fact/belief and fiction/disbelief pairing? Do we use trust and doubt at our own convenience to play the life’s game? Let the experts seek definitive answers. The rest of us may speculate.

Both belief and disbelief accompany us to the grave. They are not averse to sleeping in the same bed, and life is sure to be worrisome if you choose to hold on to one to the total exclusion of the other. And, each of them comes in handy every now and then. It seems as though scarcely anybody could live a normal life without judiciously shifting between these two states of mind- belief and disbelief, or, as some may call them – the twin gears for “cruising in life.” Perhaps, a person newly diagnosed with a terminal illness may find himself amidst the strongest currents of belief and disbelief; the others would navigate between the two consciously as well as unconsciously to the end.

Take children for example. They are natural skeptics and believers at once. Many parents find themselves out of their depth when their children start asking endless “why” questions about anything and everything they see, starting from things like the moon, fire, cow, puppy, shadow, wind, rain, sky or stars and moving towards “metaphysical” questions about birth, ageing, time and death. Even well-informed parents get stumped when they are called upon to explain why the moon and stars wouldn’t fall, why mommy and daddy too have to die one day or why dead people wouldn’t talk, much less wake up. Often the “explanations” need to be fashioned to suit their level of comprehension- so the parents think. The kids continue to believe in them with waning conviction as months and years roll by and sagaciously drop them in favour of more acceptable pieces for the jigsaw of their expanding “universe.”

Some kids “suspend disbelief” long before they hear of Coleridge. As children become smarter or “prematurely mature”- as some hardnosed adults may choose to describe them, they become more and more skeptical about their parents’ obviously guarded explanations on “delicate topics.” They discreetly “suspend disbelief” to avoid embarrassing their parents. Very few of them who may perhaps happen to google Coleridge later would remember that the latter’s counsel to his readers was a trick they had warily used as children to make their parents enjoy their own unimpressive “stories.” Thus, it is hardly likely that they would ever recall using the selfsame trick to optimize their harvest of goose bumps on their arms as they sat cuddled up on the lap of their grannies to listen to the adventures of the brave podi gamarala.

Feigning belief is not the exclusive preserve of children, although the two brats in the above anecdote made use of it to outsmart their father who subsequently became famous among his colleagues for his unlucky ingenuity. Clever grandparents play the same game when they readily believe that their grandchild, who suddenly gets a tummy ache on a Monday morning, is too sick to attend school. When the kid “recovers” too soon and asks for a piece of chocolate to go with the breakfast, she realizes that grandma’s credulity has a sting in the tail. The old lady wouldn’t hear of letting sick children eat sweets- she needs plenty of convincing that chocolates wouldn’t make a stomachache far worse!

Often there is little difference between feigning belief and believing- in the former you deceive the other; in the latter you deceive yourself, although you won’t often be aware of it. Take any instance where you are accustomed to taking something as a fact because you have believed in it for ages. For example, you believe that the two people whom you have called “parents” all your life are your biological parents – of course, no reason to verify unless something serious happens to make the identification necessary. So is the case with your siblings. It’s the unrivalled example of an intimate term of family relationships gradually acquiring the nuances of an established biological fact.

However, if you were to ask your “parents” to prove their parenthood, you would be considered weird or, worse still, insane. Such a doubt would surely be made to seem irrelevant and redundant by convention. However, in rare situations requiring scientific validation, such “irreverent” identification would be perfectly in order. As such, under ordinary conditions, our habitual belief as regards family relationships amounts to more or less culturally-sanctioned and convenient self-deceit. Here, what should be highlighted is that a perpetuated belief can often pass for fact leaving you to be ignorant of it all your life. Of course, many would hasten to point out that such ignorance is harmless, sure enough.

Generally, we are hardwired to believe. We believe what we see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Life would be practically impossible if we refuse to believe what our five senses communicate to us. For example, you suddenly spot a snake on your path but choose not to believe what your eyes report to you; you will immediately pay the price. In fact we have been relying so much on our physical perceptions that we hardly factor in “belief” in the transmission process. In other words, the vital role of “belief” in our sensory perceptions is taken for granted. Don’t we unconsciously provide proof of this when we say, “I could hardly believe my eyes.” As such, disbelief, with regard to physical living, is often the exception.

Faith in sensory perceptions is rarely challenged. When we look at the tree out there we ‘know’ that it is there and the question of “belief” scarcely arises. Yet, let’s take another example. Just as the tree in the garden, we “know” that there are stars in the sky, but we are told that perhaps some of them may not be there now, which immediately makes it clear to us that what we thought we knew was possibly an illusion. Only a scientific explanation of the phenomenon helps us to see our mistake.

So, we naturally take what we perceive through our senses to be a fact, and asking for proof is deemed redundant if not hilarious. However, we don’t necessarily have the same sense of complacency when it comes to responding to an explanation. For example, although we don’t ask for reasons to believe that stars are there, we ask for reasons if we were to believe astronomers when they claim that some of the stars visible now may have died out centuries ago. Thus, taking belief with a pinch of disbelief may perhaps make matters in life a little more wondrous and above all serendipitous.

Bernard Shaw is perhaps a bit too disparaging of belief when he says: “the fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.”

Susantha Hewa

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Opinion

Mr. Lakshman Balasuriya – not just my boss, but a father and a brother

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/4

Thilina Walpola

Lakshman Balasuriya

It is with profound sadness that we received the shocking news of the untimely passing of our dear leader, Mr. Lakshman Balasuriya.

I first met Mr. Balasuriya in 1988 while working at John Keells, which had been awarded an IT contract to computerize Senkadagala Finance. Thereafter, in 1992, I joined the E. W. Balasuriya Group of Companies and Senkadagala Finance when the organization decided to bring its computerization in-house.

Mr. Balasuriya obtained his BSc from the University of London and his MSc from the University of Lancaster. He was not only intellectually brilliant, but also a highly practical and pragmatic individual, often sitting beside me to share instructions and ideas, which I would then translate directly into the software through code.

My first major assignment was to computerize the printing press. At the time, the systems in place were outdated, and modernization was a challenging task. However, with the guidance, strong support, and decisive leadership of Mr. Lakshman Balasuriya, we were able to successfully transform the printing press into a modern, state-of-the-art operation.

Mr. Balasuriya was a farsighted visionary who understood the value and impact of information technology well ahead of his time. He possessed a deep knowledge of the subject, which was rare during those early years. For instance, in the 1990s, he engaged a Canadian consultant to conduct a cybersecurity audit—an extraordinary initiative at a time when cybersecurity was scarcely spoken of and far from mainstream.

During that period, Senkadagala Finance’s head office was based in Kandy, with no branch network. When the decision was made to open the first branch in Colombo, our IT team faced the challenge of adapting the software to support branch operations. It was Mr. Balasuriya who proposed the innovative idea of creating logical branches—a concept well ahead of its time in IT thinking. This simple yet powerful idea enabled the company to expand rapidly, allowing branches to be added seamlessly to the system. Today, after many upgrades and continuous modernization, Senkadagala Finance operates over 400 locations across the country with real-time online connectivity—a testament to his original vision.

In September 2013, we faced a critical challenge with a key system that required the development of an entirely new solution. A proof of concept was prepared and reviewed by Mr. Balasuriya, who gave the green light to proceed. During the development phase, he remained deeply involved, offering ideas, insights, and constructive feedback. Within just four months, the system was successfully developed and went live—another example of his hands-on leadership and unwavering support for innovation.

These are only a few examples among many of the IT initiatives that were encouraged, supported, and championed by Mr. Balasuriya. Information technology has played a pivotal role in the growth and success of the E. W. Balasuriya Group of Companies, including Senkadagala Finance PLC, and much of that credit belongs to his foresight, trust, and leadership.

On a deeply personal note, I was not only a witness to, but also a recipient of, the kindness, humility, and humanity of Mr. Lakshman Balasuriya. There were occasions when I lost my temper and made unreasonable demands, yet he always responded with firmness tempered by gentleness. He never lost his own composure, nor did he ever hold grudges. He had the rare ability to recognize people’s shortcomings and genuinely tried to guide them toward self-improvement.

He was not merely our boss. To many of us, he was like a father and a brother.

I will miss him immensely. His passing has left a void that can never be filled. Of all the people I have known in my life, Mr. Lakshman Balasuriya stands apart as one of the finest human beings.

He leaves his beloved wife, Madam Janine, his children Amanthi and Keshav, and his four grandchildren.

May he rest in eternal peace.

Timothy De Silva

(The writer is the Information Systems Officer at Senkadagala Finance.)

Opinion

Tribute to Ernest Thalayasingham MacIntyre

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/4

Thilina Walpola

Ernest McIntyre with the writer

It is deeply painful to come to terms with the passing of Ernest Thalayasingham Macintyre. The news has left a silence that feels both personal and profound.

For me, this is not only the loss of an extraordinary playwright and thinker, but the loss of someone who shaped my intellectual journey at its very beginning. Ernest Macintyre wrote the Preface to my first book, Island to Island, which emerged from my doctoral research on his works, titled “Diasporic Longing and Changing Contours of Resistance in the plays of Ernest Thalayasingham Macintyre.” That gesture was not merely academic generosity. It was an act of faith, encouragement, and quiet mentorship that I will always hold close.

I knew him first through his work. Through his plays, his satire, his deep political consciousness, and his unwavering commitment to theatre as a living, breathing social force. He was a pioneer of Sri Lankan English theatre and an equally vital presence in Australian theatre, articulating the grief, longing, resistance, and resilience of diasporic life with rare clarity and compassion.

In recent days, I have found myself returning again and again to the Preface he wrote for my thesis. Reading it now, I am reminded of his intellectual sharpness, his generosity of spirit, and his belief that literature and theatre must bear witness to histories of displacement and struggle. His words continue to guide me, even in his absence.

Beyond the scholar and dramatist, Ernest Macintyre was, to me, a father figure. Someone I looked up to with deep respect, awe, and admiration. His presence offered reassurance. His encouragement gave courage. His legacy will remain a guiding light.

My heartfelt condolences to his family, to his loved ones, and to all those whose lives he touched through his work and his kindness. May they find strength in the immense legacy he leaves behind.

Ernest Macintyre’s voice will not fade. It will continue to live on in theatre, in literature, and in the countless minds he shaped across homelands and islands.

With remembrance, gratitude, and sorrow.

Dr Thamizhachi Thangapandian

Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)- South Chennai

Tamil Nadu, INDIA

Opinion

Appreciation: D. L. O. Mendis Visionary Engineer, Philosopher, and Mentor

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/2

Thilina Walpola

D.L.O. Mendis

Today, we honour the life and legacy of D.L.O. Mendis, a visionary engineer and philosopher whose contributions defined the standards of our profession. D.L.O. possessed a rare combination of analytical rigor and creative foresight. His numerous technical papers presented here and abroad related to water resources development stand as enduring monuments to his brilliance.

Beyond creating blueprints and technical specifications, D.L.O. presented bold ideas that challenged and strengthened our professional communities. He was a dedicated mentor to junior engineers, and a leader who firmly believed that engineering was, above all, a service to humanity. While we mourn this great loss, we take solace in knowing that his radical influence shaped our careers and the ethical code that governs our profession.

A Career of Integrity and Excellence

Throughout his career spanning more than 70 years, D.L.O. embodied the highest standards of integrity and technical excellence. He was particularly instrumental in advancing our

understanding of ancient irrigation systems, bridging the gap between historical wisdom and modern development.

Academic and Professional Journey

D.L.O.’s educational journey began at Ladies’ College(which accepted boys in lower grades at the time) before he moved to Royal College. He later entered the University of Ceylon as a member of the pioneering first batch of engineering students in 1950, graduating in 1954 in a class of nearly 25 students.

His professional path was distinguished and diverse:

Irrigation Department:

Served for nearly 10 years.

River Valleys Development Board (RVDB):

Contributed during the construction of the Uda Walawe reservoir.

Ministry of Plan Implementation:

Served as Deputy Director under Director M. S. M. De Silva, where his main contribution was the promotion of appropriate technology, particularly the advancement of historical Kotmale ironwork which has existed since the era of Parakrama Bahu the Great, and the South Eastern Dry Zone Project. (SEDZ).

Consultancy:

Served as a freelance consultant.

Leadership:

A prolific contributor of a large number of technical papers to the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), eventually serving as its President.

Personal Reflections and Anecdotes

My association with D.L.O. spanned more than 50 years. I first saw him riding a bicycle past Akbar Hall while I was an engineering student. I later learned his family was residing at Prof. Paul’s residence nearby while he was serving at Uda Walawe Reservoir Project as a senior engineer for the RVDB.

Through D.L.O., I had the privilege of meeting legendary professionals outside the Irrigation Department, includingthe exceptionally bright M.S.M. de Silva and the international economist, Dr. Lal Jayawardena (Mr. N.U.Jayawardena’s son).

A Tribute to a Legacy

We extend our deepest gratitude for Mr. D.L.O. Mendis’slifelong service and offer our sincerest condolences to his family and colleagues. His monumental work and numerous publications remain a lasting gift to future generations of engineers.

May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!

G.T. Dharmasena,
Former Director General of Irrigation