Features

WAR-LORD WHOM LANKA LOVED

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/24

by ECB Wijeyesinghe

Everybody who writes about Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten must feel like Virgil, the Latin poet, who began his immortal epic. the Aeneid, with the words “Arena virumque cano” (I sing of arms and a hero).

After the death of Winston Churchill, the shining mantle of the world’s greatest living Englishman fell on Mountbatten’s broad shoulders and illumined the personality of a man whose winning ways were responsible for capturing not only the minds of men, but the hearts of women. A few days before he was felled in the Irish Waters near his holiday home in County Sligo, he appeared to have a presentiment of the fate that was to befall him.

Interviewed by a London journalist at Broadlands, his stately home in Hampshire. which has been thrown open to the public for obvious reasons, he said: “Dying does not worry me. I am looking forward to my own funeral. It should be a good do and great fun. I do hope you will come.” When the Sunday “Observer” published this interview readers who have a streak of clairvoyance in their constitution must have shuddered and joined the journalist in exclaiming “God forbid!”, forgetting the fact that there is no armour against Fate.

Mountbatten had perhaps the kind of funeral he predicted he would have, but it was far from fun, because millions of aching hearts in this part of the world had not yet got over the initial shock of the dastardly act that destroyed the man, whom the British reporter so aptly described as his country’s hero and heritage, a walking statue, a talking gold medal and a breathing bronze bust.

I saw him only once and that was 35 years ago when I watched him driving his jeep like Jehu along the road leading from Kandy to Katugastota. He was alone, and as he hugged the curves, the people in the Kandy streets, to whom he was a familiar figure stood by, and looked on with awe at the master strategist who had a genius for getting things done. Teenage school girls in the hill capital, they say, seemed to have prior information of his movements, in and out of his headquarters in the Peradeniya Gardens, and assembled at strategic points to catch a glimpse of their handsome hero.

At a Charity Ball in Queen’s Hotel in 1944 the very fact that Lord Mountbatten was going to be the Chief Guest attracted such a crowd that the old hostelry nearly burst at its seams. The majority of those present were white women. The peria dorais and sinna dorais from the plantations brought along their wives, sisters, daughters, mothers and other female relatives who probably presumed they had an off chance of having a dance with the Supreme Commander of the Southeast Asian forces.

To them five minutes in the arms of this Apollo who was related to every crowned head in Europe was something to write home about and make their friends west of Suez green with envy. At the appointed time 9.30 p.m. sharp the hum of conversation in the glittering but starchy crowd at the Queen’s ceased and out of a utility vehicle there stepped out the debonair admiral in crumpled workaday clothes.

Among the Staff of the Commander who clicked their heels as their chief entered the hotel were several Ceylonese officers, including my learned friend S. J. Kadirgamar, long before he rose to eminence as a Queen’s Counsel. Sam Kadirgamar, incidentally, is also a brilliant rifle shot and has scored more bull’s eyes in Bisley than anybody I know. With his sharp eye and witty tongue he must have felt quite at home in Mountbatten’s entourage.

The dancing began and the planters’ wives, some of them beautiful women arrayed in their silken gowns and sparkling jewels waited eagerly looking forward to a waltz with the warrior. But alas! Protocol is a cruel mistress and has a way of dashing to the ground the hopes of even the most formidable females. Mountbatten walked up to Lady Monck-Mason Moore who was then well past her prime, took her in his arms and gingerly led her on in a slow fox-trot on the highly polished floor. The music stopped and the noble Lord bowed graciously to Lady Moore clicked his heels and made a sign to his staff officers to follow him.

As he was walking out a British planter, bolder than the rest, whose young wife was waiting in the wings, had the temerity to say: “Surely you are not going, Sir?” Mountbatten merely answered: “Why not? Remember there is a war on” and strode out, forcing Kadirgamar and the other youthful colonels and majors to gallop behind their leader in order to catch him up and do their bit in the war about which they had read so much.

Lord Louis was always unobtrusive in what he did in contrast with the flamboyant Douglas MacArthur who was in charge of the operations in the Pacific Ocean. Richard Weerasooriya, who was once described as “the mighty atom” of the old Broadcasting Station, told me this story. He had information from Felix Goonewardene of The Times of Ceylon that Mountbatten who was then Chairman of the Brains Trust in England was somewhere in Colombo.

Weerasooriya was running the Brains Trust here and was eager to get the famous man on his programme. But where was he? He seemed to be as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel. Felix sent his sleuths out, but could not track him down. Weerasooriya took up the chase independently and visited every Service Club in search of him but drew a blank. Ultimately he made a final try at the Galle Face Hotel and was about to depart dejected and disappointed when he saw a striking figure in informal attire seated in the foyer immersed in a newspaper.

Weerasooriya had found his man. But it was nearly midnight and his Army plane was due to leave with him in two hours. But in deference to Richard’s earnest entreaties Mountbatten kindly postponed his departure and went to Radio Ceylon early in the morning where he gave a long talk and his voice was recorded for posterity.

Lord Louis Mountbatten’s monumental triumph in SEAC was that he welded the most heterogeneous crowd of soldiers, sailors and airmen into a homogeneous unit. Under his baton were men and women speaking at least 12 different languages, eating different kinds of food and used to different ways of life. There were Gurkhas, Goans, Punjabis, Sikhs, Madrassis, Malayalees, East Africans, Dutchmen, Frenchmen, Burmese, Chinese, Sinhalese, Tamils, Burghers and Malays, to say nothing of the Australians, Americans and Englishmen.

He thoroughly understood the East especially India and knew the travails she had gone through during centuries of colonialism and high-powered Imperialism. Described as a king without a Crown, he was Queen Victoria’s most illustrious great grandson and his cousin the Duke of Windsor was the best man at his wedding. In spite of being related to the arrogant Hohenzollems, Romanoffs, Hesses and Saxe-Coburgs, not to mention the distant connection with the Bourbons he was a Liberal at heart and an eloquent advocate of freedom for India.

To the Indian under-dog he was exceedingly sympathetic and he probably endorsed Kipling’s humble admission:-

Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,

By the living God that made you,

You’re a better man than I am.

Gunga Din.

Jawaharlal and the entire Nehru family, loved him and it is not surprising that perhaps the most touching tribute after his death should have been paid on All-India Radio by Nehru’s sister, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit.

(Excerpted from the Good At Their Best first published in 1979)

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Features

Crucial test for religious and ethnic harmony in Bangladesh

Published

18 hours ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

A political protest that led to governmental change in Bangladesh mid last year. (photograph: imago)

Will the Bangladesh parliamentary election bring into being a government that will ensure ethnic and religious harmony in the country? This is the poser on the lips of peace-loving sections in Bangladesh and a principal concern of those outside who mean the country well.

The apprehensions are mainly on the part of religious and ethnic minorities. The parliamentary poll of February 12th is expected to bring into existence a government headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist oriented Jamaat-e-Islami party and this is where the rub is. If these parties win, will it be a case of Bangladesh sliding in the direction of a theocracy or a state where majoritarian chauvinism thrives?

Chief of the Jamaat, Shafiqur Rahman, who was interviewed by sections of the international media recently said that there is no need for minority groups in Bangladesh to have the above fears. He assured, essentially, that the state that will come into being will be equable and inclusive. May it be so, is likely to be the wish of those who cherish a tension-free Bangladesh.

The party that could have posed a challenge to the above parties, the Awami League Party of former Prime Minister Hasina Wased, is out of the running on account of a suspension that was imposed on it by the authorities and the mentioned majoritarian-oriented parties are expected to have it easy at the polls.

A positive that has emerged against the backdrop of the poll is that most ordinary people in Bangladesh, be they Muslim or Hindu, are for communal and religious harmony and it is hoped that this sentiment will strongly prevail, going ahead. Interestingly, most of them were of the view, when interviewed, that it was the politicians who sowed the seeds of discord in the country and this viewpoint is widely shared by publics all over the region in respect of the politicians of their countries.

Some sections of the Jamaat party were of the view that matters with regard to the orientation of governance are best left to the incoming parliament to decide on but such opinions will be cold comfort for minority groups. If the parliamentary majority comes to consist of hard line Islamists, for instance, there is nothing to prevent the country from going in for theocratic governance. Consequently, minority group fears over their safety and protection cannot be prevented from spreading.

Therefore, we come back to the question of just and fair governance and whether Bangladesh’s future rulers could ensure these essential conditions of democratic rule. The latter, it is hoped, will be sufficiently perceptive to ascertain that a Bangladesh rife with religious and ethnic tensions, and therefore unstable, would not be in the interests of Bangladesh and those of the region’s countries.

Unfortunately, politicians region-wide fall for the lure of ethnic, religious and linguistic chauvinism. This happens even in the case of politicians who claim to be democratic in orientation. This fate even befell Bangladesh’s Awami League Party, which claims to be democratic and socialist in general outlook.

We have it on the authority of Taslima Nasrin in her ground-breaking novel, ‘Lajja’, that the Awami Party was not of any substantial help to Bangladesh’s Hindus, for example, when violence was unleashed on them by sections of the majority community. In fact some elements in the Awami Party were found to be siding with the Hindus’ murderous persecutors. Such are the temptations of hard line majoritarianism.

In Sri Lanka’s past numerous have been the occasions when even self-professed Leftists and their parties have conveniently fallen in line with Southern nationalist groups with self-interest in mind. The present NPP government in Sri Lanka has been waxing lyrical about fostering national reconciliation and harmony but it is yet to prove its worthiness on this score in practice. The NPP government remains untested material.

As a first step towards national reconciliation it is hoped that Sri Lanka’s present rulers would learn the Tamil language and address the people of the North and East of the country in Tamil and not Sinhala, which most Tamil-speaking people do not understand. We earnestly await official language reforms which afford to Tamil the dignity it deserves.

An acid test awaits Bangladesh as well on the nation-building front. Not only must all forms of chauvinism be shunned by the incoming rulers but a secular, truly democratic Bangladesh awaits being licked into shape. All identity barriers among people need to be abolished and it is this process that is referred to as nation-building.

On the foreign policy frontier, a task of foremost importance for Bangladesh is the need to build bridges of amity with India. If pragmatism is to rule the roost in foreign policy formulation, Bangladesh would place priority to the overcoming of this challenge. The repatriation to Bangladesh of ex-Prime Minister Hasina could emerge as a steep hurdle to bilateral accord but sagacious diplomacy must be used by Bangladesh to get over the problem.

A reply to N.A. de S. Amaratunga

A response has been penned by N.A. de S. Amaratunga (please see p5 of ‘The Island’ of February 6th) to a previous column by me on ‘ India shaping-up as a Swing State’, published in this newspaper on January 29th , but I remain firmly convinced that India remains a foremost democracy and a Swing State in the making.

If the countries of South Asia are to effectively manage ‘murderous terrorism’, particularly of the separatist kind, then they would do well to adopt to the best of their ability a system of government that provides for power decentralization from the centre to the provinces or periphery, as the case may be. This system has stood India in good stead and ought to prove effective in all other states that have fears of disintegration.

Moreover, power decentralization ensures that all communities within a country enjoy some self-governing rights within an overall unitary governance framework. Such power-sharing is a hallmark of democratic governance.

Features

Celebrating Valentine’s Day …

Published

18 hours ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love, romance, and affection, and this is how some of our well-known personalities plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day – 14th February:

Merlina Fernando (Singer)

Yes, it’s a special day for lovers all over the world and it’s even more special to me because 14th February is the birthday of my husband Suresh, who’s the lead guitarist of my band Mission.

We have planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and his Birthday together and it will be a wonderful night as always.

We will be having our fans and close friends, on that night, with their loved ones at Highso – City Max hotel Dubai, from 9.00 pm onwards.

Lorensz Francke (Elvis Tribute Artiste)

On Valentine’s Day I will be performing a live concert at a Wealthy Senior Home for Men and Women, and their families will be attending, as well.

I will be performing live with romantic, iconic love songs and my song list would include ‘Can’t Help falling in Love’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Burning Love’, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’, ‘The Wonder of You’ and ‘’It’s Now or Never’ to name a few.

To make Valentine’s Day extra special I will give the Home folks red satin scarfs.

Emma Shanaya (Singer)

I plan on spending the day of love with my girls, especially my best friend. I don’t have a romantic Valentine this year but I am thrilled to spend it with the girl that loves me through and through. I’ll be in Colombo and look forward to go to a cute cafe and spend some quality time with my childhood best friend Zulha.

JAYASRI

Emma-and-Maneeka

This Valentine’s Day the band JAYASRI we will be really busy; in the morning we will be landing in Sri Lanka, after our Oman Tour; then in the afternoon we are invited as Chief Guests at our Maris Stella College Sports Meet, Negombo, and late night we will be with LineOne band live in Karandeniya Open Air Down South. Everywhere we will be sharing LOVE with the mass crowds.

Kay Jay (Singer)

I will stay at home and cook a lovely meal for lunch, watch some movies, together with Sanjaya, and, maybe we go out for dinner and have a lovely time. Come to think of it, every day is Valentine’s Day for me with Sanjaya Alles.

Maneka Liyanage (Beauty Tips)

On this special day, I celebrate love by spending meaningful time with the people I cherish. I prepare food with love and share meals together, because food made with love brings hearts closer. I enjoy my leisure time with them — talking, laughing, sharing stories, understanding each other, and creating beautiful memories. My wish for this Valentine’s Day is a world without fighting — a world where we love one another like our own beloved, where we do not hurt others, even through a single word or action. Let us choose kindness, patience, and understanding in everything we do.

Janaka Palapathwala (Singer)

Janaka

Valentine’s Day should not be the only day we speak about love.

From the moment we are born into this world, we seek love, first through the very drop of our mother’s milk, then through the boundless care of our Mother and Father, and the embrace of family.

Love is everywhere. All living beings, even plants, respond in affection when they are loved.

As we grow, we learn to love, and to be loved. One day, that love inspires us to build a new family of our own.

Love has no beginning and no end. It flows through every stage of life, timeless, endless, and eternal.

Natasha Rathnayake (Singer)

We don’t have any special plans for Valentine’s Day. When you’ve been in love with the same person for over 25 years, you realise that love isn’t a performance reserved for one calendar date. My husband and I have never been big on public displays, or grand gestures, on 14th February. Our love is expressed quietly and consistently, in ordinary, uncelebrated moments.

With time, you learn that love isn’t about proving anything to the world or buying into a commercialised idea of romance—flowers that wilt, sweets that spike blood sugar, and gifts that impress briefly but add little real value. In today’s society, marketing often pushes the idea that love is proven by how much money you spend, and that buying things is treated as a sign of commitment.

Real love doesn’t need reminders or price tags. It lives in showing up every day, choosing each other on unromantic days, and nurturing the relationship intentionally and without an audience.

This isn’t a judgment on those who enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s simply a personal choice.

Melloney Dassanayake (Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2024)

I truly believe it’s beautiful to have a day specially dedicated to love. But, for me, Valentine’s Day goes far beyond romantic love alone. It celebrates every form of love we hold close to our hearts: the love for family, friends, and that one special person who makes life brighter. While 14th February gives us a moment to pause and celebrate, I always remind myself that love should never be limited to just one day. Every single day should feel like Valentine’s Day – constant reminder to the people we love that they are never alone, that they are valued, and that they matter.

I’m incredibly blessed because, for me, every day feels like Valentine’s Day. My special person makes sure of that through the smallest gestures, the quiet moments, and the simple reminders that love lives in the details. He shows me that it’s the little things that count, and that love doesn’t need grand stages to feel extraordinary. This Valentine’s Day, perfection would be something intimate and meaningful: a cozy picnic in our home garden, surrounded by nature, laughter, and warmth, followed by an abstract drawing session where we let our creativity flow freely. To me, that’s what love is – simple, soulful, expressive, and deeply personal. When love is real, every ordinary moment becomes magical.

Noshin De Silva (Actress)

Valentine’s Day is one of my favourite holidays! I love the décor, the hearts everywhere, the pinks and reds, heart-shaped chocolates, and roses all around. But honestly, I believe every day can be Valentine’s Day.

It doesn’t have to be just about romantic love. It’s a chance to celebrate love in all its forms with friends, family, or even by taking a little time for yourself.

Whether you’re spending the day with someone special or enjoying your own company, it’s a reminder to appreciate meaningful connections, show kindness, and lead with love every day.

And yes, I’m fully on theme this year with heart nail art and heart mehendi design!

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine’s Day, but, remember, love yourself first, and don’t forget to treat yourself.

Sending my love to all of you.

Features

Banana and Aloe Vera

Published

18 hours ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

To create a powerful, natural, and hydrating beauty mask that soothes inflammation, fights acne, and boosts skin radiance, mix a mashed banana with fresh aloe vera gel.

This nutrient-rich blend acts as an antioxidant-packed anti-ageing treatment that also doubles as a nourishing, shiny hair mask.

* Face Masks for Glowing Skin:

Mix 01 ripe banana with 01 tablespoon of fresh aloe vera gel and apply this mixture to the face. Massage for a few minutes, leave for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse off for a glowing complexion.

* Acne and Soothing Mask:

Mix 01 tablespoon of fresh aloe vera gel with 1/2 a mashed banana and 01 teaspoon of honey. Apply this mixture to clean skin to calm inflammation, reduce redness, and hydrate dry, sensitive skin. Leave for 15-20 minutes, and rinse with warm water.

* Hair Treatment for Shine:

Mix 01 fresh ripe banana with 03 tablespoons of fresh aloe vera gel and 01 teaspoon of honey. Apply from scalp to ends, massage for 10-15 minutes and then let it dry for maximum absorption. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for soft, shiny, and frizz-free hair.