Features

Ending my tenure at the Employees’ Trust Board

Published

4 months ago

2025/10/19

Thilina Walpola

Chandrika and her mother, late PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike, waiting to vote in an election in the early 1990s

LESSONS FROM MY CAREER: SYNTHESISING MANAGEMENT THEORY WITH PRACTICE – PART 24

For those who have not read my previous stories, I continue with my experiences as the Chairman of the ETF Board.

Southern Provincial Council Elections of 1994 The Southern Provincial Council Elections were announced, and it was obvious that the present government would lose. A new entrant to politics was Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who had returned from overseas. She was the daughter of two Prime Ministers and thus became a new attraction. When electioneering was in full swing, I was careful to be seen as neutral and to avoid violating any election laws.

The election date was fixed for late March 1994. After the demise of President Premadasa, His Excellency D. B. Wijetunga was at the helm as President. One day, he called me and said, “You are a political appointee and therefore should be engaged in canvassing. I want you to actively participate and campaign in one of the difficult areas.” I responded that I had no knowledge of electioneering and was totally unfit for that sort of work. He did not take no for an answer. I was wondering how to get out of this and was planning various excuses.

It was the first day of the Royal Thomian match in 1994, and I was there with some friends. I suddenly received a call from President Wijetunga. Still, I couldn’t hear a word he was saying because the papare bands and Baila music were in full swing. I quickly moved to a quieter corner and spoke. The Prime Minister Ranil WickremEsinghe was going to the Southern Province, he said, and arrangements had been made for him to address a meeting at Beliatta. Beliatta was the electorate where our ancestral home at Getamanna was located. Apparently, the PM was planning to have lunch at my parents’ place. I was ordered by the President to go to my ancestral home, meet the PM, and attend the meeting.

I went early the next day to our ancestral home in Getamanna, which was at the edge of the Beliatta electorate. The PM came, had lunch, and was leaving when he looked at me and said, “If you are coming for the meeting, you may come with me”. I had no choice. I asked my driver to follow and travelled with the PM. Although my plan was to get to Colombo after the PM left for the meeting after lunch, I was dragged into this. My attempts to scoot off without climbing to the stage were also nullified because the entire entourage was escorted to the stage, including me. I was given a seat in the second row and was probably noticed by supporters of Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa. After some time, I quietly left the stage and came back to Colombo. I had done my duty as a “political appointee”.

The election was heating up, and the President called me and asked what the general feeling was in the province. I said, “No chance, sir.” He didn’t believe me and said, “But the tide is again turning back to us, isn’t it?”. I had to bring him to reality. The election result was as expected, thanks to the new hope offered by the People’s Alliance’s leader.

The Presidential Election

With the government’s defeat at the Provincial Council Elections, I knew my time was up. I had anyway had enough of a high-ranking Government job. Even if the UNP returned to power, the new policy was to give high posts to those who worked on the elections and to party loyalists. The Premadasa policy of appointing young professionals was no longer in vogue. So, I would be out in any event.

This was when I decided it was time to start a career in consulting and training. During my tenure at the ETF Board, I was frequently invited by government and private organisations to speak on productivity techniques — my pet subject — and on the Japanese techniques I had mastered. I did not get paid, but received a gift which had no real value to me. I ended up with a vast collection of expensive and cheap pens, ties with the company logo that I could not wear anywhere else, and shirts that were far from my taste. I recall being invited to deliver a lecture to the top rung of the Air Force. I was told that the Air Force top brass would only listen to another Chairman or someone at that level, which is why I was selected for the lecture. These were unsafe times, and I was told that the venue could not be disclosed, but I had to be ready on time, and an air force vehicle would pick me up and whisk me to the venue.

The lecture was attended by the Air Force Chief, a few other deputies, and other senior ranks. I received a nice Air Force tie, which I still preserve but never wore. Therefore, I believed that I could turn all these opportunities into money. I registered a company called “Productivity Techniques Pvt Ltd” and kept it dormant until I resigned from the ETF Board. Within a month or so of my departure from the ETF Board, I had my first seminar. All stories in this new exercise will be in a new chapter.

The run-up to the election was also tricky. I had to refuse the Minister’s request to paste a poster all over with the ETF benefits and the Minister’s photograph. The Board agreed with me that we may be accused of violating election laws. The Minister, being a reasonable man, accepted the position. The President wanted me to join the campaign in Polonnaruwa, but I escaped once again.

The stock market was in a bear run because market participants preferred a UNP government to a more socialist People’s Alliance. Our investment committee felt that it was a good time for ETF to buy at attractive prices, given our ability to hold for an extended period. Despite this position of ours, at a meeting with the business community, the opposition presidential candidate openly accused the ETF of selling in the market to create fear among investors and destabilise the market. The accusation was that selling out of the ETF portfolio was taking the stock market down. Actually, we were buying, not selling, and there was plenty of proof. Politicians sometimes make sweeping statements without evidence, which I witnessed firsthand during my time in government. The Minister asked me to write to the candidate and explain the correct position, which I did. This led to anonymous calls being received, threatening that I would be thrown out as soon as they came to power, and many other life-threatening threats.

Post Election

As expected, Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was elected with a thumping majority, and Hon Mahinda Rajapakse became the Minister of Labour. I still went to the office for a day or two, until I was told by the Ministry’s Secretary to hand in my resignation as per the new Minister’s request. I did so and went home.

I had a visitor from the UK and was boasting to him about the new female President, the daughter of two Prime Ministers and enlightened him that we produced the first female PM in the world. He retorted, “Oh, I know all that. In fact, we Britons blame Sri Lanka for setting the trend and giving us Margaret Thatcher!”

My experience at the ETF Board was rewarding because I turned a very sleepy, lethargic institution into a highly efficient and progressive one. It was full of challenges, too. I learned to manage politicians, trade unions, unhappy employers, and the staff. I had used the theoretical concepts learned in my MBA. I synthesised them with my tacit knowledge gained over the years in many other organisations. I had a very experienced and wise Board of Directors who shared their tacit and functional expertise with me. In fact, my management style and achievements had been noticed by employers and Human Resource Managers in organisations. After I started my consultancy and training practice, I had many clients. Many of these clients told me they hired me because of how I synthesised theory and practice and managed the achievements we made at the ETF Board. They told me that they recognise me as a man who actually practices what he preaches.

I heard that the new Minister had taken office in his new portfolio and held a press conference. The following Sunday, the Divaina newspaper published an article based on the Minister’s press conference about numerous frauds and wrongdoings at the ETF Board.

I was furious because they were farthest from the truth. In my fury, I picked up my phone, called the Minister directly, and asked whether I could see him now. He agreed. I showed the article and pointed out all the untruths in it. I told him that since I am not a politically appointed person but appointed for my professional competence, such articles would damage my reputation. He mumbled that he had been told about some wrongdoing and was surprised that it was published. Before I could say anything further, he promised to correct the misinformation.

Immediately, he changed the subject and asked me in Sinhala, “Is Aunty in Colombo or at Getamanna?” He was referring to my mother. He would visit Getamanna on and off, and my mother was fond of him. My mother would always speak on behalf of the villages and knew firsthand their requirements. Once, my mother told Mr Mahinda Rajapakse during an election campaign visit that the villagers want electricity rather than jobs.

He had promised, “Aunty, I will somehow give electricity to this village”. When other politicians, on their visits, hear my mother’s request, they explain the electricity master plan and how this village cannot be given electricity soon. As promised, Mahinda Rajapaksa arranged for electricity to be given to our village despite the so-called master plan. Therefore when he suddenly asked about my mother, I could be forgiven for letting my anger dissipate immediately. How could you continue that anger now? After that, I left after a cordial but brief chat. I have learned much from many Ministers I worked with. Still, Mahinda Rajapaksa, being a very shrewd and experienced politician, was, above all, the best.

Since there was no correction in the newspapers as promised, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I telephoned Dr Seevali Ratwatta, Chairman of Upali Newspapers, to tell him my story and asked him to publish my version. I faxed it directly to his private fax machine, and it was published the very next Sunday. Many advised me not to challenge a new government, but since I had no skeletons in the cupboard, I believed what I did was correct.

Postscript

About two years after I left the ETF Board, I was reappointed as a Board member. I realised that the management was not very transparent and did not disclose some material information to the Board. I picked holes in many board papers and became a nuisance to the management. One such instance occurred when the members’ interest rate was being discussed. I challenged the calculation on the basis that the portfolio’s value diminution was not taken into account. I questioned whether it had been done in previous years and was assured that it had been duly accounted for. I asked that the diminution provided for the last three years be tabled at the next meeting. At that time, the “mark to market” methodology was not in the accounting standards. We were required to provide only for the diminution in the portfolio’s value.

In fact, during my tenure, I challenged this with the Public Enterprises Division, why only diminution was accounted for and not the appreciation of the share value, only to be told that there are many aspects of accountancy that an engineer would not understand. I could not see the logic of it at all. It should be done both ways. Many years later, the rules were changed to “mark to market,” so that all share investments would be marked at market value as at 31 December, thereby giving higher values to those investments that had appreciated. I was elated by this turn of events, which proved that engineers were ahead of the curve compared to accountants.

Coming back to the dispute over diminution, at the next meeting, a board paper was presented stating that no diminution has been provided for the last three years. This was a complete reversal of the earlier position. The management had misled the Board. Adding insult to injury, the board paper continued to say that if they had provided for diminution, they could not have paid a high interest rate. I explained to the Board the seriousness of this statement. Thereafter, I asked whether the Auditor General had commented on the non-provisioning for diminution. Once again, management said no, that no adverse comments were made.

I asked for the Auditor General’s report to be brought to the Board immediately and pointed to the relevant paragraph where the Auditor General clearly states that the profits are overstated due to the non-provision for diminution. By then, the other board members’ faces were red, and some suggested disciplinary action against the concerned officer. I could not resist the temptation and, completely disregarding my training in diplomacy, I blurted out that I would rather take disciplinary action against the Board for their apparent lapse.

At the ETF Board, the term of a director was 2 years, and when the 2-year term was up, I was the only one not reappointed. All the others were. If you rock the boat, you get thrown out. This is why it is essential to have an alert and qualified Board for a State-Owned Enterprise. As they say, “the fish rots from the head”. The Board of Directors is the head.

ETF directorships were coming to me again and again. First, it was as a nominee director of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon. My role was to protect the funds employers contributed. I was unhappy with some of the Human Resource decisions but chose not to interfere, warning that I would not allow the funds to be misused. At the end of my two years, I opted out. Once again, I was appointed as a nominee Director, but my tenure was short-lived. I was appointed as the Chairman of NDB Bank.

Since the ETF held a substantial number of NDB shares, this affected my independence status. I once again resigned from the ETF Director Board. I have had no connection with the ETF Board since 2013.

The next episode will describe my foray into consultancy and training.

by Sunil G Wijesinha
(Consultant on Productivity and Japanese Management Techniques
Retired Chairman/Director of several Listed and Unlisted companies.
Awardee of the APO Regional Award for promoting Productivity in the Asia Pacific Region
Recipient of the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” from the Government of Japan.
He can be contacted through email at bizex.seminarsandconsulting@gmail.com)

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Features

More state support needed for marginalised communities

Published

7 hours ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

A landslide in the Central Province

Message from Malaiyaha Tamil community to govt:

Insights from SSA Cyclone Ditwah Survey

When climate disasters strike, they don’t affect everyone equally. Marginalised communities typically face worse outcomes, and Cyclone Ditwah is no exception. Especially in a context where normalcy is far from “normal”, the idea of returning to normalcy or restoring a life of normalcy makes very little sense.

The island-wide survey (https://ssalanka.org/reports/) conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA), between early to mid-January on Cyclone Ditwah shows stark regional disparities in how satisfied or dissatisfied people were with the government’s response. While national satisfaction levels were relatively high in most provinces, the Central Province tells a different story.

Only 35.2% of Central Province residents reported that they were satisfied with early warning and evacuation measures, compared to 52.2% nationally. The gap continues across every measure: just 52.9% were satisfied with immediate rescue and emergency response, compared with the national figure of 74.6%. Satisfaction with relief distribution in the Central Province is 51.9% while the national figure stands at 73.1%. The figures for restoration of water, electricity, and roads are at a low 45.9% in the central province compared to the 70.9% in national figures. Similarly, the satisfaction level for recovery and rebuilding support is 48.7% in the Central Province, while the national figure is 67.0%.

A deeper analysis of the SSA data on public perceptions reveals something important: these lower satisfaction rates came primarily from the Malaiyaha Tamil population. Their experience differed not just from other provinces, but also from other ethnic groups living in the Central Province itself.

The Malaiyaha Tamil community’s vulnerability didn’t start with the cyclone. Their vulnerability is a historically and structurally pre-determined process of exclusion and marginalisation. Brought to Sri Lanka during British rule to work for the empire’s plantation economies, they have faced long-term economic exploitation and have repeatedly been denied access to state support and social welfare systems. Most estate residents still live in ‘line rooms’ and have no rights to the land they cultivate and live on. The community continues to be governed by an outdated estate management system that acts as a barrier to accessing public and municipal services such as road repair, water, electricity and other basic infrastructures available to other citizens.

As far as access to improved water sources is concerned, the Sri Lanka Demographic Health Survey (2016) shows that 57% of estate sector households don’t have access to improved water sources, while more than 90% of households in urban and rural areas do. With regard to the level of poverty, as the Department of Census and Statistics (2019) data reveals, the estate sector where most Malaiyaha Tamils live had a poverty headcount index of 33.8%; more than double the national rate of 14.3%. These statistics highlight key indicators of the systemic discrimination faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community.

Some crucial observations from the SSA data collectors who enumerated responses from estate residents in the survey reveal the specific challenges faced by the Malaiyaha Tamils, particularly in their efforts to seek state support for compensation and reconstruction.

First, the Central Province experienced not just flooding but also the highest number of landslides in the island. As a result, some residents in the region lost entire homes, access roadways, and other basic infrastructures. The loss of lives, livelihoods and land was at a higher intensity compared to the provinces not located in the hills. Most importantly, the Malaiyaha Tamil community’s pre-existing grievances made them even more vulnerable and the government’s job of reparation and restitution more complex.

Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the community. According to the resident data collectors, the police announcements reached only as far as the sections where they were able to drive their vehicles to, and there were many estate roads that were not motorable. When warnings did filter through to remote locations, they often came by word of mouth and information was distorted along the way. Once the disaster hit, things got worse: roads were blocked, electricity went out, mobile networks failed and people were cut off completely.

Emergency response was slow. Blocked roads meant people could not get to hospitals when they needed urgent care, including pregnant mothers. The difficult terrain and poor road conditions meant rescue teams took much longer to reach affected areas than in other regions.

Relief supplies didn’t reach everyone. The Grama Niladhari divisions in these areas are huge and hard to navigate, making it difficult for Grama Niladharis to reach all places as urgently as needed. Relief workers distributed supplies where vehicles could go, which meant accessible areas got help while remote communities were left out.

Some people didn’t even try to go to safety centres or evacuation shelters set up in local schools because the facilities there were already so poor. The perceptions of people who did go to safety centres, as shown in the provincial data, reveal that satisfaction was low compared to other affected regions of the country. Less than half were satisfied with space and facilities (42.1%) or security and protection (45.0%). Satisfaction was even lower for assistance with lost or damaged documentation (17.9%) and information and support for compensation applications (28.2%). Only 22.5% were satisfied with medical care and health services below most other affected regions.

Restoring services proved nearly impossible in some areas. Road access was the biggest problem. The condition of the roads was already poor even before the cyclone, and some still haven’t been cleared. Recovery is especially difficult because there’s no decent baseline infrastructure to restore, hence you can’t bring roads and other public facilities back to a “good” condition when they were never good, even before the disaster.

Water systems faced their own complications. Many households get water from natural sources or small community projects, and not the centralised state system. These sources are often in the middle of the disaster zone and therefore got contaminated during the floods and landslides.

Long-term recovery remains stalled. Without basic infrastructure, areas that are still hard to reach keep struggling to get the support they need for rebuilding.

Taken together, what do these testaments mean? Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah. An effective and fair disaster response needs to account for these underlying vulnerabilities. It requires interventions tailored to the historical, economic, and infrastructural realities that marginalized communities face every day. On top of that, it highlights the importance of dealing with climate disasters, given the fact that vulnerable communities could face more devastating impacts compared to others.

(Shashik Silva is a researcher with the Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka)

by Shashik Silva ✍️

Features

Crucial test for religious and ethnic harmony in Bangladesh

Published

1 day 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

1 day 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.