Early marriage, starting a govt. job and enjoying the country with friends

Dec 26, 2023

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Excerpted from Memories that linger: My journey through the world of disability by Padmani Mendis

After marriage, there were two matters that Nalin felt we should attend to as soon as possible. One was that I should get a driving license. I knew he thought that this was to his advantage because then he would not need to drive me around. This, his motive, was not an issue. I loved driving and still do. I have decided that I will continue to drive until my reflexes tell me I should not.

I had actually been driving from the time I was hardly a teenager. At our home in Kalubowila there were always at least three or four cars parked in the garden at any one time – owned by my mother, by Uncle Lyn, by my brothers, by guests and of course Uncle Geoff's blue Plymouth. These had to be moved in and out of two garages; or moved to and fro to let another be taken out of the gate and so on. Now here those three brothers of mine (older than I but younger than my other brothers) – the very same who would not teach me to ride a bike – taught me to drive a car. Sheer exploitation this was, and I fell for it; enjoying the task of moving the cars here and there, using a cushion to enable me to see over the steering wheel and at the same time to reach the pedals.

So now, nearly 20 years later, getting a driving license was as easy as pie. A few formal lessons from Mr. Stephenson, a very efficient teacher, was all I needed. He arranged a test for me. I recall the Inspector took me down Horton Place for a short distance, asked me to reverse the car into a side road, and that was it. I had my driving license. Nalin was happy that he did not need to be my chauffeur when he did not want to be. He did not know that from my perspective, the license enabled me to go where I wanted to, when I wanted to. It was advantageous to both of us.

The second matter he had in mind was to enable me to get the work I wanted as a physiotherapist with employment in government service. My previous experience four years ago taught us that this would be no easy task. We had to "know" someone. That "someone" we had. It was another one of my mother's numerous cousins who was the very well-known and charming Prof. C.C. de Silva. Uncle Chummy as we knew him, was one of the best paediatricians this country has known. Nalin and I paid him a visit with Nali Akka.

"Oh," he said, "you are Pansy Akka's baby. You know she had so many dolls. When we played together I wanted to play with her dolls and she would not let me." I thought to myself. I can understand why – she would have thought, why should a boy want to play with dolls?" When I asked him for the help I needed, he said that would be easy. He spoke with the responsible Deputy Director in the Department of Health and I had my letter of appointment in no time.

Coming to live next door to my in-laws

My father-in-law's name was Garret and my mother-in-law's was Bella. This is how everybody knew her. I think very few knew that her name was Muriel. I learned later that my father and my father-in-law had been born in the same year, 1893. He was well-known as the historian Dr. G.C. Mendis. His interest in the subject earned for him a special grant in the late 1920s to further his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He gained his doctorate in 1931 for a thesis called, "A Historical Criticism of the Mahavamsa".

Later, in 1957, the same institution conferred on him the degree "Doctor of Literature (D. Litt)". He taught at the Universities of Colombo and Peradeniya until he retired in 1952. This was before Nalin entered university in 1953. Nalin studied history at the University of Peradeniya. And can still talk on the subject with authority. It could be in his blood.

When he retired, Nalin's father built a residence for the family at 17, Swarna Road. This he would gift to Nalin when he passed on. Attached to the house itself he built two apartments for his daughters Sita and Deepthi also to be gifted later. When we married, Nalin and I came to live in one of these apartments, 17/1. I was now calling them Daddy and Mummy as Nalin did. The wedding gifts we were given by family and friends helped us furnish our new home.

Daddy and Mummy and Nalin's sisters between them gifted us an exquisite dining table with six chairs. In Burma Teak and made by Apothecaries, the best furniture maker of the time. We added to that a matching tea trolley. It was – may be still is – the custom that a wife would bring with her the bedroom furniture, and my siblings had seen to that. We still use all these pieces every day, polished regularly and still looking as good as new.

Mummy carried out another custom which was that the mother-in-law should furnish the newly acquired daughter's kitchen. And from that gift too, I still have in use many utensils. Most of the essential utility electric items like kettles, toasters, irons and crockery and cutlery came from family and friends. Some gifted cash and this was handy for us to fill the gaps. One Sunday we drove up to Weweldeniya and purchased four cane chairs, comfortable for guests. They cost thirty rupees each.

Learning from my mother-in-law

I could not have hoped for better neighbours to help me start being a wife. Mummy was an expert cook and was always ready to teach me a new dish. Particularly those she knew her son enjoyed. Came the era of no imports, of economising, and of shortages in the 1970s and she taught me innovative cookery. And how to make substitutes for desserts and cakes – cherries using papaw, candied peel with jambola and so on. Her love cake and Christmas cake were delicious. From her I learned to make black pork curry, parippu rice and fish mustard curry. But more than that I learned the secrets of home-made bacon, ham, corned beef and salt beef.

And she helped me entertain. With the size of my family joined with his, the menu was often lamprais. Mummy had an original Dutch recipe for it from her friend Kathleen Peglott. There was a man living down on the canal bank who would be an unending source of banana leaves. We cooked the dishes over a period of some days so only the rice and the packing had to be done on the last day – and of course the baking. We had dozens to make for one meal –50 or 60 lamprais would easily be consumed during a single lunch. Many guests had to have two each. My nephew Rohan had three for his lunch.

And now, Nalin and I share one. And that too is too much. We still often entertain with lamprais. But whatever the number we require, we order these from a professional caterer. To make them at home is too labour intensive. That is my excuse.

Being a government employee

After getting our new home organised, I was anxious to start work in Ceylon once again. I had been assigned to work at what was called the "Department of Physical Medicine, Special" located in the upstairs of the Orthopaedic Clinic on Regent Street. The "Special" I believed referred to the orthopaedic service it was designed to provide. The physician in charge was Dr. L.P.D. Gunawardene, Ceylon's second physician in physical medicine. The first was Dr. Frank Perera and he already had the DPM "General" which served the whole of the General Hospital.

The administration of physiotherapy in the DPM Special was in the charge of "MAA" Fernando, one of the gentlest men I have met. I worked with him in his room and he sent to me all those male patients who needed physio for one arm or both. If the same male patient needed physio for one or two legs he was sent to a colleague in the same room.

Females were treated in another room, while yet another room at the end of the corridor was where patients with stroke and such conditions were treated. This was staffed by a physical training instructor and a walking training instructor to accept referrals. To assist them they had one or two junior physios. This was a very busy department. Very often Dr. LPD as he was called, would summon a physio to his room and hand over to that physio a "special" patient. This would be someone known to him or who was sent by someone known to him or by another eminent person.

Nalin and I were both now government employees. As such, our salaries were very low, even in relation to the relatively low cost of living at the time. Nalin had a monthly salary of Rs. 800, but after the car loan and other deductions, he brought home a little over 600 rupees every month. On Nalin's pay day he came home and handed me his whole salary. From which I would ensure that his purse had always a small sum of money – at least 10 rupees – every day for any expense he may incur.

I started at the bottom of the physio pay scale with 252 rupees per month. But we were surprisingly comfortable. The money I brought home every month covered the cost of maintaining our vehicle. We had no problems buying our food and other provisions at the beginning of the month, for cinema and other entertainment and for a little travel now and then.

But there were months however when cash was tight. If we wished to go the cinema at the end of a month for example and were unsure of our financial position, we poured out on our bed all the cash we had between us and sometimes counted even the coins to ensure we could afford the cost of the tickets. In spite of our fears, as I recall, we always had the few rupees we required. I think it was Rs 3.50 each for the best seats.

We were well satisfied with what we had and with our lives.

Living in our changing country

It was while I was working at the DPM Special that Ceylon gave the world its first woman prime minister. With her Government, we had a new Constitution in 1972. With this, Ceylon became Sri Lanka; then plantations were nationalised; ownership of land was limited to fifty acres per adult family member; ownership of houses was limited to one for each family member and one extra; many landowners and house owners suffered a mental breakdown at having to accept the extent of their losses; the economy became a closed one and collapsed; foreign exchange could not be exported; citizens were asked to tighten their belts; citizens could not eat rice on three days of the week; and we grew sweet potato and manioc and corn on every inch of land available in our garden to have these to replace the starch and nutrients that rice provided as our staple food.

But the country survived; in spite of all the strictures, its people survived the hardships. We had an election in 1977. The country used the vote to say no to socialism of that kind and elected a government that would open the economy and give the people their democratic freedoms – for most of the time as it turned out.

The value of friends and friendships in the early years

On our marriage it turned out that more of Nalin's friends than mine became "our" friends. I had drifted somewhat from my school friends during my sojourn in the UK. This would change later and the bonds we formed at school did withstand the test of time. I am back to where we were with my friends. Meanwhile Nalin had an extensive social network as a bachelor and it seemed as it were, that I moved into his social network. Having spent so many years abroad as a student, I had no real social network at home in Colombo at the time of our marriage.

Quite quickly his friends were mine. Another difference – we observed that whereas many young couples spent their time together as friends in each other's homes and moving around Colombo, our friendships took us travelling out of Colombo. This had much to do with the shared common interest in travel within our country that kind of sealed our friendships and may be made them what they were.

Most of our early holidays we spent with our friends Mervyn and Therese (Perera). We had much in common. We did not have children and lived on the low salaries of government officers. Little cash to spare but lived life to the full. We made use of the three annual railway warrants or passes allowed to such as us who worked in government and travelled by train to places that would be difficult to reach by car. We stayed, usually a week at a time, in circuit bungalows available to government officers at a low price.

Pattipola, the highest point on the railway was one. Ohiya not far below was another. Nuwara Eliya was yet another and so on. Not having the use of a vehicle was not a loss as we explored what we could of surrounding towns and areas by train. We spent many hours morning and evening, walking. Mervyn and Nalin had much in common, both taking a keen interest in horse racing. They had much to talk about. Mervyn used racing parlance in his conversations. He called me a "stayer" because I could outdo them in the length of the walk and kept a steady pace, always at the front, leading the group.

Another holiday was to spend time with Nada and Indra. Nada was at the Jaffna railway station to greet us off the overnight express. He worked in the Petroleum Corporation and had booked us to stay at the guest house run by the Cement Corporation. In his Austin A40 he showed us all the sights that had to be seen on the peninsula. My most memorable is the Keerimalai Springs used for bathing by hundreds of people wishing to avail of its mineral benefits. In the evening, his charming wife Indra would welcome us to have a meal with them in their home – could it please be local Jaffna food was our request.

Many years later we spent time with Stanley and Hermi (Unamboowe), travelling always in their Nissan SUV. Stanley loved to drive. Hermi sat by his side and was his navigator. Together we enjoyed holidaying in the south on more than one occasion, to Hambantota and from there to Bundala for bird watching. North-east to Giritale many times too staying at the Giritale Hotel run by Carsons where Stanley was a former Chairman, and exploring the surrounding countryside. More often we just relaxed in the hotel, sitting on the wide-open verandah and watching the many varieties of birds that came to the Giritale Lake. Stanley could identify almost all the birds that visited there.

Sometimes with them and at times with other friends we enjoyed the wild life parks of Yala, Wilpattu, Wasgamuwa and Uda Walawe. Together we had the joy of watching elephant, leopard, deer of many varieties, an occasional sloth bear and beautiful birds-a-plenty.

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JVP 1971 insurrection: April 9 at Tangalle

The death of my mother and returning home as a qualified physiotherapist

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Two years into the military recapturing power, there does not seem to be a let-up to the torment of the people of Myanmar. The latter are putting up sustained and spirited armed opposition to the military but the ruling junta is yet to contemplate backing down from its harshly repressive treatment of the resisting public.

Thus far, some 2,600 Myanmarese have been killed since the military coup of February 20, 2021. The latest reports from the provinces are that the military is making little headway in its efforts to quell the civilian resistors who have come together in a collectivity known as the People's Defence Forces. International TV footage illustrates in disquieting detail the rising suffering of the people in the military crackdown, which has apparently grown in brutality. Evidence is abundant that the most heartrending casualties are women and children.

The more sensitive sections of the international community have begun to look askance at the UN in these unprecedented times of tribulation for Myanmar, but to no avail. After all, it should come as no surprise if the UN Security Council seems to be suffering from a species of inner paralysis in this crisis because China and Russia could be counted on to oppose any moves by the rest of the UNSC to step-up pressure on the Myanmarese military to prevent it from persisting in its repressive course.

Besides, the international community would need the cooperation of ASEAN to be of greater assistance to the people of Myanmar. However, with ASEAN preferring to pursue what seems to be a ‘gradualist approach’ to managing the crisis with the assistance and engagement of the junta, quick international action to ease the suffering of the Mynamarese could not be expected at this juncture.

The ‘wake-up call’ is to democratic opinion the world over and not merely to the West. It ought to be plain that the democratic process in Myanmar has been dangerously disrupted once again and that the people of Myanmar must be assisted by the democratic world to regain their inalienable rights.

Further crippling sanctions on the junta need to be implemented and in view of the obduracy of the latter it would be in order for international democratic forces to succor the resistance in Myanmar in particularly the short and medium terms, in the manner in which Ukraine's resistance is being backed at present by like-minded quarters. However, all needs to be done with a view to restoring the democratic process in Myanmar. A democratic Myanmar is the final end that needs to be sought.

Meanwhile, Myanmar must be prevented from degenerating into another East-West proxy war. This needs to be guarded against in view of the mounting suffering of the Myanmarese people. Hopefully, the junta would come to recognize that it would be a ‘no win’ situation for all sections that matter in Myanmar and opt in earnest for a negotiated settlement.

The hope of the peace-loving world is likely to be that the ‘writing on the wall’ would be understood by all the permanent members of the UNSC. If they could bring themselves to act unitedly in the name of a political settlement, Myanmar's suffering could be mitigated swiftly.

As they go along, all stakeholders would need to take into consideration the utter material poverty of Myanmar. As matters stand, it is among the poorest of the poor of the world. It is in fact worse off than Sri Lanka, which could be currently described as a ‘number one international mendicant’.

However, as in the case of Sri Lanka, Myanmar's statistics ‘bleed’. In 2017, 24.8 percent of its population lived below the natural poverty line. For every 1000 babies born in 2021, 42 died before their 5th birthday, it is reported, for example. However, the country's ruling junta shows no signs of reining-in its proclivity to beef-up its defences.

While China and Russia are Myanmar's principal international allies, the indications are that its arms supply chains cut across the East-West frontier and link-up with global arms manufacturers in both major political hemispheres. That is, some major arms manufacturers and corporates the world over today readily supply arms or their parts to Myanmar, whom many of their government officially tend to shun as an international outcast of sorts.

Detailed disclosures are provided on this score by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), a body of international experts on Myanmar, which has set itself the task of supporting Myanmar ‘In its fight for human rights, peace, democracy, justice and accountability.’ It calls for ‘a global three-cut strategy against the Myanmar junta: cut the weapons, cut the cash and cut the imports.’

In a study titled, ‘Fatal Business: Supplying the Myanmar Military's Weapons Production’, SAC-M reveals, among other things, that machines produced by some companies in Austria, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the US, to name a few such countries, are used by the Myanmar military in manufacturing sophisticated weaponry in its local factories. All such deals are clinched in violation of international arms trade control treaties.

Thus, it could be seen that global arms manufacturers, both East and West, are ‘getting a sizeable cut’ out of the suffering and hunger of the people of Myanmar. The profit motive and business avarice of some corporates in the arms manufacturing business, that is, are no respecters of International Law and shun as irrelevant all moral scruples. Small wonder that the turmoil in Myanmar and like suffering in other war zones are continuing.

The SAC-M's timely revelations should be utilized by global democratic opinion to kick-start their world- wide campaigns for the control and restriction of lethal arms manufacture and proliferation. The West, led by the US, needs to take the lead in this drive to rein-in global arms manufacturers whose avarice to make ‘a quick buck’ out of human fear and suffering seems to know no bounds.

While it stands to reason that power struggles and squabbles among most permanent members of the UNSC very often make it difficult for the latter to work unitedly towards resolving issues in the world's conflict and war zones, nothing prevents them from restraining their countries’ arms producers from acting in violation of the law in the pursuit of profit at any cost. Such acts of humanity could help in bringing relief to long-suffering publics, such as those in Myanmar.

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BY Dr. G. WeerasingheGeneral SecretaryCommunist Party of Sri Lanka

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held from 16th to 22nd October 2022. There is no doubt that the congress was a decisive event in the path of building socialism in China. The main developments or phenomena that happened in China in the 10 years before that congress are as follows;

– Centenary of the Communist Party of Chinese (2021),

– Socialism in China entering a new era,

– China becoming a moderately prosperous country.

The Chinese Communist Party looks at and analyses issues scientifically or dialectically. In this analysis, according to the Chinese Communist Party, the main contradiction in Chinese society is shown as follows.

"That is, that the contradiction between the unbalanced and inadequate development among the provinces on one hand and the growing needs of the people for a better living condition on the other is considered to be the main contradiction". During last 10 years the CPC worked to solve that contradiction and it will continue to work with the same objective for years to come.

Accordingly, the Chinese Communist Party, in the last 10 years;

Provided guidance to build socialism with Chinese characteristics or socialism in China.

Rallied 96 million party members providing leadership on all fronts/sectors.

Worked to lift more than 100 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years (by 2021) in order to eradicate poverty and create a moderately prosperous country in all respects.

Implemented a comprehensive strategy with the following 04 key points;

Building a modern socialist country

Deepening reforms

Strengthening the rule of law

Strengthening the self-governance of the party

Achievements of China under the leadership of CPC – 2012 to 2022

The measures taken in the last 10 years (2012 – 2022) to achieve high-quality development have resulted many achievements and some of them are listed below.

Gross Domestic Product increased from 54 to 114 trillion Yuan

Becoming the second largest economy in the world, accounting for 18.5% of the total world gross domestic product

Raising per capita gross domestic product from 39,800 Yuan to 81,000 Yuan

China has become the number one producer of goods in the world,

Topping the foreign exchange reserve,

Construction of the world's longest high-speed highway and railway systems,

Bringing up the investment for research and development from 1 to 2.8 trillion Yuan and becoming the country with the largest group of people engaged in that work,

Development of manned spacecraft, moon and ocean exploration, ocean exploration, exploration of Earth's interior, supercomputers and quantum computers.

Providing high priority to areas such as people-centered development programme, education, health, employment, care of children and the elderly, housing and social protection.

Life expectancy at birth is 78’2

Annual disposable income increased from 16,500 Yuan to 35,100 Yuan

Deepening the reforms and bringing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics to a mature state and modernising the country's governance systems.

Accelerated opening up of the country and during that period China became the main trading partner of 140 countries and regions.

Strengthening the people's democracy involved in the overall process,

The guidance of Marxism in the field of ideology is more stable,

Self-governance of the party and continuous reforms of the party by itself is essential for the party's progress.

The Communist Party of China held its 20th National Congress in the background of the above-mentioned huge achievements, so there can be no doubt that the preparation of plans and roadmaps for the future was reliable and effective.

Theoretical guidance of the Congress

Marxism has worked based on the following main points in adapting to Chinese conditions and setting the way forward;

The basic ideology of the Chinese Communist Party is Marxism.

China's socialist development was possible because the Chinese Communist Party was able to apply the basic teachings of Marxism to Chinese conditions through theoretical guidance.

Adapting the teachings of dialectical and historical materialism to Chinese conditions

That the Chinese Communist Party is firmly committed to the following four main principles:

Commitment to the Socialist Path

Maintaining the People's Democratic Dictatorship

Maintaining the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party

Being guided by Marxist-Leninist and Maoist ideologies

Maintaining people-centric approach

Treating Marxism as a science, solving problems and while working for the welfare of the Chinese people, Commitment to the entire human society

The tasks of the new era decided by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party;

China's modernisation programme

It was decided to start a massive programme to modernise China. It must be strongly emphasised here that modernisation is not westernisation. The distinctive features of the Chinese modernisation programme are;

The programme is led by the Communist Party of China,

Modernising a large population

Being a modernisation programme for the common prosperity of the entire people

Reforms for peaceful development

To become materially and culturally superior

Modernisation in harmony with the environment

Meanwhile, the other main difference we see between the western modernisation and the Chinese modernisation programme is that the "West" carried out its modernisation programs with the resources gathered through colonial exploitation, while China's modernisation take place using its own resources.

Building a Modern Socialist State in China

Further, the 20th National Congress of the Party decided that the building of a modern socialist state in China will be done through 02 steps.

I. Completion of socialist modernisation – in 2035

II. Becoming a modern socialist state – by 2049 (second millennium goal)

The socialist China will be;

1. Prosperous

2. Strong

3. Democratic

4. Culturally advanced

5. A beautiful country in harmony with environment

Although 2049 is a relatively distant goal, the Congress has become more specific about the desired goals in 2035.

Expected results in 2035

• Greatly boosted economic strength,

• Enhanced capabilities in science and technology,

• Enhanced overall national strength,

• Becoming the most innovative country in the world,

• Modernised economy

New industrialisation

A new level of information technology

New urbanisation

A modern agricultural development

• Modernised governance and developed "whole process people's democracy".

• To become a world leader in education, science, technology, culture, sports and health.

Bringing up disposable per capita annual income

Raising the middle income group as a percentage of the total population

Ensure equal access to basic public services

Ensuring modern living conditions in rural areas

Ensure long-term social stability

Establishing inclusive development and prosperity for all

• Ensuring harmony with the environment and building a beautiful China

• Modernised National Security System

After completing the modernisation programme in 2035, the Chinese Communist Party hopes to build a modern socialist state in China by 2049 and work to lead the world with strength.

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Over the past few years, Hollywood and Indian celebrities, as well as many other world famous pop stars, have been spotted enjoying their vacations, in the Maldives.

Names mentioned include Leonardo DiCaprio, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Cruise, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Beckham and, of course Madonna and Shakira.

Madonna, I’m told enjoyed her $32,000-a-week Maldives holiday, with her family – cycling, sunset picnics on private beaches, infinity pools, luxury spas, etc.

And her daughter, Lourdes, was also seen sipping a fresh coconut (kurumba).

Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum chose the Maldives to mark their first anniversary and this is what she had to say, on her Instagram:

"I’ve been all over the world and stayed at the most beautiful places, but I’ve never seen anything like @ithaafushiprivateisland at @WaldorfAs-toriaMaldives. This private island is truly paradise on Earth! So beautiful, romantic and relaxing here! Feels like a dream! I feel so lucky and blessed to be here with my love celebrating our anniversary."

For Bollywood couple Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, the Maldives was the getaway of choice. With their family, they spent quality time under the sun.

Katrina Kaif revealed the news about her vacation in the Maldives; she took to Twitter to share the news with her fans, worldwide.

Award-winning Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor picked the Maldives to treat her family and celebrate her brother-in-law's birthday

Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani went to the Maldives for a mini Diwali vacation.

The King of Bollywood Shah Rukh had the entire country in an uproar when he arrived with family, in the Maldives, to celebrate his daughter's graduation, and managed to carve out some time to meet with his Maldivian fans.

A bicycle ride for Madonna (right)…in the Maldives

Checking out their comments, got me wondering as to how come we are still not able to attract these big spenders to our scene!

We did have a few come our way, but we need high-end and A-list celebrities visit us.

Some say we need a vibrant night scene to attract the money-spending tourists. If this assumption is correct, how come the big money-spenders head for the Maldives!

These famous personalities hail from countries with vibrant nightlife scenes; or they could visit Thailand, or even Vietnam. Why Sri Lanka?

The money-spenders head for the Maldives because the country's ‘One island, One resort’ setup means no overcrowding. Consequently, celebrities can move around freely and enjoy a private vacation.

Also, I’m told Maldivian resorts take the privacy of all their guests very seriously. That is why many retreats have a no-drone policy. Most places don't even divulge the names of their celebrity guests, even after they have left…and most islands also have a nice mix of common and private areas. From adult-only pools to hidden spots along the beach, celebrities have the alternative to mingle as much or little as they want.

What's more, the top resorts in the Maldives offer unimaginable indulgences where guests can relish culinary affairs, water sports, beaches, unique experiences, and gorgeous overwater villas.

I believe what we need is a purposeful and more dynamic advertising campaign in place – promoting Sri Lanka for its uniqueness. Perhaps, we could then entice celebrities, and big money-spenders, looking for glorious weather, beautiful beaches and some incredible resorts, to check out the ‘Land Like No Other.’

It's still not too late, but we need to think big to get somewhere…or, we get nowhere.

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