Nisadas

Some more photos from yesterday…

During a rare and painfully brief moment when the roads cleared, I was able to glimpse an enterprising citizen who’d found some alternate means of transport.

For the benefit of people who don’t read Sinhala, this bus is from Sigiriya. That’s a very long way from Colombo.

For a large number of people, getting home was not going to be a pleasant ride:

Come to think of it, horses and ponies are quite fun to ride. Wonder how much they cost? With the rise in oil prices, I’m sure there are many cost benefits to be considered…

I just might check with the authorities if riding animals is street-legal…

4.00pm

The roads seem to be blocked. Seriously – for 177 travelers anyway.

I knew something was up when the road leading to Independence square was decorated with blue. Suspicions were confirmed when Pat came over and informed us that the roads were to be closed at 2.00pm because of a meeting.

Went out at around 1.00pm to get some lunch and noticed all the school vans full of kids, heading home. Judging by the speed at which the Horton Place road packed up, it would seem that almost everyone is intent on getting home soon. Spoke to a policeman who said things will clear up by around 4.00pm.

This part of Colombo seems to be emptying.

In terms of numbers, I suppose they are being replaced by the people coming into Colombo from various districts – ergo the buses with little blue ribbons and blue banners. There was even one (ribbon-less) bus from Dambulla. Don’t see much of those around Town Hall.

Notice the direction the vehicles are headed. What is normally a two way road is now very much one way…

Judging from the fact that this guy in the Pajero is headed the other way and followed by more traffic, looks like the whole “One Way” and traffic situ is due to drivers with a weird sense of direction more than anything else.

I hope that a long walk will not be part of my “getting home” procedure today.

UPDATE
In case you haven’t figured it out – the Sri Lanka Freedom Party is having a big shindig in connection with its 54th anniversary.

The effect on those of us who stayed on, refusing to let some political rally disrupt our work schedule? Travel home would be a life threatening experience if we took the bus.

Prabhath and I took the 177, with the objective of heading for Kollupitiya. No such luck. Just after passing Barista’s the bus takes a turn and into a by road – close to the Japanese embassy. We’re stuck there for some time, causing most of the people – who’re headed for Kollupitiya or somewhere else along the 177 route to get off disgruntled.

The 177 heads on through previously uncharted territory through Thummulla to Bamabalapitiya junction – one passenger insisting to the others that they can get to Galle road, while the conducter is distraught at all these people getting certainly more mileage than what they’ve paid for.

There were buses from Paathadumbara, Halawatha (Chilaw), Matara, Galle, Gampaha and various other outstations along the way to Bamba. All parked by the side of the roads and empty. Meanwhile, there were large crowds of people at bus halts waiting to catch buses, whilst the buses plying the other routes were simply overflowing. I’m not always very up to date on the news, but I think the railway strike must still be on and causing even more inconvenience to commuters everywhere.

Once we got to Bamba, the crowd at the bus halt stretched from the crossing opposite Unity Plaza right up to the other end (where Ceylinco Savings Bank used to be). A veritable sea of people. The overflowing buses, leaning so dangerously that the people hanging from the exits(entrances? doors?) have to bend their knees to avoid touching the tarmac with their toes, told us implicitly that we’d be around for a long time.

Occassionally there would be state buses passing by, mostly empty and “Samurdhi” stickers on the windscreen. The few people discouraged anyone trying to get in, but it seemed some people – possibly those living further down south – talked their way in for a ride.

The ubiquitous three wheelers were all taken on the way towards Galle. So we crossed the road, walked towards Banana Leaf and managed to find an empty one. Convinced the chap to take the Marine Drive and take us home. Got a pretty good deal too.

A quick look at Kottu reveals some pics (of what looks like higher resolution than my camera phone) up on Flickr featuring some of the buses I’ve mentioned. If I’ve got my facts right, they’re from Indi’s flickr photostream, so I’m sure he’ll have something to say – after all, his trip home (in the direction opposite to mine) couldn’t possibly have been a jolly ride.

Anyway, on the way home we had a small chat with the Three Wheeler driver. The dude is from Peliyagoda and had come to Colombo on some other business. It seems his last visit to Colombo was also punctuated by inconvenience, thanks to the “Jana Bala Meheyuma”. He sarcastically pointed out how the very people committed to serving the general public are so committed to causing inconvenience.

But his most insightful remark was made while passing another sea of people stranded at the Dehiwala bus halt: “Oya genapu lakshayen manapa lebunata duk windina aya laksha dhahayake manapa nethi wenawa”. Loosely translated, this would mean something on the lines of “For the hundred thousand votes they earn from bringing people in, they’ll lose a million votes from people who’ve had to suffer because of it”. Hyperbole to some extent, but struck a chord nevertheless.

I’ve never been a fan of politics or politicians…

Seeing as how the political situation in Sri Lanka is going, I just had to write something about it. But of course, I know so little and mostly hear about things so late that they’re old news by the time I find out.

In this context, I found the following quotes fascinating, especially since it seems that there is a career option that has maintained a sense of tradition.

• “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” Charles De Gaulle
• “Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” Alfred E. Newman
• “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” Ernest Benn
• “Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important.” Eugene McCarthy
• “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” John Kenneth Galbraith (emphasis added)
• “The word ‘politics’ is derived from the word ‘poly’, meaning ‘many’, and the word ‘ticks’, meaning ‘blood sucking parasites‘.” Larry Hardiman (emphasis added)
• “Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. “ Paul Valery
• “I’ve seen many politicians paralyzed in the legs as myself, but I’ve seen more of them who were paralyzed in the head.” George Wallace
• “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Winston Churchill
• “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Aesop
• “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Ronald Reagan

Interesting, isn’t it? You’ll find the entire list from which these were excerpted here.

It would seem that time does not take its toll on this ancient practice. Regardless of the boundaries of time and geographical location, people take up this profession, and so many fall prey to its charms.

Politics – a topic as old as civilisation.