Features
My Grandmother in her Kitchen
Jayantha Perera’s delightful article in last Sunday’s Island about how his grandmother made jaadi in her Paiyagala home was absorbingly interesting, nostalgic too. He said he still smells that extra pungent kind of dried fish which when fried was the best of a meal. Reading his article, a conjured up curry smell wafted below my nose – not jaadi though. Accompanying the whiff was a vision that passed through my remembering mind: my maternal grandmother in her warm kitchen.
Their home
My maternal grandparents lived in Boyagama, one mile from Peradeniya. The house had an open verandah supported by four tall white columns which had the less decorative Ionic ornate tops. The middle door led to my Aththa’s domain: sitting room, office, bedroom, dining room with a shrine room tucked beside it. The door at the left led to a newly built wing lived in by two uncles. The right hand door led to the vee maduwa – a large room with cupboards above for storing paddy.
This led to the pantry beside which on one side were three bedrooms and on the opposite side the kitchen. The doors leading from the verandah were used by relatives and respected visitors A side door to the paddy stocked room was used by the upper echelon of servers. A door from the back yard opening into the pantry was for manual labourers and servants. A fourth door led to the place where paddy was pound which was adjacent to the meda midula and used by the padu women who converted paddy grain to rice using mortar and pestle.
While Aththa lived in comfort and had as his domain a Yati Nuwara Korale, Amma as we called our grandmother, mother being Mamma, ruled her kitchen area. We should have called her Aththa or Athamma but my siblings and I used this more intimate term.
The kitchen proper was a large room with a cowdunged floor and five hearths build at floor level along one wall. Above this was the dum messa with hoisted up mats and such like, also tucked in the corner a kurini petti of delicacies and bundles of jaggery, treacle tied up in arecanut spathes – absolutely non porous and non spilly. Especially when grandchildren were holidaying, a cupboard in the pantry had containers of sweets – kavun, aggala, and lots of other goodies, the crème de la crème being of course, unduvel.
Our Amma (Athamma really) was a small, very fair, eternally active person always neatly dressed in a sari with jacket, bodice and petticoat festooned with hand crotched lace. Aththa was very tall, very imposing with a flowing beard and dressed in a Palayakat sarong at home with a silver havadiya wound many times around his waist. Going out he wore a tweed cloth and coat with a watch in one pocket. She too would dress herself to the nines when she went for a wedding. I saw her once thus, in a rich Indian silk, decked in jewellery made by the galadda (goldsmith caste), seated on the verandah of the house.
THE Kitchen
It’s her kitchen I mean to write about and culinary specialties. I mentioned the ground level hearths. The last one to the left was always kept glowing with paddy husks (dahaiya) alight. Over it hung a black kettle, eternally on the boil. The room was large and always rather smoky but we loved the comfort and warmth within with a fat cook woman and one or two young girls bustling around.
The latter were my friends. They’d sneak in bringing us three siblings a saucer of blobs of semisolid jaggery as it was being made. When oil was extracted by stirring for long scraped coconut or king coconut kernel over a fire, the residue was a dream tasty sludge. This was supposed to upset one’s stomach but the kitchen friends would smuggle this delicacy too, to us.
All the coconut oil needed for cooking and hair dressing was made in-house, so also treacle and jaggery. Not much sugar was bought. A man of the panna caste (learnt much later) would climb the few kitul trees in the vast compound and tap the inflorescences. Amma would give us a cup each of the thelijja – newly brought down, unfermented sap. She considered it healthy and she was right, even though vitamins and such like were not known to her. This was boiled down and treacle made, or boiled longer till it became semisolid and poured into moulds to produce ‘sophisticated’ patterned jaggery or in cleaned half coconut shells to harden into hakuru bewas.
The vegetable garden and dairy were under grandmother’s jurisdiction. True, most of the vegetables needed including chilies, lime and tomato were home grown but potato, onions of both kinds, garlic, salt and some other stuff like dried fish was bought from P S Fernando Store in Kandy. Spices – cardamom nutmeg, cloves, ginger, tamarind – were home grown; cinnamon bought.
A milk giving cow was always in the dairy but when one of his daughters was expecting a baby, Aththa would buy a cow to yield milk of the correct consistency for the new mother so she could breast feed her infant. The milking man not arriving one day and the udder full cow mooing, grandmother took the milking pail and went to the cow, placed the stool beside her, sat on it, and was about to stretch her hands to the cow’s underside when the creature gave a hefty kick sending poor Amma somersaulting and landing very undignified. Women ran to her rescue. Aththa did not have to tell her the dairy was not within her rule!
Curries Polos,
the young jak fruit, was selected from trees known to yield super fruits for cooking. The skin was sliced off, the inside cut into right sized pieces and plenty of coconut milk and condiments used in the curry. I don’t remember how Grandmother did it but my sister would tie all the spices in a cloth bag and let it be boiled with the pieces of polos. An absolutely aromatic ambula had to have the pieces of immature jak reddish in colour, of the very correct softness, and the gravy, red, with a film of oil on top, with of course a delicious smell emanating.
The major elements that turned out such a curry were ath guna–skill and good luck of the cooking person – and the seasoned pot being placed overnight on a glowing dahaiya hearth. Usually the cooking was done outdoors since the pot was extra large, but the final simmering was indoors. A little before the curry was fully cooked, pieces of coconut about two inches long were thrown into the pot.
Two other special curries were katu puhul –a spicy curry of chunky pieces of ash pumpkin which was rid of its skin whole, then vigorously pricked with a fork and cut to pieces. The redish gravy was excellent. A kind of ala kola, large leaves off a marsh plant were picked, washed, rolled into cigar shapes, sun dried and then cooked dry. These two curries with others like karola badun were a must when rice and curry was taken to a relative’s home in a kurini pettiya – reed woven, circular containers.
Served Lunch
I have to mention how the Queen of the Mahagedera kussiya served lunch. We had dinner at table, serving ourselves or being served. Breakfast too which was invariably kiributh made in different forms, like blobs rolled in cut arecanut spathes with polpani inside. But lunch was different in the way it was laid out for us. Grandfather had his lunch in his domain, dished out separately in fine china, table laid with silver cutlery. He did not use his fingers when eating by himself. He would invite us kids but we shied away. Amma’s domain was best for meals.
Maybe there were many outsiders for lunch. Vast amounts of rice and curry were cooked. The kitchen helping girls would lay out the plates: fine china for uncles and any visitors, decorative china soup bowls for Mother and aunts present, and bakelight plates for us kids. The servants had belek pigang. I shudder now but it went unnoticed then – the way it was and not complained about – round shaped arecanut spathes for the rice pounding padu women and garden working men.
Grandmother would sit on a stool surrounded by these plates laid on a mat on the ground. The rice thambaheliya (brass pot) would be overturned on a washed, woven square mat with raised sides and the rice evened with a spoon. Then Grandma would ladle the rice to the plates, and the cook woman the curries. The kitchen was filled with delicious aromas and we kids sat on very low kolombas with three legged stools holding our plates.
Those were the days, my friends and Ajantha Perera, of spacious living, ordered and secure. Corruption was not heard of; arguments and fights mild and easily settled; politics left severely to politicians and persons knowing their place and work to be done. However, the caste system accepted by all was an unjust aberration; not even those who were deemed of low caste seemed to notice discrimination. Free education and marching time fortuitously did away with this ignominious societal blemish.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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