Beauts battle; request for the truth and due punishment

I had two Sri Lankans living overseas inquiring as to whether there were no strong comments, nay criticism against the much money-consuming National Day celebrations. They keep tabs reading our newspapers, maybe accessing social media and discussing matters, but they want to know stuff from the horses, in Cass’s case, mare’s mouth as to the goings-on in the way of rumblings in this Paradise Island. I replied there were a couple of non-approving letters to the Editors; even vituperation on Facebook, but not much. Cass surmised that people must have been celebrating nationalism and independence, watching the government’s long and costly show with exposure to Omicron.

Missed sorely by Cass was the singing of the National anthem in Tamil and even more, the remembering, by at least laying flowers at the statue of the Father of the Nation, which stood cheek by jowl with the VVIP’s at the parade. Such a gesture would have been appropriate and proved all is not political. Independence and the years following were successful in large measure due to DS Senanayake. Why not pay homage to him for this, never mind his political party. Nein, netha and nay! Everything is politicised through and through!

Two beauties (certainly not cuties) battle

So Rosy Senanayake is pitched against Pushpika de Silva. Rosy has been forced into the fray and we are all rooting for her, at least ole Cass is. Maybe, on this side female voices and cheering (hope not screeching) will resound while on Pushpika’s side the male sound will dominate – some Cass is sure – derisively. She may have a political trumpet or two (certainly not Green Jumbos’); but one thing Cass vouches for – politicians of his ilk who conducted her in short shorts to examine the gallows at Welikada will not bother to cheer her on. Use and discard is a maxim among the powerful. If very pleasing, a crumb or two may be flung in her whining way; no more.

Rosy has demanded a thumping amount in damages from Pushpika. Denting damages! I suppose Pushpika is rich enough to pay it all and save her skin; her untamed mouth leading her to this plight.

She accused Rosy of coming over to the final selection of international Mrs World, after winning the title here in a hair’s breadth, so to say. Remember how the crown was scraped off her expensive coiffure and placed on another and then replaced then or elsewhere; Cass does not recall. This tussle because of the fact that the crowned girl was not married but divorced. The matter was settled in her favour and off went Pushpika to the international contes.

Rosy sure would have been invited as a distinguished guest as our first Mrs World. But Push contorts that in an interview she gave, the video of which Cass watched, where she implies that she invited Rosy (paid her ticket too!) and Rosy did the dirty on her – deprived her of the fourth place by influencing the judges. That statement is so representative of what pertains over here in surmising and deed. Can one bribe international beauty pageant judges? Cass does not believe so.

Cass has written much on this continuing incident since this is trending among young un’s with nothing much upstairs and with bouncy buoyant bodies bared at the mere snap of a strap.

The older winners of beauty pageants were absolutely beautiful of face and character and had good bodies from which exuded eastern modesty. Remember Ms Pelpola, who very nearly won a beauty title in London, but was unwell that day? Maureen Hingert did Ceylon proud and Rosy, who was an intelligent woman then and remains so. Not even the slightest trace of cheapness in her; she maintained and maintains her dignity. Her not being able to decipher a sum from its zeroes and her extravagant refurbishing of toilets in the Mayor’s residence we can keep out of the picture as it is not relevant to the issue at hand.

Persistence for the truth

Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith sent a sharp message which was evident at National Day Celebrations on 04 Feb. He did not go to the Independence Square to attend the celebrations which to him doesn’t hold water with so many maimed and suffering due to bombings that could very well have been prevented. Swords had been imported in bulk, passing them off as sugarcane cutters, he said. About a month after Easter of 2019, Cass and a couple of friends visited the Katuwapitiya Church on their way to Negombo. A priest there authoritatively said that the Archbishop, working tirelessly, had prevented a blood bath by cautioning and calming the furious Catholics who wanted to go on rampage against Muslims. Even Buddhists would have joined. But the Cardinal, seeing very well that an extension to the mayhem and labelling the then government as incapable of ensuring the country’ security was inciting a retaliation by Catholics, restrained the mobs who respected him. He was joined later by a couple of Buddhist monks. A blood bath would have resulted.

Cass heard him in a video saying that he wants the persons who allowed the massacre to accept blame or be proved blameworthy, and punished; and the mastermind behind it be revealed. In The Island, a writer in the opinion section termed this a dream of the Cardinal’s. Did he mean a good and worthy dream or a pipe dream of the never never kind?

Corporate good deed

Cassandra awoke rather late in the day to the fact it’s already the second month of the year and she had no diary. She had many such given her, long ago, then a lone ex-bank manager of a nephew was generous to her. Nothing from him. So she took it upon herself to enquire from a financial company that she has a deposit or two with. Such businesses would gift diaries to depositors. The answer she received from a well spoken woman at the other end of the telephone connection was that they had stopped the practice long ago. Instead the money that would have been spent by Central Finance PLC on tokens to clients was being spent on school necessities which were gifted to deprived schools in poor far away villages. How great and good! I asked her permission to mention this in the press and again sweetly said, “Yes, you may.”

We in Sri Lanka still have the concerned, the charitable, the persons conscious of the deprivation that many suffer.

See you next Friday with, hopefully less gossip and more good news.