Features
BUSY, WORK AND PLAY – Part 35
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
The First Hello
One mid-morning, I was working in my office busy with menu planning and writing the store’s requisitions for the next day. I was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. She was the Hotel Ceysands General Manager, Captain D. A. Wickramasinghe’s (Wicks) teenage daughter. I had met her twice before when she visited Coral Gardens Hotel with her parents a year ago, in 1976. The three of them also came to visit me when I was in the hospital in January, 1977 recovering from a near-fatal injury. However, we had never spoken with each other before.
“Hello, how are you? Are you enjoying your work at the Ceysands?” she asked, smiling beautifully. With the sea breeze flowing through the open corridors of the hotel, her long, silky hair moved gently covering her beautiful face. While adjusting her hair she giggled and told me, “My mother and I accompanied my father from Colombo this morning. We will be staying at Ceysands for a week this time.” She was a playful 17-year-old, six years younger than me. I decided to be formal with my boss’s only child. I rose up from my seat and said, “Miss Wickramasinghe, do you require anything from the kitchen?” She pulled a chair and sat, uninvited. “Forget about these formalities. Please call me Shani”, she said flirtatiously and giggled again.
After a short pause, she asked “What do people call you?”, I said, “Chandana or Chef.” Then she asked me, “Don’t you have any shorter nicknames?” I replied, “Not really… occasionally a few people have called me CJ or Chandi.” She laughed and said, “Doesn’t Chandi mean naughty? That name suits you!” “No! In Sinhala Chandiya means tough man or thug, but I am not one of those”, I said in an annoyed voice. “I like Chandi. I will always call you Chandi” she said and left my office. That day in early November 1977, I was re-branded as “Chandi” and that name stuck for the rest of my life……..
Guest Activities and Entertainment
Having decided to make Ceysands the most active hotel in the south coast of Sri Lanka, the General Manager – Captain Wicks, Hotel Manager – Alan Silva and I focused on that goal immediately. With the help of six Swedish tour leaders who lived at the hotel, we organized many sport activities for the guests. This included early morning cycle tours and brisk walks in the neighbourhood personally led by Captain Wicks. We also had tennis, beach volleyball, water skiing, surfing, sailing and numerous indoor games. One tour leader was the Resident Manager for their entire tour group operation in Sri Lanka and another tour leader specialized in water sports. Captain Wicks was an excellent tennis player and he usually found a guest for a match every afternoon. We worked very hard and in between played hard. Mixing work with fun is a good formula in hospitality.
We also played beach rugby occasionally, especially when some of the corporate executives from John Keells and Walkers Tours visited us. Some of these colleagues were outstanding rugby players like Jagath Fernando. Jagath was a brilliant fly half for Royal College, the CR & FC and the Sri Lankan national rugby team. He started his career at John Keells as a tea taster but climbed the corporate ladder rapidly (eventually becoming the Deputy Chairman or number two of the whole group). Jagath was also a friend of mine, who spent a couple of days with me when his family visited Jamaica when I was the General Manager of Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, 20 years later.
To enhance the seven dinner buffets each week, we arranged for a variety of bands to perform. In addition to the dinner music, we had lunch time calypso music. After dinner entertainment included bingo games, magic shows, special dance acts, fire limbo and oriental orchestras. A very popular weekly event was the evening serenades on the river.
Evening Serenades on the Pontoon
Once a week, after dinner we took 60 guests on a two-hour river cruise on the pontoon owned and operated by Hotel Ceysands. We arranged a band, a dance floor and a small bar on the pontoon. We floated from the hotel to the Bentota Bridge and then up to the river mouth before returning to the hotel. We decorated the pontoon with twinkling lights which made it very festive and romantic.
I created a special cocktail every week to serve each guest on boarding the pontoon. This one cocktail was included in their ticket price, however, we charged extra for additional cocktails and other beverages. Guests often had several rounds of the cocktails. My bar team had to increase advance preparations to a greater extent, to meet the overwhelming demand.
Every week I gave the week’s special cocktail a romantic name. One night my name for the special cocktail was “Rum Passion Sweetie”. Captain Wicks asked me, “What are the ingredients in your cocktail today?” I said, “dark rum, white rum, passion fruit juice, sugar syrup, orange zest.” He then asked me, “Who is Sweetie?” I simply could not tell him the truth, but when he insisted on knowing, I said, “Well, that’s my girlfriend’s nickname. She likes to remain a secret for the time being.” Only two people on board the pontoon knew the truth.
Flaming Baked Alaska for 128 guests
From the food sales analysis report, I discovered that one item in the à la carte menu – Baked Alaska was the most popular dessert among our guests. I decided to serve it to the guests on the weekly seafood nights. That posed a challenge as most of the newly recruited servers were somewhat nervous about flaming the Baked Alaska in front of the diners. I spoke with one of the Restaurant Supervisors – Nilanthi Perera and said that I would help her with the flaming of the Baked Alaska if she agreed to serve the entire restaurant. She was up to the challenge and on the first night, both of us served flaming Baked Alaska to 128 guests.
After that many of the young, new servers volunteered to be trained in serving Baked Alaska. Nilanthi and I trained those who expressed an interest in doing so. A month later, everybody in the restaurant became experts in flaming Baked Alaska.
Topless Beach
One day, the Resident Manager of the Swedish tour operator came to see Captain Wicks and said, “A few of our guests would like a separate area on the beach for nude sunbathing.” We refused citing that it was against the culture of the country. As a majority of the guests at the hotel were from his group, Walkers Tour gave him a lot of prominence and he was powerful. Eventually, we agreed to reserve a small area within the hotel premises well covered with mangrove trees as a private, topless beach, on a trial basis. We told him that if we received any complaints from the locals, we would close it.
I always felt that it was not a good idea. In my view any initiative to satisfy guest needs should blend well with the local culture. In my role, I was asked to coordinate the food and beverage service to the private, topless beach. I arranged for the service to be from the nearby pool bar. Very soon many male servers requested transfers to the pool bar!
88 on Speedboats
I was impressed with Ceysands’ boatmen who trained guests to drive the speed boats. “Chef, would you like to try driving a speedboat?” When one of them asked me that, I jumped into the boat without batting an eyelid. He trained me in the basics and I acquired the skills quickly. The next day, I learnt to drive faster while moving the boat in the figure of an eight. Eventually, I was able to do a perfect 88 on the river.
At one point I even thought of buying a second-hand speedboat at the price of Rs. 35,000 thus using all of my savings since I was a trainee waiter. Captain Wicks totally discouraged me as he thought that it was an unwise investment. He said, “Chandana, as long as you don’t overdo it, you may use a hotel speedboat for your new hobby when the guests are not renting.”
The Chief Accountant of the hotel felt that it was an unnecessary, additional expense to the hotel. Captain Wicks considered factors such as my doing long shifts seven days a week, increasing food and beverage sales and managing food cost efficiently, to justify his decision in giving me this additional job benefit. Captain Wick told the Chief Accountant, “This is the final decision, your direct superior, Priya Edrisinghe (Finance Director of Walkers Tours) agrees with me.”
Another Near Death Experience
I was amazed one day to see how quickly some tourists were able to master water skiing. When a boatman and skiing instructor asked me, “Chef, do you want to learn to water ski?” I hesitated, as I wasn’t a good swimmer. “Don’t worry Chef! With the life jacket, you will be fine in case you fall” he encouraged me.
My first attempt to water ski was a disaster. After managing for a few feet, I lost my balance and fell. The only thing I could think of was that the depth in the middle of the river was 30 feet. As I panicked the life jacket was not much of a help. I sank but came up slowly. Fearfully, I couldn’t see the speedboat any more. I sank again and as I came up for the second time, I vaguely remembered someone holding one of my arms.
That was not only my first attempt to water ski, but also the last in my whole life. I never got into a river again. Years later our house in Oakville, Canada had a large backyard underground swimming pool. My wife and children always laughed when I refused to join them in the deep end, traumatized by my fear of the depth of water…
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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