Features
CONCERTS, IDOLS, COCONUTS & MARKETING – Part 17
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
Classical Shows
As a young child I virtually grew up on stage. My father was an award-winning playwright, stage producer, director and actor. His other artistic talents such as set and costume designing enhanced the overall quality of his productions. In 1956, his play ‘Janma Bhumi’ was chosen by the government to celebrate 2,500 years of recorded history of Sri Lanka, as a part of Buddha Jayanthi celebrations. With the opening of that play, he became the first-ever to use now famous Lumbini Theatre in Colombo. Growing up in a culturally rich environment meant frequent visits by our family to art galleries, theatres, cinemas and traditional cultural events. My parents also sent my elder sister and I to learn Kandyan dancing. I was lousy at it and gave it up after a few sessions.
During my Ceylon Hotel School (CHS) student years, my favourite show was the first ever solo concert by a Sri Lankan singer – Victor Ratnayake. His concert known as ‘Sa’ (the root or tonic note in the Indian music scale) was first performed in 1973. I saw ‘Sa’ four times over four decades. I had mixed feelings when Victor finally ended ‘Sa’ in the year 2012, with the 1,450th concert. For the final show he chose Lumbini Theater where the first ‘Sa’ was held 39 years before that.
I never had the privilege of talking with Victor, but had the opportunity to work with the other two greatest classical musicians in Sri Lanka – Amaradeva and Nanda Malini. They occasionally entertained the guests at the Hotel Ceysands, during the oriental food events which I organized. I was the Executive Chef and the Food & Beverage Manager of that hotel in late 1970s. Arranging such high caliber classical musicians to entertain tourists was not common in hotels in Sri Lanka.
Western Concerts
I also equally enjoyed western music shows. Those days, we called these ‘Beat Shows’. In addition, my neighbourhood friends used to organize large scale road dances in Bambalapitiya Flats, which had a refreshingly diverse population. A few days ago, I tracked down a pioneer in western music shows in Sri Lanka, now living in USA – Kumar Navaratnam. Kumar used to organize popular beat shows in Colombo in late 1960s and early 1970s. When Kumar saw the iconic performances by Jimmy Hendrix, Carlos Santana, the Who etc. in a documentary film about Woodstock, Kumar was inspired to do something different in Colombo.
Previously having introduced rock and hard rock to Sri Lankan audiences, Kumar planned to organize something big. His ambition was to organize the first-ever Rock Festival from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am at the Havelock Park in Colombo, in the style of Woodstock. Once his friend, then turned rival, Gabo Peiris had the same idea. Eventually one week apart, there were two competing Rock Festivals organized by Gabo and Kumar held at the same venue. Most of my CHS batchmates went with me to both events. I wore a tie and dye tee shirt, a chain with a large peace sign and a pair of old torn jeans with the largest possible bell bottoms (36 inches!).
There were heavy rains during Gabo’s Rock Festival and that enhanced the ‘Woodstock’ type atmosphere and mood of the attendees. While the rock music continued nonstop, we danced in the rain and jumped into small puddles of mud, until dawn. When I asked Kumar last week if he has any photographs from his Rock Festival, he told me, “Machang, I was too drugged to remember or arrange any photos of that festival!” Kumar’s departure to USA at the height of his popularity in the 1970s created a void in the western music scene in Sri Lanka that lasted for some time. Those two festivals are yet to be matched by contemporary rock groups on the island. Kumar remains regarded as a pioneer of Sri Lankan Western music.
Meeting Mark Bostock
In 1973, as the Tournament Secretary, once again I led the organizing committee of the Nationalised Services Rugby Football Club’s annual tournament. I also played for the CHS seven-a-side team, which was one of the fourteen teams that competed for the prestigious trophy. CHS lost to the Bank of Ceylon, in the quarter finals. The chief guest for the tournament was an Englishman well-known in Sri Lanka as a sportsman and a business leader, Mr. Mark Bostock. He was the President of the Ceylon Rugby Football Union and the Chairman of the John Keells, the largest group of companies in Sri Lanka. We shook hands and spoke briefly. I felt that he was impressed with the organization of the tournament.
That brief introduction to Mr. Bostock led me to find employment with John Keells on two occasions during my mid-career in the hotel industry. At the age twenty-five I managed one of John Keells hotels, and befriended Mr. Bostock. He arranged for me to be trained in London with the largest British hotel company – Trust House Forte in the late 1970s. He was the attesting witness when I got married. In the mid-1980s, my family was invited to visit the Bostock family in their home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England and stay overnight with them. We had a great time there. In later years his daughter Clare, who studied hospitality management in the UK, worked at Le Galadari Meridien Hotel, where I worked in mid-1980s.
In 1986, I arranged a small farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bostock, just before his retirement, in Habarana. At that time as the General Manager, I managed the two largest hotels built by John Keells, the Lodge and the Village, Habarana, as well as their farm and Keells food distribution in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka.
Dance Organizing
Towards the end of our second year at CHS, we were very busy organizing the second CHS Graduation Ball. With the experience gained in 1972, my batch had become more efficient at event planning and organizing. We raised more funds through souvenir advertisements and were able to secure the most prestigious and expensive venue in the country – the ballroom of the Hotel Ceylon Inter.Continential. The dance tickets were sold out quickly and the dance was an overall success in terms of attendance, profits as well as finding partners.
Scraping Coconuts at
Lever Brothers
Five of my batchmates and I were able to arrange well-sought after summer internships at one of the best-known multinational corporations operating in Sri Lanka. It was at Lever Brothers, fondly known to many generations of Sri Lankans as ‘The Sunlight Company’, since 1938. At this Anglo-Dutch corporation, Lever Brothers (now Uni-Lever), we were exposed to new employee orientations, training and development as well as, employee benefits. These standards were far superior to what the hotel industry was providing those days.
My main task was scraping coconuts and peeling sweet potatoes for meals of their 1,000 employees. As four meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and mid-night meal) all included curries, they needed a large quantity of grated coconut and coconut milk. Having done the same function throughout the summer of 1973, I became an expert at coconut scraping using the motorized scraper at the Lever Brothers staff kitchen. That machine was my friend, whom I called, ‘NUTS’. We also had to do shift work. Morning and afternoon shifts were good. However, we disliked doing the night shift and delivering midnight snacks to different factories.
Although we worked as trainee staff cooks; we were given some extra benefits. We had our meals at the junior executive meal room. We were also given some excellent supervisory technique training with handouts developed in Europe. I also learnt for the first-time sales concepts, public relations and union relations. At one of our training sessions, the Personnel Manager, asked us, “What is the best for management – negotiating with one union or several unions?”. I quickly raised my hand and answered, “Several!” when the manager asked my rationale for the answer, I said, “Because with several unions, the management can divide and rule”. He disagreed and explained how the management could have better and mutually beneficial industrial relations by dealing with one union. We learnt a lot at Lever Brothers, in addition to scraping coconuts.
Meeting Stanley Jayawardena
During this seventh part-time job, I was fortunate to get an opportunity to briefly meet Mr. Stanley Jayawardena, who later became Unilever Sri Lanka’s first Sri Lankan Chairman. He told interesting and inspiring stories about his remarkable career. He had joined Lever Brothers as a Sales Manager in 1955 with little knowledge in sales. However, over the decades that he worked at Unilever, he became a highly respected Marketing Guru.
He played a dominant role in shaping the destiny of Unilever Sri Lanka. Nine years after this brief meeting, I learnt Marketing from this expert. In 1982 and 1983 I did an Executive Diploma in Business Administration at the University of Colombo and Mr. Stanley Jayawardena taught its Marketing course. He arranged the ex-Marketing people from Unilever Sri Lanka, such as Upali Mahanama, Sri Sangabo Corea to give us guest lectures. That inspired me to study Marketing further with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in UK and eventually become a graduate of the CIM.
Mastering the Concept of Marketing
The seeds of Marketing knowledge and practical tips in Marketing shared by Mr. Stanley Jayawardena, made a significant impact in my career. Most things I did in my mid-career in hospitality management – food festivals, stage productions, food and beverage operations, banqueting sales, were influenced by the basic principles of Marketing. Identifying the market segments and the customer needs and then satisfying those needs while making profits, is a simple, yet a powerful concept.
Having seen the benefit of Marketing knowledge in most things I did, I further studied and practiced Marketing. In the year 1990, I embarked in an MPhil/PhD in Hospitality Marketing at the University of Surrey, UK. Over the next 17 years as a full-time and part-time Visiting Professor/Senior Lecturer/Professor, I taught Marketing in 13 post-secondary educational institutions in eight countries (Schiller International University in UK, International Hotel School in Sri Lanka, Ceylon Hotel School, International Hotel Management Institute in Switzerland, Pegasus Hotel School in Guyana, University of Guyana, The University of the West Indies in Jamaica, Private Hotel School of Aruba, Mona School of Business in Jamaica, Ryerson University in Canada, Canadian School of Management, Ravens University in USA and Niagara College in Canada).
Thirty years after my first meeting with my Marketing Guru, I worked for the Canadian School of Management as their Senior Vice President in Market Development. Thank you for the insight and the inspiration, Mr. Stanley Jayawardena!
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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