Opinion
The Unforgettable Nihal Jayamanne
Time and tide waits for no man. It has been one year since Nihal Jayamanne PC, eminent and senior counsel, a past president of the Bar, a well-loved personality, and a wonderful man, passed away. He is deeply missed, by friends, colleagues and juniors at the Bar, but none so much as by family for whom he was the light that shone brightly. Though the lamp is out, its warmth remains with love and fond memories of times gone by.
Nihal Michael Jayamanne, uncle Nihal to me, came into my life when I was but a toddler. At the time, he was an apprentice of Mr. Samuel J. Kadiragamar QC, and he would bunk his apprentice time with Mr. Kadiragamar at Queens road and walk over to my grandfather’s house to court my aunt Rohini who then was a science undergraduate at the Colombo University and had been introduced to him by his brother who was at the same Faculty at that time. They married and enjoyed 49 plus years of life together, till death parted them. She was the wind beneath his wings.
Uncle Nihal was a man of many parts; witty, intelligent, sporty, kind and compassionate, interested in the arts, and above all, a man who could relate to all persons in society, young and old. In this respect he was indeed a man who could walk with kings and not lose the common touch.
In the early days I remember him as a really fun character who would relate entertaining stories. I also enjoyed going about with him as he had a spanking new Peugeot which he drove very fast. Among my many childhood memories of him is that he bought me my first TinTin book. I was so hooked on to it that I persuaded my father to walk with me to the book shop at the Dasa building at Bagatalle road to buy the rest of the series.
As I grew older he would chastise me saying that I belonged to a generation that watched television and did not read enough. On his many visits to our house where he would wait after court to pick up my aunt from work, he would challenge me to take a broader view of life, embracing all faiths and points of view. He introduced me to the Desiderata and would stress one of its phrases; “…listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story”.
I was also encouraged by him to read Fritjof Capra’s “Tao of Physics” about the dance of sub atomic particles, and to see how that compared to the Hindu view of the Universe. As a teenager I was fascinated by this man, my uncle, who was a lawyer by profession but knew all these other things about science, nature, the arts and humanities – he would ask me to look up things like the Chandrasekhar Mass which is the critical mass of black holes and how this Nobel prize winning theory had been developed by Chandrasekhar an Indian while on his way by ship to England to accept a scholarship at Cambridge University.
Uncle Nihal did this for two reasons; not only to get me thinking but also to emphasize that it is we in the east who were responsible for some of the most interesting ideas that have come about. His varied interests were reflected in the art and artefacts he collected. Starting out as a cabinet of curiosities, in later years his whole house began to resemble a museum and art gallery with all manner of things and works of art. Mr. K. Kanag- Isvaran PC, his good friend of many years paying tribute to him at the unveiling of his bust at the Colombo Law Library recently, mentioned that it was rare to have a man with all these varied talents and drew attention to the fact that uncle Nihal had donated a valuable statue of Nataraja from his collection of artifacts to a Hindu temple at which the statue is presently venerated.
Nowadays one often hears of appeals to help small vendors on the basis that it is “an act of charity wrapped in dignity”. I learned this from uncle Nihal many years ago before it became fashionable to call it that. During my school holidays he would invite me to join him to go to outstation courts. He had no juniors then, and I read his briefs aloud for him in the car as he drove to refresh his memory.
On the way back he would often stop on a by-road to buy something that a little boy or girl was selling, not because he needed it but to help them. He would say; “do you know how hard they work to make that thing. You have it easy, they use that money to buy books”. Not only that, he would stop and chat with them, and per chance if they were playing a game, join in it too. As part of my scout activities when I was learning to identify trees by their leaves uncle Nihal would point out that any of these village boys or girls that we met on our travels could do that effortlessly.
He himself was very fond of nature and took a special interest in trees, planting various large trees on his family’s property. He was very happy to see them grow and bloom. In this respect he was creating carbon credits and was ahead of his time. Another fashionable phrase in the modern world is “be here now”; this too I learned observing uncle Nihal, not by reading books. He lived life in the present, was focused and enjoyed the moment. Positive thinking came naturally to him, so much so that whenever I was in a difficult situation I would ask myself; what would uncle Nihal do if he was in my place. I told this to him when he himself was very ill later in life. His positive thinking and that of his supportive wife and son Tilanka who left no stone unturned to find the medical attention required, enabled him to successfully survive a double lung transplant.
All who knew him as an adult knew him to be extroverted; he joked and laughed and enjoyed engaging with other people. A vivid memory I have, is of him dancing the tango with a rose between his teeth on December 31 to usher in the Millennium. Charles Spencer Chaplin said that a day in which one does not laugh is a day wasted. Uncle Nihal did not waste a single day, he laughed, joked and smiled every day that I knew him. His mother however, used to recall and tell us that he was not always like that and that as a child he was a shy boy; something we found very hard to believe!
Born to Bernadette (Bernie) and Senator J.M. Jayamanne, he was the second in the family and their first son. His siblings are Joan an elder sister who is an Attorney at Law and Bandula (Bandu) his younger brother who is a Chemistry Honours graduate. Uncle Nihal, schooled at St. Joseph’s College, was a Senior Prefect and captained the Tennis team. Recalling his school days, he would tell me what a great man Fr. Peter Pillai, the Rector of St. Josephs was and how he had a plethora of multi-disciplinary qualifications. Perhaps Uncle Nihal got his inspiration for his wide spectrum of interests from Fr. Pillai.
He took to law, and his leadership skills were recognized even at the Law College where he was elected President of the Law Student’s Union. Despite his father being a very successful lawyer in his time, a Senator and Minister of Justice, uncle Nihal chose to walk the path of his legal career on his own with no senior; starting at the very bottom. His success was all his own having built up a civil practice in the outstation courts at Homagama and Gampaha and thereafter in Colombo, both in the original and appellate courts. He appeared in many high profile cases and was held in very high esteem by the Bench and the Bar.
From a young age he was a member of the Law Commission which is charged with looking into amendments of the law. He went on to be its Chairman and was responsible for proposing many useful amendments to both substantive and procedural laws.
He was successively elected as President of the Bar Association. During his tenure as President of the Bar, on the suggestion of Judge C.G. Weeramantry who was the then Vice President of the International Court of Justice, he initiated the “Law Week”; a program for the Bar to interact with the pubic and solve their issues. This event has thereafter been successfully held annually.
Uncle Nihal’s reputation was not restricted to the Bar of Sri Lanka, he was elected deputy President of SAARC Law, President SAARC Law – Sri Lanka Chapter, and I was pleasantly surprised to find him on the Board of Trustees of the SAARC Law Centre of a leading Indian University which I visited. The Commercial world not only sought his counsel but wanted him to be on several Boards, most notably he was the Chairman of Seylan Bank.
At the peak of his career, he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in his lungs. Being the positive thinker that he was, he continued working though given two years to live post diagnosis. We did not see any difference in him, attributing his tiredness to overwork. When this condition came to its peak he was very fortunate to have come across a compatible donor thereby enabling him to have a double lung transplant – the first time such a surgery was performed in Sri Lanka. The average life span of a person with such a transplant is five years post-surgery, Uncle Nihal’s positive thinking and supportive family enabled him to double that and live a decade thereafter.
He used that time well, to be with family, pursue his interests and watch his son Tilanka who graduated in law get married to Lydia, an Attorney at Law. In that time, he also returned to practice and completed 50 years at the Bar – a feat most practicing lawyers look forward to celebrating, because it is not an easy milestone to reach not only due to its professional rigour, but also because one has to live that long to celebrate it. We were all glad he made it to that point; I have on the mantelpiece a photograph of the two of us in celebration of that event, which I will continue to treasure.
The next milestone he looked forward to was his golden wedding anniversary in October 2022. Coincidentally, my uncle and aunt got married on my birthday and it was indeed something that we all would have liked to celebrate. Alas it was not to be, he passed away on June 14, 2022 after a brief illness, four months short of that anniversary. He was a good man, who lived a good life and was fortunate to have a loving family that enjoyed life with him.
Little known to the wider world was that in addition to his painting skills, he had an excellent voice and enjoyed singing Dean Martin, Sinatra and Nat King Cole songs and even recorded some of them. A senior member of the Bar having learned of this stopped me recently in the Supreme Court and asked me, “when are you going to give me a CD of your uncle’s songs” to which I replied that it is on You Tube and could be down loaded.
‘Unforgettable’ by Nat King Cole was one of his favorite renditions. The words of that song express the emotion and thoughts of all of us who knew him well. Nihal Jayamanne will remain;
“Unforgettable in every way,
And forever more, that’s how [he] will stay”.
Rajiv Goonetilleke
Deputy Solicitor General
by Dr B.J.C.Perera
MBBS(Cey), DCH(Cey), DCH(Eng), MD(Paed), MRCP(UK), FRCP(Edin),
FRCP(Lon), FRCPCH(UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP, Hony FRCPCH(UK), Hony. FCGP(SL)
Specialist Consultant Paediatrician and Honorary Senior Fellow,
Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Joint Editor, Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health
In an age of unprecedented global development, technological advancements, universal connectivity, and improvements in living standards in many areas of the world, it is a very dark irony that child food poverty remains a pressing issue. UNICEF defines child food poverty as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood. Despite the planet Earth’s undisputed capacity to produce enough food to nourish everyone, millions of children still go hungry each day. We desperately need to explore the multifaceted deleterious effects of child food poverty, on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal impacts and then try to formulate a road map to alleviate its deleterious effects.
Every day, right across the world, millions of parents and families are struggling to provide nutritious and diverse foods that young children desperately need to reach their full potential. Growing inequities, conflict, and climate crises, combined with rising food prices, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, harmful food marketing strategies and poor child-feeding practices, are condemning millions of children to child food poverty.
In a communique dated 06th June 2024, UNICEF reports that globally, 1 in 4 children; approximately 181 million under the age of five, live in severe child food poverty, defined as consuming at most, two of eight food groups in early childhood. These children are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer from life-threatening malnutrition. Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood – the third issue of UNICEF’s flagship Child Nutrition Report – highlights that millions of young children are unable to access and consume the nutritious and diverse diets that are essential for their growth and development in early childhood and beyond.
It is highlighted in the report that four out of five children experiencing severe child food poverty are fed only breastmilk or just some other milk and/or a starchy staple, such as maize, rice or wheat. Less than 10 per cent of these children are fed fruits and vegetables and less than 5 per cent are fed nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, or meat. These are horrendous statistics that should pull at the heartstrings of the discerning populace of this world.
The report also identifies the drivers of child food poverty. Strikingly, though 46 per cent of all cases of severe child food poverty are among poor households where income poverty is likely to be a major driver, 54 per cent live in relatively wealthier households, among whom poor food environments and feeding practices are the main drivers of food poverty in early childhood.
One of the most immediate and visible effects of child food poverty is its detrimental impact on physical health. Malnutrition, which can result from both insufficient calorie intake and lack of essential nutrients, is a prevalent consequence. Chronic undernourishment during formative years leads to stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and increased susceptibility to infections and diseases. Children who do not receive adequate nutrition are more likely to suffer from conditions such as anaemia, rickets, and developmental delays.
Moreover, the lack of proper nutrition can have long-term health consequences. Malnourished children are at a higher risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity later in life. The paradox of child food poverty is that it can lead to both undernutrition and overnutrition, with children in food-insecure households often consuming calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods due to economic constraints. This dietary pattern increases the risk of obesity, creating a vicious cycle of poor health outcomes.
The impacts of child food poverty extend beyond physical health, severely affecting cognitive development and educational attainment. Adequate nutrition is crucial for brain development, particularly in the early years of life. Malnutrition can impair cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Studies have consistently shown that malnourished children perform worse academically compared to their well-nourished peers. Inadequate nutrition during early childhood can lead to reduced school readiness and lower IQ scores. These children often struggle to concentrate in school, miss more days due to illness, and have lower overall academic performance. This educational disadvantage perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as lower educational attainment reduces future employment opportunities and earning potential.
The emotional and psychological effects of child food poverty are profound and are often overlooked. Food insecurity creates a constant state of stress and anxiety for both children and their families. The uncertainty of not knowing when or where the next meal will come from can lead to feelings of helplessness and despair. Children in food-insecure households are more likely to experience behavioural problems, including hyperactivity, aggression, and withdrawal. The stigma associated with poverty and hunger can further exacerbate these emotional challenges. Children who experience food poverty may feel shame and embarrassment, leading to social isolation and reduced self-esteem. This psychological toll can have lasting effects, contributing to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood.
Child food poverty also perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality. Children who grow up in food-insecure households are more likely to remain in poverty as adults, continuing the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. This cycle of poverty exacerbates social disparities, contributing to increased crime rates, reduced social cohesion, and greater reliance on social welfare programmes. The repercussions of child food poverty ripple through society, creating economic and social challenges that affect everyone. The healthcare costs associated with treating malnutrition-related illnesses and chronic diseases are substantial. Additionally, the educational deficits linked to child food poverty result in a less skilled workforce, which hampers economic growth and productivity.
Addressing child food poverty requires a multi-faceted approach that tackles both immediate needs and underlying causes. Policy interventions are crucial in ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition. This can include expanding social safety nets, such as food assistance programmes and school meal initiatives, as well as targeted manoeuvres to reach more vulnerable families. Ensuring that these programmes are adequately funded and effectively implemented is essential for their success.
In addition to direct food assistance, broader economic and social policies are needed to address the root causes of poverty. This includes efforts to increase household incomes through living wage policies, job training programs, and economic development initiatives. Supporting families with affordable childcare, healthcare, and housing can also alleviate some of the financial pressures that contribute to food insecurity.
Community-based initiatives play a vital role in combating child food poverty. Local food banks, community gardens, and nutrition education programmes can help provide immediate relief and promote long-term food security. Collaborative efforts between government, non-profits, and the private sector are necessary to create sustainable solutions.
Child food poverty is a profound and inescapable issue with far-reaching consequences. Its deleterious effects on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal stability underscore the urgent need for comprehensive action. As we strive for a more equitable and just world, addressing child food poverty must be a priority. By ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition, we can lay the foundation for a healthier, more prosperous future for individuals and society as a whole. The fight against child food poverty is not just a moral imperative but an investment in our collective future. Healthy, well-nourished children are more likely to grow into productive, contributing members of society. The benefits of addressing this issue extend beyond individual well-being, enhancing economic stability and social harmony. It is incumbent upon us all to recognize and act upon the understanding that every child deserves the right to adequate nutrition and the opportunity to thrive.
Despite all of these existent challenges, it is very definitely possible to end child food poverty. The world needs targeted interventions to transform food, health, and social protection systems, and also take steps to strengthen data systems to track progress in reducing child food poverty. All these manoeuvres must comprise a concerted effort towards making nutritious and diverse diets accessible and affordable to all. We need to call for child food poverty reduction to be recognized as a metric of success towards achieving global and national nutrition and development goals.
Material from UNICEF reports and AI assistance are acknowledged.
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
The colossal failure of not a single opinion poll predicting accurately the result of the Indian parliamentary election, the greatest exercise in democracy in the world, raises the question whether the importance of opinion polls is vastly exaggerated. During elections two types of opinion polls are conducted; one based on intentions to vote, published during or before the campaign, often being not very accurate as these are subject to many variables but exit polls, done after the voting where a sample tally of how the voters actually voted, are mostly accurate. However, of the 15 exit polls published soon after all the votes were cast in the massive Indian election, 13 vastly overpredicted the number of seats Modi’s BJP led coalition NDA would obtain, some giving a figure as high as 400, the number Modi claimed he is aiming for. The other two polls grossly underestimated predicting a hung parliament. The actual result is that NDA passed the threshold of 272 comfortably, there being no landslide. BJP by itself was not able to cross the threshold, a significant setback for an overconfident Mody! Whether this would result in less excesses on the part of Modi, like Muslim-bashing, remains to be seen. Anyway, the statement issued by BJP that they would be investigating the reasons for failure rather than blaming the process speaks very highly of the maturity of the democratic process in India.
I was intrigued by this failure of opinion polls as this differs dramatically from opinion polls in the UK. I never failed to watch ‘Election night specials’ on BBC; as the Big Ben strikes ‘ten’ (In the UK polls close at 10pm} the anchor comes out with “Exit polls predict that …” and the actual outcome is often almost as predicted. However, many a time opinion polls conducted during the campaign have got the predictions wrong. There are many explanations for this.
An opinion poll is defined as a research survey of public opinion from a particular sample, the origin of which can be traced back to the 1824 US presidential election, when two local newspapers in North Carolina and Delaware predicted the victory of Andrew Jackson but the sample was local. First national survey was done in 1916 by the magazine, Literary Digest, partly for circulation-raising, by mailing millions of postcards and counting the returns. Of course, this was not very scientific though it accurately predicted the election of Woodrow Wilson.
Since then, opinion polls have grown in extent and complexity with scientific methodology improving the outcome of predictions not only in elections but also in market research. As a result, some of these organisations have become big businesses. For instance, YouGov, an internet-based organisation co-founded by the Iraqi-born British politician Nadim Zahawi, based in London had a revenue of 258 million GBP in 2023.
In Sri Lanka, opinion polls seem to be conducted by only one organisation which, by itself, is a disadvantage, as pooled data from surveys conducted by many are more likely to reflect the true situation. Irrespective of the degree of accuracy, politicians seem to be dependent on the available data which lend explanations to the behaviour of some.
The Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey has been tracking the voting intentions for the likely candidates for the Presidential election. At one stage the NPP/JVP leader AKD was getting a figure over 50%. This together with some degree of international acceptance made the JVP behave as if they are already in power, leading to some incidents where their true colour was showing.
The comments made by a prominent member of the JVP who claimed that the JVP killed only the riff-raff, raised many questions, in addition to being a total insult to many innocents killed by them including my uncle. Do they have the authority to do so? Do extra-judicial killings continue to be JVP policy? Do they consider anyone who disagrees with them riff-raff? Will they kill them simply because they do not comply like one of my admired teachers, Dr Gladys Jayawardena who was considered riff-raff because she, as the Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, arranged to buy drugs cheaper from India? Is it not the height of hypocrisy that AKD is now boasting of his ties to India?
Another big-wig comes with the grand idea of devolving law and order to village level. As stated very strongly, in the editorial “Pledges and reality” (The Island, 20 May) is this what they intend to do: Have JVP kangaroo-courts!
Perhaps, as a result of these incidents AKD’s ratings has dropped to 39%, according to the IHP survey done in April, and Sajith Premadasa’s ratings have increased gradually to match that. Whilst they are level pegging Ranil is far behind at 13%. Is this the reason why Ranil is getting his acolytes to propagate the idea that the best for the country is to extend his tenure by a referendum? He forced the postponement of Local Governments elections by refusing to release funds but he cannot do so for the presidential election for constitutional reasons. He is now looking for loopholes. Has he considered the distinct possibility that the referendum to extend the life of the presidency and the parliament if lost, would double the expenditure?
Unfortunately, this has been an exercise in futility and it would not be surprising if the next survey shows Ranil’s chances dropping even further! Perhaps, the best option available to Ranil is to retire gracefully, taking credit for steadying the economy and saving the country from an anarchic invasion of the parliament, rather than to leave politics in disgrace by coming third in the presidential election. Unless, of course, he is convinced that opinion polls do not matter and what matters is the ballots in the box!
By Prof. Kirthi Tennakone
ktenna@yahoo.co.uk
Thoughtfulness is the quality of being conscious of issues that arise and considering action while seeking explanations. It facilitates finding solutions to problems and judging experiences.
Almost all human accomplishments are consequences of thoughtfulness.
Can you perform day-to-day work efficiently and effectively without being thoughtful? Obviously, no. Are there any major advancements attained without thought and contemplation? Not a single example!
Science and technology, art, music and literary compositions and religion stand conspicuously as products of thought.
Thought could have sinister motives and the only way to eliminate them is through thought itself. Thought could distinguish right from wrong.
Empathy, love, amusement, and expression of sorrow are reflections of thought.
Thought relieves worries by understanding or taking decisive action.
Despite the universal virtue of thoughtfulness, some advocate an idea termed mindfulness, claiming the benefits of nurturing this quality to shape mental wellbeing. The concept is defined as focusing attention to the present moment without judgment. A way of forgetting the worries and calming the mind – a form of meditation. A definition coined in the West to decouple the concept from religion. The attitude could have a temporary advantage as a method of softening negative feelings such as sorrow and anger. However, no man or woman can afford to be non-judgmental all the time. It is incompatible with indispensable thoughtfulness! What is the advantage of diverting attention to one thing without discernment during a few tens of minute’s meditation? The instructors of mindfulness meditation tell you to focus attention on trivial things. Whereas in thoughtfulness, you concentrate the mind on challenging issues. Sometimes arriving at groundbreaking scientific discoveries, solution of mathematical problems or the creation of masterpieces in engineering, art, or literature.
The concept of meditation and mindfulness originated in ancient India around 1000 BCE. Vedic ascetics believed the practice would lead to supernatural powers enabling disclosure of the truth. Failing to meet the said aspiration, notwithstanding so many stories in scripture, is discernable. Otherwise, the world would have been awakened to advancement by ancient Indians before the Greeks. The latter culture emphasized thoughtfulness!
In India, Buddha was the first to deviate from the Vedic philosophy. His teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra, were adherents of meditation. Unconvinced of their approach, Buddha concluded a thoughtful analysis of the actualities of life should be the path to realisation. However, in an environment dominated by Vedic tradition, meditation residually persisted when Buddha’s teachings transformed into a religion.
In the early 1970s, a few in the West picked up meditation and mindfulness. We Easterners, who criticize Western ideas all the time, got exalted after seeing something Eastern accepted in the Western circles. Thereafter, Easterners took up the subject more seriously, in the spirit of its definition in the West.
Today, mindfulness has become a marketable commodity – a thriving business spreading worldwide, fueled largely by advertising. There are practice centres, lessons onsite and online, and apps for purchase. Articles written by gurus of the field appear on the web.
What attracts people to mindfulness programmes? Many assume them being stressed and depressed needs to improve their mental capacity. In most instances, these are minor complaints and for understandable reasons, they do not seek mainstream medical interventions but go for exaggeratedly advertised alternatives. Mainstream medical treatments are based on rigorous science and spell out both the pros and cons of the procedure, avoiding overstatement. Whereas the alternative sector makes unsubstantiated claims about the efficacy and effectiveness of the treatment.
Advocates of mindfulness claim the benefits of their prescriptions have been proven scientifically. There are reports (mostly in open-access journals which charge a fee for publication) indicating that authors have found positive aspects of mindfulness or identified reasons correlating the efficacy of such activities. However, they rarely meet standards normally required for unequivocal acceptance. The gold standard of scientific scrutiny is the statistically significant reproducibility of claims.
If a mindfulness guru claims his prescription of meditation cures hypertension, he must record the blood pressure of participants before and after completion of the activity and show the blood pressure of a large percentage has stably dropped and repeat the experiment with different clients. He must also conduct sessions where he adopts another prescription (a placebo) under the same conditions and compares the results. This is not enough, he must request someone else to conduct sessions following his prescription, to rule out the influence of the personality of the instructor.
The laity unaware of the above rigid requirements, accede to purported claims of mindfulness proponents.
A few years ago, an article published and widely cited stated that the practice of mindfulness increases the gray matter density of the brain. A more recent study found there is no such correlation. Popular expositions on the subject do not refer to the latter report. Most mindfulness research published seems to have been conducted intending to prove the benefits of the practice. The hard science demands doing the opposite as well-experiments carried out intending to disprove the claims. You need to be skeptical until things are firmly established.
Despite many efforts diverted to disprove Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, no contradictions have been found in vain to date, strengthening the validity of the theory. Regarding mindfulness, as it stands, benefits can neither be proved nor disproved, to the gold standard of scientific scrutiny.
Some schools in foreign lands have accommodated mindfulness training programs hoping to develop the mental facility of students and Sri Lanka plans to follow. However, studies also reveal these exercises are ineffective or do more harm than good. Have we investigated this issue before imitation?
Should we force our children to focus attention on one single goal without judgment, even for a moment?
Why not allow young minds to roam wild in their deepest imagination and build castles in the air and encourage them to turn these fantasies into realities by nurturing their thoughtfulness?
Be more thoughtful than mindful?
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