“A.I.S.I”. (AS I’VE SEEN IT) – By Des Kelly

We are already halfway through February, 2019, a very important month for this writer, and the Country I came from. Firstly, I have always preferred the rather beautiful name of CEYLON simply because that was her name, when we left her shores for the last time. I am now talking about the mass-exodus of the Burgher Communities that obviously had to leave because of the Sinhala-only policy which would have made it nearly impossible for our children to pass their examinations and secure good jobs. The exodus began in the 1950s & I migrated to Melbourne in 1962, very early in the 60s, after serving my Country in the Royal Ceylon Navy for the best part of the 50s.

To me, and many other Burghers, Sri Lanka will still always be remembered as Ceylon. Never mind about the dozens of “brands”, it s still “Ceylon Tea” that is it’s World-famous name. It was also The Royal Ceylon Navy that took a seven stone weakling and turned him into a man. Ceylon, as a name, has a special “ring” to it, although there is nothing wrong with Sri Lanka, which it is now, and hopefully will be, for a few years more.

Secondly, again, while “peace” reigns supreme in Lanka, I am now informed by impeccable sources that the Ceylon I left so many years ago has now “improved” so much, it is almost unrecognizable right now, and once again, is the “tourist-paradise” it once was, before the absolutely stupid internal warfare that took place recently almost became a “no-no” for anyone wanting a good cheap holiday with this thing called “Service” thrown in, for good measure.

I believe that the “powers that be” now want Sri Lanka to emulate another tourist paradise named Dubai, and, as a result, while the “Customer-Service” is still outstanding, it is now quite an “expensive” holiday, even for tourists who seem to have plenty of “moolah” to throw around. All this is very good, I wish them the best of cotton-pickin’ luck, BUT,

Thirdly, China is presently “buying big” into this little Island, they already “own” Hambanthota, hammering infrastructure into the Country, as only China can. The problem here is that nothing is done gratis. Lanka may soon look better than Dubai, but at what cost ?, Trincomalee, with the biggest natural harbour in the World, may well be the next purchase of the Clever-Chinese. They know a good thing, when they see it, and I would hate this harbour’s new name, the “Chincomalee Harbour”, even if it is only on lease to the Chinese for 99 years. The Powers that be, in Lanka, at the moment should realize that “All that glitters is not necessarily Gold”, and you get nothing for bloody nothing, as this proud Lankan/Aussie says. I am not a betting man, but I would like to bet that “My Lovely Island Home” will be taken over by China in the near future. Just as they were once ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch, & English, China WILL be next. Of course, I would also like to bet that I would not be around to see it, and I am happy about that.

Now, on to something very different, but still important.

The present Sri Lankan Anthem, while very good, very meaningful, patriotic, and musically, easy on the ear, is FAR too long. Great, as a “Song” , as an “Anthem” too long.

Thus, to make a “long” story “short”, a Gentleman by the name of Ananda Samarakoon wrote the original Anthem in 1940, (as a song), recorded it under the title “Namo Namo Maatha” in 1946, and it was accepted as the National Anthem in 1952, under it’s original title, to the plaudits of everyone concerned. It did not last for too long. A later Government, claiming that the title Namo Namo Maatha was an unlucky title, changed it to SRI LANKA MAATHA without even informing Ananda Samarakoon. There was nothing he could do about it. Copyright laws were non- existent at the time so Ananda committed suicide, stating that they (the Government) had stolen his original title, and, in a note, left on a table at his bedside, beside the empty bottles of poison-pills he had swallowed he simply wrote

“Mage’ olluwa kappila” (my head has been cut-off).

This was the sad story about the original National Anthem of Sri Lanka. Even Ananda’s Anthem was rather long (however, it was written originally as a song, remember ?), but the present-day Anthem has the people listening to it wondering if it is EVER going to stop!!.

For what it is worth, ANY Anthem should be brief and to the point. Even a normal song nowadays should not exceed 4 minutes, so, being a songwriter, I decided to write my own English lyrics to Ananda’s original CHORUS, only to shorten this Anthem and brought in his original title Namo Namo Maatha (in Sinhala) as a tribute to a great man, whose early death was totally unnecessary. I have retitled my Anthem,

“International Song Of Sri Lanka” and, a special tribute to both Jude Goonewardane in London for his coverage of my song on the “Ultimate DVD” and Neil Jayasekera, the owner of certainly the BEST Website for all Lankan Patriots everywhere, for the publicity he has afforded me, eLanka.

My International Song of Sri Lanka is not a translation of the Sinhala lyrics, as my readers will see (and hear), but all I can say is that it is a genuine tribute to a Country I loved, and still do. The Sinhala version is also very good, (too long), but still very well performed in the “clip” I have chosen for you.