Arithmetic ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena
“Come, come, it is Sri Lanka on BBC”
We troop into the den, the big Sony Plasma blares and a map of Sri Lanka is prominently on the screen with a few red dots for action sites.
The newscaster is monotonic, rattling mere facts and figures of the dead and the soon to be dead.
It is arithmetic.
“Fifty six soldiers died in the recent clashes in the North-East. The battle was on a beach a few miles south of the town of Muttur, one hundred and thirty one wounded.” That is the Army Spokesman’s version that the newscaster is repeating.
“The reported deaths among the LTTE cadres total an astounding two hundred and seventy eight.”
Tamil websites say it different. BBC knows that too and tells the world.
“It is two hundred plus soldiers against the forty four Tamil militants who died in action”
It is still arithmetic.
Some big brass is interviewed, more braid than brains, and looks that.
“This time it won’t take long,” he talks with confidence. It is a well repeated story, voiced victories by the powers that be, we’ve all heard them before. Posthumous promotions bear witness to these predictions, or those that limp on Jaipur feet.
A commercial break comes and shows that Damro has a year-end sale and is advertising bargain furniture. Dialog comes next, mobile phones on offer with unlimited SMS. The third is Andre Aggasi serving aces on a KIA Sorrento, special introductory price for the two-wheel drive.
“South Africans are struggling to avoid an innings defeat,” The BBC anchor-man has returned and shifted to sports. “Muralitharan has ruined the Springboks with his unplayable doosra magic at the Kettarama Stadium and Sri Lanka is poised to celebrate.”
We forget the arithmetic and talk of the innings defeat.
The phone rings in the living room and my daughter ambles to answer.
I go back to page thirty-seven of the current Reader’s Digest.
