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by Lorna Wright

"God gave me my friends - the devil my relations." The illustrious dead if they could step down from their dusty antique frames on the Walauwa walls, would contradict that statement of Sir John's. It was well known he always, always stretch out his mind and heart to his three cousins R. G. (Dickie), Tissa and most loved of them all Upali. The cousins, three sons and nephew of the national hero of this country, F.R. Senanayake, had the ability to allow others emotional room, hate free, in lives of mature relationships.

At that time and age in this beautiful country in the avenues of the spectators mind these men would speak publicly with a sharpness of perception differentiating between the true and phony, plot politically, boom Namo Namo, Matha, love outrageously, but die honoured for truth, candour and forth-righteousness. Fraud and corruption free they would handle the bureaucratic FR (Financial Regulations) the AR (Administrative Regulations) with dexterity, flexibility and a sense of community and continuity. All that was good and great elevated the tone in the lives of these Gentlemen.

Upali was not a great institutional Buddhist. He would quote Krishnamurthi, "the truly religious person is not concerned with reform. He is seeking what is true, and that very search has a transforming effect on society". His wife Eva, a Christian had a surfeit of love for the rich and the poor and would revive the parched lives of people around - 'love thy neighbour as thyself without the irrationality of racism. Eva also whole heartedly supported Upali's thinking that the process of eating and drinking dozens of cups of tea, was a social ritual that permitted the warmest, pleasantest human contacts. This in a climate of intellectual freedom to laugh, argue, quarrel or cry - around a table that was constantly replenished with food, and food for thought.

Love for each other in the rising complex of national, sub regional and regional identification was a goal to be attained rather than considered a built-in actuality.

Socialising thus was an expression in the Senanayake households of the deep - held Asian belief that Friends and Family were vital if we were to survive the travails of daily living. Upali insisted that one of the most important symbols of our past was the Lion flag - would help us to move more efficiently and peacefully into the future. "A step into the past would help with 3 steps into the future." In the Lion flag was encoded and embodied the ideal of an individual or society that one should aspire to. The flag was first brought to Sri Lanka with the sapling of the sacred Bodhi Tree. Today with some there would be cynicism about happiness and suffering, with ALL there was that deep desire to make society a fairer, more decent place, especially today with the escalation of crime, drug and liquor abuse and rape.

The National Heritage movement founded by Upali was based on a social movement to manifest this ideal and to chose the traditional institutions which were the religious institutions to carry the message to our society. This clearly highlights the fact that in doing so, it took the value of traditions of indigenous food and medicine as well, back to the rural people. That which they had been weaned from with 450 years of foreign rule.

Upali believed very strongly in the vision of Sarvodaya as articulated by Vinobe Bhavan of India - and promoted in Sri Lanka by Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne. He worked very closely with Ari volunteering both time, money and the greatly needed old Hillman car to help build up the movement. Transport is vital to any organization and young men and old men occupying every inch of space in the Hillman, often as many as a dozen, with Upali at the wheel would limp along to a village Shramadana.

The parting of ways came with Sarvodaya's insistence on accepting wheat flour as food aid for village Shramadana work. Upali believed that introducing wheat flour, especially the convenience food bread, would destroy the rice eating habits of the village. Rice eaten with nutritious produce from their gardens and homesteads. It would most certainly displace the central role of unpolished rice that had been maintaining the health and the social structures of rural life.

Very much a rural man at heart, living an urban life, he would constantly heed the tugs of nature looking for small town homespun solutions and to solving rural village problems. Agricultural experts, privileged scholars, with at most times their dull pedantic research, could not help the farmer with his everyday problems. They were even disdainful of interference by the peasantry. Upali understood them and that the social problem was the rural drift into towns. While it increased the gap between urban and rural population there was also the inability of the farmers to find labour to weed their rice fields, as the weeds reduce the crops dramatically.

This area of neglect and The National Paddy Weeding Campaign was conceived. Organized by Upali as an answer to a social and agricultural problem that he perceived.

Upali through the goodwill and faith demonstrated by many in the public service and volunteer sector was able to mobilize over 65,000 children to get into the paddy fields with the farmers and help the weeding process. The results were phenomenal - a complete, safe, transport and return of every student was achieved. A massive positive response from the farmers and a 400% increase in the rice crop. This action was so successful that it attracted media from around the world, including National Geographic to report on this successful campaign. Of a peoples campaign directed at poverty alleviation.

New found wealth. A farmer (goviya) having dislodged the age - old conviction of the inevitability of fate 'Karma' accepted Upali's positive message that they could lift themselves out of hopelessness and poverty. He had done so, and decided to treat himself to a transistor, battery run radio. A story to tell.

The journey to town and the shop mudalali sold him one. Back home he switched it on and got a blast of Tamil music. He hastened back to the Mudalali. "I wanted a Sinhala radio not a Tamil one" The man was taken aback for just a second, he took the radio inside, changed the channels. Returned "Here is your Sinhala radio, it costs Rs. 100 more than the Tamil radio."

Upali hearing the story, his laughter was uproarious. It could easily overtop the roaring wind, as it swept across the Colombo Havelock Golf Course, as he swiped the Golf ball that made him Amateur Champion of Ceylon 1963.

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