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| Thursday, 22 April 2004 |
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Ushering an 'English' Avurudu Ringside review by Afreeha Jawad Come April 14 following Sinhala and Tamil New Year, observation worthy were the many that went round greeting one another in typical Western style. Clutching one another's hands, the firm hand shake was much preferred style over the traditional venerating form. I for one was shocked, amazed and grieved to witness this type of behaviour. After all, it was Sinhala New Year - not an English one. Besides, they were Sinhalese. Are Sri Lankans closing shop on tradition, so carefully handed over from one generation to another? If so, Why? On closer study I also found out this behavioral change to be the consolation of the urban, English educated Sinhalese, far removed from their 'unsophisticated' brethren in the village whose numbers are dwindling regrettably by the day. Even as I pen these lines one colleague wished his friend in the chosen alien style. Herbert seemingly on a racial transformation exercise prefers race dumping, depending on newspaper territorial confines. The urban, English-educated populace also reach for very high degrees of ultra-nationalism. This segment, significantly and ironically, reaches super states of polarised thought as they bulldoze their way carrying such sentiment while being in Western attire - not to forget the irresistible handshake. An indepth study of such behaviour is a revelation as well of gradual social change. From traditional custom-bound society, into low-bound, modernity with its so-called 'rational' thinking. In traditional societies duplicity and facade found no place. In the absence of laws, it was tradition and custom that guided such communities and maintained social order and peace. The high regard for absolute values helped them to transcend the low states of existence and thought incompatibility. The gulf between what is practised and professed was not such community's share. They knew not of ultra nationalism nor English. They carried with them traditional knowledge which was a raging success of such assembly. Modernity with its numerous complexities has flung man into confusion and chaos. Still worse is the plight of people in Third World countries with a recorded history of corruption and moral decadence. Filtering down to the different layers of society is the callous disregard for values at the top social level. Politicians believe platform speeches are only for public consumption. The outcome of such duplicity is no one's concern and for half a century it has been so in these former colonial states. If this is so with the rulers is it surprising then the incompatibility of thought and action of the ruled. The spatial entity into which the community has been pushed with one leg in ultra nationalism mistaken for traditionalism and the other in the imposed externalities, people are now in crisis, unable to distinguish the wood from the trees. To learn is to erase what we already know for when we learn we fulfil some others' requirement. Thus the internationalists' imposed education has broken loose all hell while wiping out indigenous knowledge. In that dichotomy of acquired and ascribed knowledge the local populace's behaviour and outlook is off the rails and remain most conflicting. Amid modernity's 'rationality' is seen irrational practices. Conformism has undermined creativity amid modernity. Many lack clarity of thought as they go 'the world's way'. Consciousness exists in a controlled form. The best in man is yet to be!! |
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