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It is a well-known fact that most of the cinema halls in the island
are now depleted of patrons. So much so that we hear that some of the
cinema halls have closed down having lost business very badly whilst
some are on the verge of closure.
The reason attributed to this appalling and unfortunate situation by
many interested parties, is that people prefer to stay at home and watch
television rather than going to cinemas paying unaffordable charges.
When the attendance is dwindling, the course of action resorted to by
the exhibitors is to keep on increasing the entrance fees but they never
give a fair deal to their patrons in return.
The cinema which was one time the poor man's only source of
entertainment is now beyond the reach of even the middle class filmgoer.
Entrance fees charged at cinemas vary from place to place and the
charges for ODC is between Rs. 60 and Rs. 80 whilst the few Super Class
Cinemas charge as much as Rs. 175 to Rs. 200 or so for ODC. So just
imagine if a family goes to watch a film, an average person has to spend
probably about one third of his monthly income for one and a half or two
hours of entertainment. This is besides transport charges and
refreshments etc.
I am of the view that more than invasion of TV, the poor attendance
at cinemas is mainly due to the unaffordable charges levied by
exhibitors and also the poor quality of films they exhibit.
The exhibitors can say that due to escalating overhead charges etc.,
they are compelled to increase their charges but apparently it will have
a negative effect since the patrons will be kept further and further
away from cinemas with every increase.
On the contrary, in fairness to both sides, if charges are reduced to
a reasonable and affordable amount, I am sure the attendance would
definitely improve and they need not have to cancel any shows now and
then.
Therefore, as a lover of good films and a regular filmgoer, I would
suggest to the exhibitors to implement this method even on a trial basis
for a month or two and see how it works.
I have read in a newspaper some time back that in China they have
tried this out and good results have been achieved.
It would be prudent if the Government can also intervene in this
matter to a great extent since this is connected to the unemployment
problem.
Hence it can take the necessary measures to formulate a method to
help the exhibitors and also at the same time pass over the benefit to
the common man too.
R. S.,
Ratmalana
----
I wish to congratulate the courage of the Editor of the Daily News to
take the Foreign Minister head on, on a matter of principle regarding
the Lakshman Kadirgamar Centre at Horton Place.
I do not know the merits and de-merits of the issue, but would like
to comment on the stand you have taken. The late Lakshman kadirgamar had
even sounded out some bankers about sponsoring an international press
club at the premises. This no doubt would have helped journalists and
allowed trainees of the Foreign Service an opportunity to interact with
the media.
I do not know if the project got off the ground, but Mr. Kadirgamar
was a man with a vision. It is a pity that we do not have people like
him today. If he was still alive, he would have by now been able to weed
out the charlatans who masquerade as professionals.
SUNIL MENDIS,
Colombo
----
A couple of years back, a reader of the Daily News posed the question
'where have all the House Sparrows gone?' I now have the answer. They
are here in their hordes in the land of the Long White Cloud - New
Zealand.
During my childhood several decades back in the then Ceylon, almost
every home had either a box with side openings or a clay pot with a hole
in the centre; hung on the outside wall as an aviary to invite these
birds to lodge in safety. Now they have been abandoned by these
interesting birds and as a result removed by the house owners.
These birds did entertain us with their constant chirping and even
wake us at dawn with their cacophony or discord of noise. Their constant
flutter and flights in unison made us to watch them with pleasure.
They arrive in groups in our garden to nibble at the food with their
tiny beaks; while moving their tails in rhythmic fashion. With the
slightest movement of a human or animal, they fly off together to a
nearby tree.
While perching on branches, some hop on top of another and the next
moment hop over to the branch. This is repeated several times. We
thought they were playing, to learn later that they were only mating.
The feeding of little ones was a treat to watch. When the mother
brings food, the little one squeaks with mouth wide open, spreading its
little wings with glee, expecting to be fed.
The pleasure of watching their antics and the noise have now been
deprived to the Sri Lankans for a considerable length of time. Now in my
second childhood, I have the pleasure of watching them and to enjoy
their frolic from my window.
Although there is no built cage, they have made a nest in the garage
roof in the cavity of the curved tiles at the extreme end of the gutter;
to entertain me in my Biblical age. Only a few birds are fortunate to
have built in cages. The rest I believe have made nests in roof
crevices.
When cats climb on to the roof, they squeal and make quite a stir by
flying in circles and diving to distract the predator. At dawn they wake
me up for my ablutions and prayers.
During the day with their flights of fancy, their frequent chirping
and hopping from one branch to another of the nearby tall hedge reveal
the stamina built in them.
Their constant presence on our lawn pecking at the food, invisible to
the naked eye bring immense joy to me.
Can anyone explain their reason to migrate from our paradise isle in
the Indian Ocean to cooler climes in the Southern Hemisphere?
P. LUCIAN FERNANDO,
New Zealand
---
Vijitha Herath of the University of Paderborn, Germany, writes on the
issue: Apropos the claim that Adam Gilchrist had a squash ball in his
left glove during his innings at the finals of the cricket World Cup,
let me offer a scientific perspective.
A squash ball is a rubber ball. Unlike a cricket (leather) ball, it
compresses when pressure is applied on it. When the pressure is
released, it takes its original shape. In short, it acts like a spring
(e.g. a motorcycle shock absorber).
So what happens when a batsman has a squash ball in the palm of his
bottom hand? When a batsman swings the bat until it hits the ball, there
is pressure on his bottom hand. This pressure compresses the squash ball
thus storing energy in the ball similar to spring.
Just after the ball hits the bat (ball still touching the bat) this
pressure starts to relax while the bat is moving forward.
At the same time the energy stored in the squash ball releases its
energy to the ball in the form of kinetic energy.
The result is that the bat moves faster than normal (without a ball
in the glove). As a result, the release-speed of the cricket ball
becomes faster resulting in the ball travelling further before hitting
the ground. Therefore, it results in more sixes and fours being scored.
The downside is because the bat travels faster than normal, the
batsman might lose control of the bat.
This happened once in the Adam Gilchrist's innings when the bat
slipped out of his hands and fell behind the wickets. If you have any
doubts please try to do it yourself and see the result.
In brief, Gilchrist's use of the squash ball allowed him to hit the
ball further in the field.
The above explanation clearly gives you an insight into the fact that
the squash ball was used not purely as a protective gear but, as a
performance enhancer to a player who was playing his last World Cup
innings and did not care of the consequences, but was hell bent on
rubbing some glory upon himself.
OSANDA WEERARATHNA,
Colombo
----
The speech by Dominick Chilcott published on May 19, Daily News does
not reflect the British people's attitude to Sri Lanka.
As an English person living in Sri Lanka, I know that the people are
fighting a just cause, and in a supposed diplomat cannot see that, he
must be persona-non-grata.
HARRY JAMES,
Kandy
---
With interest we read your article about Sapodilla (Reference DN May
28).
Such trees are also known in the dry zone area like at our farm near
Sangattikulama, Anamaduwa where we grow Sapodilla since 1992 originating
from Mahaillupulama. My wife of Philippine origin insisted on growing
them known as 'Chico'.
Now that some of our trees are bearing well in dry zone area and fond
of its taste, I agree with you that Sapodilla must be propagated.
HANS ZUMSTEIN,
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