Two legged ‘elephants’ on rampage

Wijitha NAKKAWITA

A rampage. Elephants in our jungles. That was rare unless there was something really alarming the beasts like some natural calamity. Of course there could be other misfortunes that befall the pachyderm species like the well-known leader of the herd of elephants at the Panamure elephant kraal during the 1950s when that majestic tusker nearly broke the man made barriers of huge logs lashed to trees to trap its herd and man had to kill the noble tusker shooting it.

The days of yore saw or heard singers going on the air over the then Radio Ceylon with the famous hit ‘Panamure eth raja’ and folk poets A.K.A..Kavikola Karayas singing about the tragedy of the noble tusker who died valiantly defending his herd.

Those were halcyon days of the four legged species now almost a threatened one.

Yet the two legged ‘elephants’ also have their own history though of very recent vintage a little over half a century. If our recollection is right, the two legged elephants more often than not disliked or even detested writers, the press and it appears they detested what is called freedom of expression and more so those who were free in expression of views – especially if it embarrassed the two legged elephant species.

Two legged elephant

The very first two legged elephant leader banned the book Vanakatha an adaptation of the celebrated Sanskrit classic the Panchatantra in 1952. The adaptation was by the eminent oriental scholar Ven Yakkaduwe Pragnarama Thera of Vidyalankara. The reason? It contained a verse. ‘Apaayata yanta oney nam numbata, Karapan maha emathikama thun davasakata. Nethinam devalayaka pansalaka sita, Karapan ehi adipathikama davasakata’.

The meaning – if it is to hell you wish to go, then become the Chief Minister for three days, or for still a better chance be the head of temple or shrine.

That was the first book to be banned after independence by the then prime elephant who probably thought the distinguished scholar intended to condemn him to hell.

Of course that first elephant leader probably had never heard of Panchatantra the classic of Indian literature. Sometime later the ban on the journal Trine came.

Then for sometime the suppression of the freedom of the press or expression was not heard of till years and years later when the pachyderm herd captured power in 1977 with the jungle virtually at their feet.

Now comes the notorious new elephant leader who had been pushed to the posterior for four decades by the other leaders of the herd.

There was this meeting of clergy at the Sama Vihara Gampaha to publish a common document calling for peace and freedom of expression. A policeman ‘raided’ the meeting, seized the document and physically ushered out the clergy.

The clergy went before courts and the cop who took the law into his own hands was fined. The elephant leader paid the fine and promoted the cop over the heads of so many others. The reward for stifling freedom of expression.

Renowned scholar

Also came the case renowned scholar and dramatist Prof Ediriweera Sarachchandra who wrote a skittish book the Dharmishta Samajaya in Sinhala castigating the new elephant leader’s corrupt and oppressive method of governance dubbed the ‘Just and Righteous’ society with the elephant tongue in the cheek. Sarathchandra the frail and aging intellectual was physically assaulted.

Still later another wild elephant with a dubious background came out of a banana grove to become the leader of the herd. It was to borrow a Dickensian expression ‘It was the best of times and the worst of times.’ The best of times were for the dubious clan of the banana grove.

Soon it became evident that the banana grove elephant became a carnivore. The press birds or any other bird that flew over the banana grove elephant paid the price with their lives. The first was a pressman Kithsiri Samaranayake near the elephant town’s town hall who was stabbed to death.

Then came even a more bizarre case of a photo journalist who was killed on the road to Negombo once a domain of elephants. The case became special worth studying as his remains with his head smashed said to be the case of motor cycle accident were found on the road. He usually wore a crash helmet but it was said the helmet had gone missing mysteriously. It was said that Mendis the photo journalist had with a telephoto lens had pictured a famous she elephant connected to the banana grove and also a moonshine cafe playing tennis with a particularly short divided skirt at a grove of trees that are usually seen near temples.

Famous pressman

The next episode was even more horrid. There was this famous pressman, broadcaster, actor Richard de Zoysa who with a certain city father Lakshman

Perera was going to produce a drama. Who is this – What’s he doing. One night he was taken away from his mother’s home by one of the banana grove elephant’s bodyguard chiefs and Richard’s corpse floated to the beach near Moratuwa the next day. Lakshman Perera was never seen again – he went missing.

Now the latest rampage on the media was reported during the weekend when the elephants were having their pow-wow at a place called the Nawaloka Grounds also on the road to Negombo.

Two TV station crews were attacked by these elephants – to borrow a term of old Tarzie Vittachchi rogue elephants – and some of them were admitted to hospital.

This time round history seemed to be repeating itself. For the two legged elephants from yore seemed to be irked by the freedom of expression and criticism. To cap it all the General Secretary of the Elephant’s party – now led by a strange animal that is often seen hiding among the trees in defeat – has said there was no attack or assault on TV crews inside the ground the elephant pow wow was taking place with a retired General presiding.

Only one unanswered question remained. Did the TV crews assault themselves till they were injured just to have the pleasure of sleeping on a hospital bed?