A Sri Lankan brand of Sri Lanka
A currently on television commercial for a popular brand of a ‘made
in Sri Lanka’ biscuit, features a claim of a foreign tourist, that the
biscuit he is eating represents an extension of traditional Sri Lankan
hospitality. Another commercial features our value of hospitality
through an offer of a drink of tambili (king coconut) to a fatigued
passer-by ‘mama’ (endearing term used in addressing male elders, meaning
uncle), who inquires for directions at the ‘kadulla’ (entrance) of a
remote village home.
Yet another recreates a scene of a village youth taking an ‘achchi’
(grandmother), with difficulty in walking on the back-rack of his
bicycle. He is seen taking the bicycle back to fetch her upon passing
her on a village path.
Assumed ethos
Many other advertisements including roadside bill boards venture to
associate products with a claim of ‘Sri Lankiness’, like we have not
seen for a very long time now. There is now less of ‘fun eka’
‘vikineema’ (selling of the concept of fun) that was trendy or the
in-thing, a while ago. More and more of ‘rata venuwen api’ (we, for the
country) type advertising presentations, movies and songs are unfolding
as well. Some products even extend themselves as creating a voice for
protecting Sri Lanka’s ‘unitary state’ status. What we still see in the
‘fun eka’ category is mostly dubbed versions or adaptations of
commercials produced for the Indian consumer market being dumped on us.
What’s designed and produced locally are among those that reflect the
‘assumed ethos’ we see around us now.
To think that these are reflective of the stated policies proclaimed
by the Head of State and the government is to me, less important than
the fact these adverts are often created by young people in our midst,
working in the profession of promotion and advertising. An area of
activity that is capable of ‘touching’ the subliminal mind of
individuals they target and collectively that of a nation through what
is known as ‘mass penetration’. This is also true of the media of
television drama, music, song, dance and feature film, where a serious
change in our collective outlook can be made with the right messages
flowing through.
Hard work ethic
I dread to think that these ‘ethos presentations’ could perhaps be
just eyewash, crafted to ride on a wave recognised by those who map the
trajectories of ‘consumer trends’ and not any real attempt at
rejuvenating our traditional system of values. There is so much more
that happens around us, like violent crime or the negative use of ill-
acquired power that seeks to bring out things alien to us, subduing the
feeling of who we are and what we are, and what we could become. Some of
it is portrayed in our media on daily news casts often propped up as
sensational happenings. What is less talked about is the impact and
influence our society has of the good deeds that happen and the negative
vibes that arise from promotion of luxury goods that have nothing to do
with meeting basic human needs, lavish events, fast cars, tamashas and
other wasteful pursuits, that sit far from representing our own ethos of
who we are, what we are and what we can become.
On one of my not so frequent visits to the big city last week-end, I
dropped by at my regular service station located in Naranhenpita for a
service check on my car. My friend, the owner now in his 70s spoke of
how young people today were seeking ways to make easy money and claimed
that the ethic of hard work was a thing of the past. He lamented that
our youths trained for vocations are not taking on to apply the skills
they have learnt.
Easy money
My own experience in the village where I live confirms this, for most
youths spend their time idling, indulging in activities related to
entertainment and ‘show off’ type pursuits. Even in instances when
employment is sought, most want it to be in the ‘soft service’ sector
and not in any production or manufacturing activity that require hard
work.
Just that same morning, I had read of an attempt by two school boys
from a well known school in Moratuwa, to swindle money from a wealthy
person with a threat of kidnapping his child. A never before heard
phenomenon with school kids and of several serious road accidents that
had taken place due to abuse of alcohol by youth on Friday night binges.
We also hear of juveniles used as drug-pushers and unhealthy incidents
that happen at all-night long musical shows. On the other end of the
spectrum youths are used as political pawns in lager drama that unfolds
and they come out as the ‘forces of youth’ or ‘faces of protest’, mostly
unaware of what and why they doing what they are doing, or are
protesting. They perhaps will never know whose needs they are subtly
directed to serve.
Defining ways
After the long drawn bloody war on terror ending in Sri Lanka, we are
now seeking workable solutions to ensure a lasting peace based on just
treatment of all our citizens. Yet, there are those bent on thinking
that it is time for us as a nation to catch up fast, on lost time.
Whenever they visit a foreign land and see the glitzy ways of that
country, they return and attempt to promulgate the idea that we must not
miss out on what is happening around. The ‘development’ they envisage
must bring in things big, with mega foreign investments and take on mega
projects, not of infrastructure development but of glitzy display of
what may be called a culture of ‘Boru Shoak’.
Such thinking is similar to that of the past when some of our key
political leaders thought that the best way to keep our youths at bay,
without them worrying about unemployment and lack of opportunities was
to provide them with avenues to have fun. We often saw the creation of
things alien to us to get us there. Some still seem to think that our
youths can be kept engaged if we had options for entertainment like
musical shows keeping them in hope of becoming overnight ‘superstars’
through the many reality shows presented or the ‘fast buck’ gains that
can be made. We have witnessed on a global scale, the failure of ways of
such superficial consumerism with the current economic and financial
down turn and the hurting we have done to Mother Nature in the process
of seeking those ways.
True wonder
On the other hand, there is a drive towards making Sri Lanka yield
the most out of her richness and advantage, that come wrapped around in
our traditional ethos. Our rich diversity in natural, cultural and
heritage endowments can ‘stand tall in any crowd’ and our ways shaped by
our time tested belief systems, must enable us to take these endowments
beyond presenting them as ‘products’ for visiting tourists.
This cannot be achieved if all our focus of policy and strategy are
not geared in the same direction. When the right-hand is seemingly
promoting a traditional ethos and a traditional system of values to
carve out a future for us that could be sustainable, the left-hand seems
to do exactly the opposite by focusing on the glitz and glamour,
wasteful and corrupt ways and mega thinking that is far remote from our
own cultural, religious and social ethos.
That to me is the essence of Sri Lanka’s branding dilemma. It perhaps
is one of the reasons we see so much mayhem created in our midst as
well. We need to seek, understand and place who we are, what we are and
what we could be in the hearts and minds of our own people first, in a
clear, succinct way without any conflicting signals being given. What we
present and practice must have austerity, fairness, justice and
integrity as its core values. It is a necessary condition we need, when
we project ourselves to the world at large, not merely as a promotional
initiative but as a country and a nation seeking to carve our niche in
history as a true wonder.
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