Fleeing the Insanity

I have to hurry. In a few hours I'm out'a here. Going on a field break. That sounds so much better than holiday, don't you think?

Things have really been heating up in Kandy this last week. Things have been heating up all over the island I suppose, despite the monsoon coming in. Yesterday in Colombo, police used water canons against marching bhikkus, and 3 of them ended up in hospital. Saffron against army green. Surreal. You would think that in times of trouble the Buddhist clergy would be the ones to argue for dialogue and peaceful resolutions. Not so in Sri Lanka. I wonder how Siddharta would have felt about this. Is this really Buddhism?

The "we're-not-giving-an-inch-away-of-our-Sinhala-Buddhist-island"-rethoric is prevailing. So what are they protesting? They say the proposed "joint mechanism", an agreement between the LTTE and the government for cooperation in tsunami reconstruction, will be the first step towards partition of the island. Wake up! This island was divided a long time a go! How would working together to help victims of a natural disaster divide it further? Is sending poor villagers to die in jungle warfare in the Vanni and in the East going to change things for the better? If you argue for war, at least be the first to sign up for service in the armed forces!

We had Chandrika (the president) visiting Kandy this week. It was a joyous occasion indeed. She was here for the momentous opening of Kandy's new 4-story car park. The newspapers printed full page advertisements with messages from the mayor of Kandy, the deputy mayor, and the leader of the opposition in the Kandy Municipal Council. They all proudly pointed out that they had been able to secure loans for 630 million SLR (ca 6,3 million USD and ca 41 million NOK) from the Asian Development Bank to go ahead with the building. I think the quality of politicians here is perceived to be directly correlated to the sums of the loans they are able to secure.

On this festive day a bhikku decided to go on a fast unto death, right outside the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth). Why? The monk, Ven. Sobitha Thero, a member of parliament from the Jathika Hela Urumaya political party, said he would fast unto death unless the president rejected the JM. A podium was set up opposite the temple where Sobitha and his disciples were in plain view for people inside and outside the temple grounds. A crowd had gathered around to show support or maybe to satisfy their curiosity. A few passer-by's on the lake promenade were stopping, too. A pineapple salseman was providing snacks for the show.

For most people though, life went on as usual. That is, until yesterday, when Sobitha was on his 5th day without food or water. The Sangha (temple order) had ordered all shops downtown to close. Newspapers today reported it was done out of respect, but I believe there was a fair amount of intimidation involved. Police were patrolling the streets in such numbers that there must have been a very real chance for civil disturbance. As it turned out though, all the action was in Colombo. I wonder if there were any police left in the rest of the island.

The newspapers today further wrote that the JVP, in a bid to increase the pressure on the president, has set a deadline for her to reject the joint mechanism (or the P-TOMS as it is often called now: Post-Tsunami Operations Management Structure). If she fails to do so by midnight on June 15, they will withdraw from government on the following day.

Just checking the news I see that Sobitha has broken his fast. I wonder if there is as much substance in JVP's threats to leave government as in this monks "fast unto death".

Enjoy the insanity! I will be back in a couple of weeks.

/haakon/

The 1520 Books I Never Read

"Two books a week is a normal ration, three not unusual: and this goes on throughout one's life. From children's stories and fiction one slips unselfconsciously into biography, travel, poetry, drama and ultimately into solid literature. This is the main part of the education of the undergraduate; and indeed a student who does not read at least two books a week ought not to go to a University because he lacks education, no matter how many examinations he has passed."

- Sir Ivor Jennings, the first Vice Chancellor of Peradeniya in "An Aspect of
Language Policy" from Jennings' File at Peradeniya University

Now that quote left me feeling about as sharp as a beanbag. I have never avoided books. But then again I was never one of those insatiable kids running amok in the library either. I have fond memories of being read to at night. I had a bookshelf in my room with old Hardy Boys-books that my father had collected when he was a kid. When he read he would change his voice with each character to fit his or her personality.

I was 11 or 12 when I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time. I loved the story, but hated reading it. At one point I gave up and the book lay untouched for months before I finally resumed reading where I had left off. Turning the last page I was crying, mainly because the ending is beautiful and sad, but partly also from relief at having finished (I was crying at the end of the final movie, too...).

As I became older I would chose random books for my parents' well stacked shelves, at times burning through them in no time, at other times letting them gather dust for weeks. I was never too critical about what I was reading, believing I could learn something from everything. I have the same philosophy still, believing it is important to be open-minded and that books can "cross-fertilize" one another.

Still, while traveling or living abroad, I prefer reading about the places I am at. Its a shame that there such a limited supply of Lankan English-language fiction. During my years at NTNU though, there has been little time for fiction. Now, that's not really the case, but after having spent a day reading academic stuff, normally the last thing I want to do is to open another book. I opt for a movie or TV instead.

I realize there are many holes in my literary upbringing. There are a number of classics, by Norwegian (Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Knut Hamsun and Silje thinks I should add Alexander Kielland etc.) as well as international (Franz Kafka, Fjodor Dostovjeski, Lev Tolstoj etc.) authors, that I would like to read but almost never stumbled upon. If I don't stumble upon them, reading them would mean having to make a concerted effort at buying them or borrowing them from a library. Concerted efforts were never my strong side.

Which is probably why I don't read 2+ books a week. But does anyone in this era of Internet and satellite television? Aren't we all just waiting to be entertained by the mind-numbing media monsters? Or perhaps this is my character flaw. I can be lazy beyond belief and I am all too often content doing nothing. I envy those of you who feel restless watching daytime television, who would rather go for a walk or read a book than watch televised snooker. With me the guilt of watching TV only comes creeping afterwards, when I realize that I have done nothing remotely challenging all day.

At times like that I promise myself to change and say start reading 2+ books a week.

Let's do some math:

What Sir Jennings thinks I should have read:

2 books a week from the age of 8 to the age of 27 (my birthday is in three weeks):

2 x 52 x 19 = 1976 books

What I have actually read:

I estimate an average of 2 books a month for the same period:

2 x 12 x 19 = 456 books

Leaving a difference of 1520 books.

To catch up over a period of 10 years I will have to add 2,9 books a week to Jennings' quota, or if I give myself 20 years, 1,5 books extra each week. 3,5 to 4,9 books a week! Ayoooo!

And it has to be "solid literature", which I guess rules out the Hardy Boys... :(

/haakon/