“Freedom of expression in a time of war”

I had a thought provoking experience yesterday of attending a forum theater performance at the British Council. Forum theater is an experimental kind of theater based on interaction with the audience and high audience involvement. This in itself was a new experience for me. And I must add that I was surprised by the heightened interest of the audience to the presentation. ( In Sri lanka, people are generally not that forthcoming. )

The topic discussed was about Freedom of expression at a time of war. The presentation was pretty good and thought provoking. The main points discussed was the oppression caused by government influence and extortion. I found this really interesting cause the liberals among the audience and conservatives had totally different views on the subject. Since the majority of the audience were from Colombo suburbs, there was a definite left wing view on it. But I wonder how a rural community would have responded to such an issue.

We can see a definite divide in Sri Lanka with regard to this issue, the government supporters and a lot of military people are of the view that personal freedom has to be sacrificed in a time of war. However the opposition has a very different take… implying that human rights should not be compromised.

I am definitely a liberal, but I tend to side with the government on this issue. This is because I think the largest threat to freedom in Sri Lanka is from the LTTE rather than the govt. So the iradication of LTTE is imperative. However the govt must proactively work towards respecting the rights of any persons it detains. We must understand however that there is no perfect solution to this, no govt is perfect. So we must look for the best we can have. For me the optimal solution today is to continue the war till we iradicate the LTTE leadership.

Rainy days are mine to keep

I have been having a case of writers block for some time now(Or is it Bloggers block?). Anyways it is nice to be back on the record. It has been quite an interesting few weeks, what with the incessant rain and the floods and all. Although I do not abhor the rain, I like it…. and I like the fresh colors that envelop the environs after the rain passes away. But floods, that is another story. The floods and the aftermath of floods are the only problems I have with the rainy weather.
However I would rather be soaked in rain than shriveled in the sun, I might add.

What I do on a rainy day is get down to some reading. Otherwise I just put on some Slow Rock or Alternative music and sing along to it. I am really into the new school punk and hip hop also. But when I am alone, I just love to relax to some Coldplay, Oasis etc.

One with nature

Looking out into the dark skies outside my hostel room, I wonder at the sheer beauty of the night sky. The world is so beautiful, so much so that I sometimes wonder why people don’t spend more of their time outdoors. Maybe it is the safety that they feel indoors. Maybe they just don’t have time to appreciate the beauty and the mystery of nature. However sad it is, I think that man should really look more closely at the nature if he is to survive another millennium.
When scientists develop new technologies they get a lot of their inspirations from nature. That is because nature has outlived us all due to her enduring nature, and she has so many secrets hidden deep within her. We just have to be good friends to her so that she will yield them to us.
Anyways, recently I went to Deenston forest reserve in Hunnasgiriya(In the heart of Sri lanka). Me and my friends camped out in the darkness of the night only broken by our campfire. The unpolluted sky gave us glimpses of the heavens like never before. I tell you there is nothing as beautiful as the night sky so full of stars. As i drifted off to sleep that day, my last thought was the famous line from Sir Arthur Clarke’s book 2001,
(Was it Dave Bowman or Frank Poole? I can’t seem to remember)
“My god, Its full of stars!”

A bittersweet time

What is it with these exams? They really can drive you up the wall. Since I am in my final year of university, I can of course rest assured that these are one of the final exams I am going to face. Anyways, we really do get some interesting people here that spice up the life. For example take my colleague at hostel (I wont disclose his name) who doesn’t even spend time to eat when exams are close. So we had to drag him to canteen to get some food into him.

Another guy is there who never even showers or shaves or cuts his hair! Gross! I mean how could someone live like that? Well I know now why a lot of the professors look so disheveled, they are just spending most of their time reflecting on academics.

Even though life can be hard in the hostel with exams and all. For me it has really been a journey of independence. Living separately from the warmth of home can change you in a fundamental way. It is therefore a bittersweet time for me. I know any one who’s been away from home for such a long time, can relate to me.