Will you be ready when the time comes ?

People write to share. Share the thoughts and memories. Some of them are as heavy as rocks and if not shared will sink your heart in deep dark burrows. Some are like bad coins which are meant to be thrown away to never to come back. But some are just gems. The gems that you adore and hide in the sweetest and deepest corners of your heart. Only to sneak a peak at, once in a while when you need to reboot your heart with joy and inspiration.You'd think twice before you share them. You'd want to keep it for yourself!

But this little gem of mine, I am gonna share with you all. This little gem, born and carved with tears, I will carry in my heart 'till the day I die, in the sweetest and deepest corner.I share this with you for you to learn a lesson. The same lesson that I learnt that day. 

Here it is.....

He was 91 and looked good for his age.I met him in a later hour of one saturday.He was calmly lying on a hospital bed with a pleasant smile across his face.Didn't realize how brave that smile was until I examined him.His tummy was bloated, tensed and definitely didn't deserve the smile he was wearing.He was in pain, which he made aware only to himself.My fears were confirmed when I saw his xray.His bowel was blocked with a probable cancer and was threatening to perforate at anytime, which would certainly bring about an unpleasant death. His only chance,if at all, was an emergency operation!

Had a long chat with him, where I explained everything to him.He was listening to every detail. Asked sensible questions and I could see that he was doing the math while we were talking.I didn't hide anything. He was aware that chances are he would not leave the hospital alive, if he didn't have an operation.I asked for his consent for the operation. After a pause, he said he wanted to wait for his wife before making a decision.That was fair enough.I knew his wife was already on her way.In the mean time I arranged everything for this man's operation and made all the effort to keep him comfortable.

Next time when I saw him he was holding the hand of his wife who was at the bed side. She smiled at me. 

Already knowing the bitter facts, yet she was not shaken.She was steady and making things easy for him as she must have done for him for all those years. Even I could feel the calmness and the ease in the air.You could visibly see the love pouring between them.

That old couple,in that cubicle, holding there hands in love was a feast to my eyes and has laid a permanat photo memory in my mind. I hope to god that it will not fade away !

Then he told me,

"You know Doc,I lived for 90 beautiful years. Fifty of them with this lovely lady of mine. We don't have children. But we had a full life, a full life. That's enough for me.I don't want an operation.I am ready !"

It shocked me.I was wordless.Not the first time people have said no for operations in my career before. But not like this. Not when there death is certain in hours than weeks or months. Most of all, not this calmly and confidently.

All I could mutter was " But you have only few hours without an operation"He gave that beautiful smile to me again and said 

"I am ready to go doc "

Something told me that at that point he was comforting me, more than anything.

I looked at the wife for help only to find that beautiful face, nodding in agreement and smiling. It's all final!

As it must have been for 50 years, no disagreements, no tears. Tears were all mine!

I couldn't wait any longer in that cubicle. My heart was squeezed with kind of mixed feelings.Sadness definitely, but the feel of that love was strongly trying to suppress that sadness.Also there was something else missing.I couldn't quite figure it out at that time.

Later on at home suddenly it hit me... I have never met a man in my life who was that ready to go!

Imagine If you are told you have only few more weeks or months to live. Just like me, how many unfinished businesses you might be thinking of?. Didn't eat that food, haven't been there, haven't done that. Oh what about money, the house and the car?. I want to see them, have my kids near me. How can I leave you my dear wife?....It will never end.

I am a Buddhist. So are most of my friends and family. We are trained and taught to be ready for the inevitable death. That's the bottom line of Lord Buddha's teaching.

But that little man from Newport, South Wales, who may not even had heard of Buddhism was packed and ready to go than any human being I ever knew. That's why he was calm. Thats why he was confident.That's what I learnt. Be ready. Nothing else matters when you get the call.

Next day When I came to work I learnt that he has passed away that night.....

Somehow,I was not sad !

The way you make me feel

Ever since I got the news of Michael Jackson's tour, I was always on the look out for a ticket. It was a dream to see him in action. I am sure it's a dream of everybody who enjoyed 80's music.

But it was a dream which was never lived to be true.

I woke up this morning to the news of his death. The man who lived in a world far far away from me made my heart sink for a while.

Now, I am not a crazy fan of MJ. I don't have his posters on my walls, not even have a single CD of him with me. But we grew up with him as kids in 80's

When we learnt to dance as pumped up teens, we tried to moon walk. Desperately tried to sing his songs imitating his unique voice in vein. Not to mentions the phrases of his songs we quoted to decorate our sweet love letters back then.

As most of the stars overwhelmed by wealth and fame would do, he also went crazy. MJ I saw as a teen, was not there anymore when I became a grown man. Nevertheless his talent and creativity stayed true to his reputation.

He was the greatest entertainer in our time. There may have been better singers and better dancers. But nobody could mix both talents together to entertain us like he did.He was a real genius of what he was doing.No matter what people say and how crazy he is, nobody can take that away from him.

To me he was a great ambassador of our time and a real music legend. When people label him as the King of the Pop I agree with them 100%. Sold 65 millions of copies of Thriller and stayed under the spot light for 45 years, out of his 50 living years ! That is enough to justify that title.

Michael Jackson, This little note is to thank you for what you have done for music and to bid you farewell. May you rest in peace !

Listen to the words of the man who lost his childhood........

Answer to Times allegation on Sri Lankan casualties

Following article gives the answers the Times allegation on Sri Lankan civilian casualties.Times article (refer to my post-Sri Lanka, UK's biggest enemy) catagorically mentioned that their figure of 20000, as the death toll, was based on UN report. Here the UN it self denying the knowladge of any such report or such number. Yet again Times is proven to be based on false figures to attack Sri Lankan government enviously. Shame on you!



Lets wait and see what Times have to say about this



UN did not underestimate Sri Lanka death toll: Ban

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday categorically rejected allegations the world body had deliberately underestimated the death toll in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

"I categorically reject -- repeat categorically -- any suggestion that the United Nations has deliberately underestimated any figures," he told the UN General Assembly.

He was reacting to press reports citing confidential UN reports that more than 20,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan army shelling.

"In regard to some reports in the media, I should emphasize that the final total is not yet known," the UN secretary general said. "Most of these figures do not emanate from the UN and most are not consistent with the information at our disposal."
Ban however made it clear that "whatever the total, the casualties in the conflict were unacceptably high -- as I have also said repeatedly."

Saturday, the London-based Amnesty International called for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka's civil war and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates.

The call by the rights group followed a report in the Times of London newspaper on Friday citing confidential UN reports that more than 20,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan army shelling.

Commenting on the report, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told a press briefing Monday: "The number of 20,000 is not a UN number."
She said she checked with UN officials in Colombo earlier in the day and the response was that "they have absolutely no idea where that number came from."

The Times of London report followed weeks of allegations that large numbers of civilians had been killed as the Sri Lankan army closed in on Tamil Tiger rebels and finally crushed the 30-year-old insurgency by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last month.

Amnesty's Asia Pacific director Sam Zarifi accused both sides of war crimes and called for an independent international probe.

The Colombo government, which has rejected demands by the UN Human Rights Council for a fact-finding mission on the war crimes allegations, on Friday angrily dismissed the Times report.

"These figures are way out," Sri Lankan defense ministry spokesman Lakshman Hulugalle said. "We totally deny the allegation that 20,000 people were killed."

Amnesty said, however, that it continued to receive reports of widespread human rights violations, with more than 280,000 people displaced by the recent fighting and now restricted to state-run welfare camps in the island's north.

Sri Lanka.. UK's Biggest Enemy

From The Times - May 29, 2009Times photographs expose Sri Lanka’s lie on civilian deaths at beach(s0 they say)



link to the original article-http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6383477.ece


This is the latest allegation used by UK media against the Sri Lankan government(SLG), with whom they are engaged in a fierce media war at the moment.

The way they behave and the amount of resources and power they use against SLG, makes one wonder, whether UK consider Sri Lanka as their biggest enemy in the world at this moment !. They carry out their attacks against SLG with such vengeance and arrogance.

In this offence against SLG, Times plays a major role as the front line brigade. This fact is so obvious for anybody who is following UK media, with regard to the Sri Lankan conflict.

Most of the times, knowingly they used fabricated reports and digital media, which were spread across the globe by late LTTE or pro-late LTTE propaganda machines. Also they kept there eyes and ears closed to the news which were in favour of SLG. Many a times there stories back fired and they were left in open naked, owing to false facts and figures they relied upon. But when it comes to bias reporting the UK media has no shame..

Have a look at their latest find. Just read the topic. They are so sure that SLG has lied about the civilian deaths and here they are proving it with their own little investigation. They have exposed everything ! Read their own words....

"An investigation by The Times into Sri Lanka’s civilian casualties, which was conducted in a week-long visit to Sri Lanka — has found evidence of a civilian death toll of 20,000, almost three times that cited previously. The majority perished under government guns."

For the sake of all of us, they have reached a nice round figure of 20,000 as civilian casualties. How convenient is that !.

And they give a breakdown of casualties as shown below, according to the injuries and worked out how many were killed by each party.

*January 2% gunshot wounds ( Caused by late LTTE) 80% shelling (Caused by SLG)
*February 15% gunshots 64% shelling

And then it goes on and on ........ what a laugh !

They have counted only the deaths caused by firearms. What about the innocents who were hacked to death and burnt alive in NFZ when they tried to escape? (Refer to my post "Define Human" http://harshajayman.blogspot.com/2009/03/definehuman.html)

How practical is this approach? And where did these data come from. Any reliable source? They must have had separate units of audit and census staff in the battle field. Intentions are clear. Any fool who comes up with some numbers, as long as they embarrass the SLG, they will use it. May be the direct orders from David Miliband.


And then they have these photos which they have captured during Ban ki Moon's recent visit to Sri Lanka. Very keenly they have got these photographs analyzed by some "military experts".
According to them, Figure 2 shows a place where the slain late LTTE members were buried. Figure 1 is showing the "mass civilian grave yards". Just by looking at those photos their "experts" have assessed the number of people died and most hilariously, who has killed them.
The slide show (click to watch) has 13 photographs and they clearly show how the late LTTE has kept the civilians as a human shield. Also they show late LTTE gun points, heavy artillery, vehicles and their command posts placed in NFZ. They were very careful not to mention any of these in their article. That's the motto. No matter what, don't blame the LTTE ! ( How ever, I later found out that these were briefly mentioned within a millisecond during the narration in the video footage)
So, armoured with these mere speculations they are yet again pointing the finger at SLG. Job well done, Miliband will say! Why are they so geared up to do this? Is it jealousy, that we as a nation did something that they couldn't even dream of doing or is it just fear, that they will loose there "Democratic big brother" status over the small nations?
The trend in the world, with regard to the conflict in Sri Lanka, is changing. It is changing in favour of Sri Lanka. The nations who frontiered together with UK and US are changing their stances now. Some willingly and others not so willingly, either support the SLG or rolling into a neutral position.
UK, on the other hand is still continuing with their onslaught.Refusing to change and refusing to accept the facts. The fact that they couldn't intimidate us via Miliband convoy, has insulted their arrogance very badly.(Poor Miliband, didn't he get some good treat from Gotabhaya!) That's why this has become so personal and that's why it is difficult for them to change. But they will change!. When they get isolated and cornered, they will change.
Until then the UK media will keep on entertaining us with their jokes and bailas. Read them and spice them up a little with your comments.Enjoy their jokes but break their theories. Write back fight back. It will make a difference!
Till next time.....

YES WE DID IT!

How to fight terrorism and insurgents ? Come and ask from Sri Lankans, ask from Mahinda and Gotabhaya.

History was made. There was never a nation who could defeat terrorism completely with total annihilation. So many fights fought, battles won in the world. But not a single war was won by a one single nation before. 

We Sri Lankans did it ! We've set the standards! We've set the examples !

In the future all over the world people will refer to Sri Lanka to study about warfare. Names of our great war thinking tanks, will be mentioned. Our great novel military strategies will be discussed and analyzed over and over. Bravery of our foot soldiers will be appraised.

Mahihinda Rajapaksha......

The man who made all the difference. Such a commitment. Such a passion for the motherland!. More than winning the war what amazes me is how this man stood  his ground against all the pressure. That it self will make him the best.

We are a nation which was betrayed by our own leaders. All of our past leaders thought about the war. But nobody had guts to stand against the western world. They shivered and betrayed the nation, with the tail between their legs when ever US or UK come and shout at them. Such cowards and pimps ! Even now at this victorious movement I am sure that Ranil is on the phone with Norway to get advices to bring down Mahinda.

When Mahinda came to power and got his brothers around him people talked about the Rajapaksha Brothers Company. 

UNP wanted Gotabhaya out of the scene.

Well look What they have done ? Look how right Mahinda was. Brothers are the safest possible people to keep around for a King considering the quality of politicians we have. They are not just brothers. They are capable brothers who prove the point with their success. Basil is currently doing an excellent job of  lifting up the conditions in rural areas. I saw it with my own eyes last in April when I was in SL. Well I don't have to  go into details about Gotabhaya. But I just like to remind everybody how he dealt with Milliband. Man has got a real Sri Lankan back bone !

For the sake of our country right people were at the right jobs at the right times. Mahinda was blessed with these Tri service commanders who believed in targets than money to be at his right hand . We all know the quality of most of our military commanders who were there in the past. Corruption was up to the nose with them. If we had people like that in the office the it would have been bit difficult for Mahinda.

And then these guys.... Our own flesh and blood !

Well what can I tell about them. No words to describe there bravery.

Now we all know how the western world fight wars. Send a search team, get the GPS position, blow'em with bombs and shells. The coward way of doing it! British teams in Afghanistan now have trained dogs with cameras on their heads instead of 8 men teams !

Our boys fought a brutal  battle face to face with the enemy. As we all know the latter part of the war was fought completely with small arms with no artillery or air cover. 

Numerous earth bunds, Km long open fields, Suicide attackes, bombs, shells, rains against all odds they won the war for us in the best possible way. They sacrificed there own lives limbs and eyes all for us, for our children for a better Sri Lanka.

I humbly bow my head to your my friends....

Together as a nation ..... Yes we did it!

Obama, Hilary, Brown, Miliband.... well we can understand your frustration. We as a small nation has achieved something extra ordinary which you can't even dream of achieving despite of having all the military power in the world. 

Also it is pretty obvious why you are taking this issue so personally. It is not because you care about Tamil rights, no.... It is purely because you are furious that we are not intimidated by you anymore. Mahinda has shown the way for other small nations like us how to evade your arrogance. We have better friends now.

You always talk about terrorism and we have shown you how to deal with them. Stop your anger and enviousness against us and join us in the fight against terrorism.

After all thats what they say....If you can't beat them, join them.......

Tamils, hate and love

I still can remember....
Shocking news of the murder of 13 soldiers by Tamil separatists in Jaffna, hit us like a bomb. That was July 1983, well known as Black July.

People were on to the roads in no time to share their opinion and mostly their anger. Amongst them was me as a 14 yr old with my father. 

No body had heard a news like that before. Sri Lankan army was never challenged in that way. It was unbelievable. How dare the Tamils could do such a thing! There was no doubt whatsoever in anybodies mind. The culprits should be punished and punished heavily!

For the first time I saw Tamils as enemies. Most of the other people did too. 

As a result came the riots and people took the law into their hands. Generations of friendships amongst Sinhalese and Tamils were forgotten within minutes. Tamils were punished on sight. No body was spared, irrespective of there social states. Scores of innocent people payed the ultimate price with their lives for the sins which were done hundreds of miles away by some unknown people.

At that time I believed that Tamils were getting what they deserved and didn't have any sympathy towards them. Looking back I feel ashamed of myself for even thinking like that. 

Since then I have come a long way . So has the country too. Today looking at the Tamil IDPs our attitude towards them is totally reversed. Brings tears to my eyes when I see how much they have suffered. Nobody is spared. All of them look like walking skeletons. Deprived of all known basic needs in life. Ironically this time around they've been punished by their very own people who were once upheld as there patriotic saviors.

Instead of hate,love and sympathy is what we have towards them today.They are not our enemies any more. 

Lessons were learnt.Time to put the things right. Everybody is ready for a new country. A country where all can live in harmony.Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims all as SriLankans.