{"id":39787,"date":"2015-03-21T23:18:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-22T03:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=39787"},"modified":"2015-03-22T08:42:37","modified_gmt":"2015-03-22T12:42:37","slug":"ranil-wickremesinghe-hosted-narendra-modi-for-lunch-on-friday-but-went-to-the-royal-thomian-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=39787","title":{"rendered":"Ranil Wickremesinghe Hosted Narendra Modi for Lunch on Friday but went to the Royal-Thomian on Saturday."},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy GARDINER HARRIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 No social function on this island is as important as the recent annual Royal-Thomian cricket match, but this year\u2019s event was particularly special because of what has become known here as the Royalist coup.<\/p>\n

\"Prime<\/a>

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe welcomed PM Narendra Modi at daybreak on March 13, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n

It was celebrated last weekend in party tents with toasts involving many drinks, and in acts of silliness that often unfold during the match. As usual, not a lot of attention was paid to the young people in white clothing who were batting a ball around the green pitch.<\/p>\n

\"Prime<\/a>

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the 136th annual Royal Thomian match in Colombo-pic by: Suhasini Haidar<\/p><\/div>\n

Royal College and St. Thomas\u2019 College, both founded by British clergy in the early 19th century, are this country\u2019s Eton and Harrow \u2014 bastions of privilege that have groomed Sri Lanka\u2019s leaders for nearly two centuries.<\/p>\n

The schools have competed in cricket every March for 136 years, making it one of the longest continuous cricket rivalries in the world \u2014 a point almost every spectator will make within seconds of meeting a foreigner.
\n
\n\u201cWe played during the world wars; we kept going during the worst of the civil war, when this city was like Beirut,\u201d said Rajind Ranatunge, an airline pilot. \u201cAnd the tsunami? Bah! Nothing stops us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ranatunge\u2019s implication, common here, was that the dandies of Eton and Harrow \u2014 the model for the Colombo schools \u2014 were not tough enough to continue play while millions were slaughtered during the world wars. The match has since evolved into a high-end bacchanal akin to the Kentucky Derby with rock bands, tubs of alcoholic beverages and exclusive tents guarded by mean-looking bouncers.<\/p>\n

Risking death to attend, as some said they did during this country\u2019s 26-year civil war between the government, dominated by the Sinhalese ethnic majority, and rebels from the minority Tamil group, did not seem so crazy after the fifth glass of whiskey (another tradition, many insisted, is that foreigners must drink everything offered).<\/p>\n

Attendees say there is a tacit understanding that the country\u2019s most responsible citizens may be spotted doing less than responsible things at the match. The housing minister, Sajith Premadasa, for instance, spent much of Saturday crooning with a rock band. Mr. Premadasa will never be mistaken for a professional singer.<\/p>\n

Indeed, attending the match is so ingrained in Sri Lanka\u2019s elite, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview, that even though reviving ties with India was one of his priorities, he faced an awful choice when he learned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India wished to make the first visit to Sri Lanka by an Indian premier in 28 years on the Friday and Saturday of the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cModi or the Royal-Thomian? That\u2019s a tough choice,\u201d Mr. Wickremesinghe, laughing, said in an interview three weeks before the visit.<\/p>\n

In the end, Mr. Wickremesinghe hosted Mr. Modi on Friday but did not accompany him Saturday when Mr. Modi traveled to the north of the country. Instead, Mr. Wickremesinghe attended the match, a homecoming of sorts for him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ten of the government\u2019s 28 cabinet ministers attended Royal College, including the prime minister, foreign minister, finance minister and housing minister, said Gayantha Karunatilleka, the government\u2019s media minister and also a Royal graduate.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of schoolmates has led to grumbling that the January election bringing the present government to power amounted to a Royalist coup. By contrast, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended Thurstan College, a more humble school.<\/p>\n

Although Mr. Rajapaksa sent his sons to St. Thomas\u2019, he was never truly accepted by the Royal-Thomian set, according to Rajpal Abeynayake, the former editor in chief of The Daily News and a Rajapaksa admirer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Colombo elite never wanted the Rajapaksas in their world; they snobbishly saw them as country bumpkins,\u201d Mr. Abeynayake said.<\/p>\n

A graduate of St. Thomas\u2019 himself, Mr. Abeynayake said this year\u2019s match was a celebration of the return of the country\u2019s traditional elite to power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it was all in fun, the subtext was that these people were back in charge now,\u201d Mr. Abeynayake said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Karunatilleka made no apology for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019re back in charge, and we\u2019re bringing with us the values we learned at these schools \u2014 inclusiveness and common decency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The present government has promised to reconcile with the country\u2019s Tamils, who voted overwhelmingly for President Maithripala Sirisena, who, after defeating Mr. Rajapaksa, appointed Mr. Wickremesinghe.<\/p>\n

The two schools have diverse student bodies that include Sinhalese and Tamils, and Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Almost everyone interviewed during the match said their schoolmates and friends came from all backgrounds. During almost a decade in power, Mr. Rajapaksa cultivated Sinhalese and Buddhist nationalist groups that, in important ways, rejected such inclusiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who went to these schools grew up with a mix of ethnicities and religions,\u201d said Harsha de Silva, the deputy minister of policy planning and economic affairs and a Royal graduate. \u201cThose are the beliefs of these schools, and we\u2019re now bringing that back to the government. And everyone here is celebrating that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The longevity of that return is uncertain. Parliamentary elections must be called by summer, and Mr. Rajapaksa may yet return to power. In the past, whoever won the presidency guided the government for years. Yet the present government has promised to pass constitutional changes to weaken the presidency and re-empower the prime minister, who could end up being Mr. Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knows who\u2019s going to be in power later this year,\u201d said Tilak de Zoysa, chairman of Carson Cumberbatch, a Sri Lankan conglomerate. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had this kind of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if to emphasize the uncertainty, torrential rains ended Saturday\u2019s match hours before it was set to conclude, drenching those who had failed to secure tickets to the tents. It was a sodden elite who emerged from the cricket grounds, although their spirits were still high as they lustily sang school fight songs with Latin phrases that most seemed to know by heart.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n

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By GARDINER HARRIS COLOMBO, Sri Lanka \u2014 No social function on this island is as important as the recent annual Royal-Thomian cricket match, but this year\u2019s event was particularly special because of what has become known here as the Royalist coup. It was celebrated last weekend in party tents with toasts involving many drinks, and …<\/p>\n

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