Musings

“Anula the lustful queen”..no no that’s not the latest C grade flick cheapos are watching now-a- days, nor is it the latest Mills and Boons novel. It simply is the true translation of a chapter in the Mahavamsa; the epic that chronicles Sri Lanka’s history. One of the most influential queens of her time, Anula ruled Sri Lanka for five years, poisoned her way through five husbands, countless other consorts and finally was herself poisoned, disposed off and the Sri Lankan monarchy once again returned to a sense of relative propriety. Considering that this happened circa 47 to 42 BC..one wonders if human passions have ever changed through the millennia. What else is interesting is how little we know about Sri Lankan history. There were approximately ten kings with the same name, one of them dumb enough to let his watchman rule for a day. You guessed it right…the watchman as king chopped of the foolish regents head, proclaimed himself new ruler and bizarrely, the people accepted! This piece of writing has nothing whatsoever to do with anything useful, except for the fact that you can now boast of knowing Sri Lankan history. Nice topic for parties eh?

Continuing with the theme, (Sri Lanka, not lustful queens (perverts!)) the island was known as serendib (mother of the word serendipity) by the Arabs. Sadly this beautiful island, bearing testimony to its teardrop shape has ever been in conflicts eye since 1983. Ethnic strife plagues the island, as Tamils and Sinhalese try to bomb each other out of existence. Sometimes makes you wonder. Aren’t the most beautiful places in the world the most disturbed? Kashmir immediately springs to mind. Tibet caught in endless political dilemmas of its own. Japan bombed with neutrons five decades ago. The cradle of civilization, modern day Babylon trifled with by Bush… Almost like fate wanted to compensate for natures masterpieces.