24 November 2020

Santhush Weeraman’s note on sloth, cowardice and hypnosis


 

Santhush Weeraman. An individual. Santhush Weeraman, in many ways inextricably linked to Bathiya Jayakody. One is not spoken without reference to the other. Like right now, as I write. Together they produce incredible music. Together they’ve entertained hundreds of thousands of people. Together, over the past 32 years, they’ve….well, you know it and if you don’t, a quick glance at the Wiki page ‘Bathiya and Santhush’ would fill you up with all relevant details.

So what do they do, outside of music? Those who know them would probably describe both as down-to-earth, full-of-smiles and very much aware of the world they live in, the lives they lead, the impact they have and the true dimensions of themselves within the larger frame of history and location and the responsibilities that iconic stature confer.

Melodies run in their blood streams, I’ve long been convinced. They are purified in their hearts and come out to drip delight and comfort upon the world around them. And then, as is the case of all good art, the earth comes alive.

What’s in, comes out, and I suppose there’s heart and mind that find expression in their music. What else? Well, here’s a slice of Santhush Weeraman:
 
‘For all of us in this world, life is a continuous fight. Many a time we want to interpret our weakness and cowardice as forgiveness and renunciation. There is no merit in the renunciation of a beggar. If a person who can give a blow forbears, there is merit in that. If a person who has, gives up, there is merit in that. We know how often in our lives through laziness and cowardice we give up the battle and try to hypnotize our minds into the belief that we are brave.’

Beggary of course comes in various forms. There are mendicants and mendicant. Some, ironically, have lots of bucks. There can be all kinds of giving too. What got me thinking was the justification for sloth, apathy and cowardice so often offered.

Battles can and are conceded for legitimate reasons. Retreat is often a valid and sometimes even a non-negotiable option. My father, who is now 82 years old, made the following observation when he was around Santhush’s age: ‘It is hard to put down someone who has reconciled himself to understand the eternal verities. Therefore, if you cannot stand ramrod straight in the face of storms beyond your strength, you must let them pass over you. Stand firm if you can, retreat if you must. Above all, never panic.’

There are storms within our strength, so to speak, that we do not stand up to, random straight or otherwise. Even such storms we let pass over us. We run away. We panic. We don’t say ‘we don’t have the guts. We don’t say we are lazy. Instead we philosophize. We say ‘I choose my battles,’ or ‘I am above such petty quarrels,’ or ‘it’s not my fight anyway,’ or any of a number of excuses out there to justify inaction.

No one in this world has ever done wrong, a wise man said years ago. He was, at the time, around 25 years of age. His argument: people always justify their actions. Of course there are people who regret and make public their remorse, but by and large such sentiments are kept out of public eye.

It’s not about making a song and dance about engagement of course. That’s not what Santhush meant, obviously. It’s about conscience. It’s about honesty. And in the end it’s what gives peace.

Dr Udaya Rajapaksa, a botanist who was a senior researcher at the Agrarian Research and Training Institute in the early 1990s, once made an important observation on battles, battling and their aftermath. There was a battle of sorts. Udaya and I fought together. Our ‘team’ lost. Udaya, who had studied in Russia and was a veritable library that contained many volumes on many things outside plants including literature, film, political history and philosophy, said (in Sinhala), ‘I sleep best after a good fight, because I know I’ve fought hard and not held myself back.’

Are we really ‘brave’ in the choices we make? Are we energetic or lazy? Have we engaged or are we really washing our hands off? Do we engage, when we say we engage or appear to do so? Are we brave when it’s show and show-up and nothing more? Are we trying to hypnotize others or ourselves? And, this is is the most worrisome thing, do we end up hypnotizing ourselves?

Santhush Weeraman’s note made me think. I think I would like to hear what Bathiya has to say too. 

malindasenevi@gmail.com

Other articles in the series 'In Passing...':  [published in the 'Daily News']  

Eyes that watch the world and cannot be forgotten   Let's start with the credits, shall we? 
The 'We' that 'I' forgot 
'Duwapang Askey,' screamed a legend, almost 40 years ago
Dances with daughters
Reflections on shameless writing

Is the old house still standing?
 Magic doesn't make its way into the classifieds

Small is beautiful and is a consolation  
Distance is a product of the will
Akalanka Athukorala, at 13+ alre
ady a hurricane hunter
Did the mountain move, and if so why?
Ever been out of Colombo?
Anya Raux educated me about Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
Wicky's Story You can always go to GOAT Mountain
Let's learn the art of embracing damage
Kandy Lake is lined with poetry
There's never a 'right moment' for love
A love note to an unknown address in Los Ange
les
A dusk song for Rasika
Jayakody
How about creating some history?
How far away are the faraway places?
There ARE good people!
Re-placing people in the story of schooldays  
When we stop, we can begin to learn
Routine and pattern can checkmate poetry

Janani Amanda Umandi threw a b'day party for her father 
Sriyani and her serendipity shop
Forget constellations and the names of oceans
Where's your 'One, Galle Face'?

Maps as wrapping paper, roads as ribbons
Yasaratne, the gentle giant of Divulgane  
Katharagama and Athara Maga
Victories are made by assists
Lost and found between weaver and weave
The Dhammapada and word-intricacies
S.A. Dissanayake taught children to walk in the clouds
White is a color we forget too often  
The most beautiful road is yet to meet a cartographer

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