The "F" word.............

It has been 62 years, apparently. 

Leading to it , there have been bloodshed and struggles , surely. From the beheading of Keppitipola to numerous peasants killed by Her majesty's government.

 Subsequently too, there have been many scarlet blotches in the time line of freedom.

But one thing for sure,  in 1948 , freedom was given without any cost to us . Yes I said Freedom . (That is what Nidahas means , in my humble opinion …not independence .)

May be that was the fad at that time , may be the empire did want to incur the massive overruns. May be it was a business decision. Whatever the cause it was just handed over.

If you ask me ,whether it is not due to the many years of blood sweat and suffering of our forefathers that  chipped the wall bit by bit and finally causing it to collapse. Well that's just one perception. 

But let's get one thing straight , in 1948 when the lion flag was hoisted for the first time , the rope that raised it, was imported.  So to say.

Anyway from that point onwards various people have interpreted the "F" word in many ways. Many lives lost, many fights fought.

Let's not get in to the blurry discussions that go nowhere, of what freedom is at a conceptual level. 

Let’s ponder what would freedom means to an individual.

From the freedom the leave the Manik farm camp, to sing a Tamil song out loud in streets of matara. 

From to have your Google search not censored or not to  have Facebook accounts monitored. 

From having the right to think, write and scold people. And the for the others to do the same as well.

From having the right to have street signs in a language that one can understand , to having the right to learn the language the street signs are  written in

To feel that there is no advantage or disadvantage because of the religion you believe in or your race or creed.

To have the freedom to earn as hard as we work . And to spend on anything we want 

Forget what the politicians & media tell you ...forget the fancy advertising..... what would it mean to you ?

Are our notions of Freedom our own ? or are they imported , influenced , inserted.

Are we still hoisting the flag of freedom with a rope that is made in China, UK, USA or India.

After all

Freedom sounds so nice

Rolls nicely in the mouth

And melts like Kandos chocolate 

slowly

Freedom 

has a tangy smell

like Kohomba soap 

uplifting your spirit

For hours

Freedom tastes nice 

dipped in sweet plain tea

like Maliban Marie 

Freedom 

Is 

a state of mind ..An acquired taste.....