Nothing endures but change

[This was first publised as the EDITORIAL in the THOMIANA (Vol 13.2) - The Official Newsletter of the STC OBA in Melbourne, Australia]

We’ve all heard of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle but how many of us have heard of Heraclitus?? It turns out that this relatively obscure Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, is credited with recognizing the most obvious aspect of our existence: change.

Change occurs in every aspect of our lives and is continuous. Look around. We’re experiencing changes everywhere; changes in our personal life, changes to the fortunes of our Rugby team, leadership changes at the old school, political changes with the end of the war in Sri Lanka, unprecedented economic changes, changes to the environment and even changes to the look and feel of the Thomiana and the OBA’s website.

Heraclitus’ idea was that the universe is in a constant state of change and that there is an underlying order or reason for that flow.

Thomian rugby has been bruised and battered in recent years but all that changed this year with our boys winning almost every game they’d played. Our only loss was against Royal, where we’d fought back from 7-31 at half time to a final score of 33-37. Our boys went on to earn a reputation as second-half kings this season. Other teams would often lead the scoring at the beginning of the game and the Thomians would grind them into the mud in time for the final whistle. Their physical and mental fitness was the reason they could effect that change.

Meanwhile at the helm, the Rev John Puddefoot is taking over from Dr David Ponniah as the Warden of STC. Whilst Rev John’s style is likely to be different to his predecessor we can rest assured that the two gentlemen share an appreciation of STC’s mission, underlying values and sense of tradition. Both Rev John and Dr Ponniah responded promptly to my request and we get a glimpse of the true character of the two men in their respective contributions to the THOMIANA. On that note, I must confess that I took great pleasure in giving ‘homework’ to two Wardens of STC and I reckon that more than makes up for the decade of homework that I carried home from Mt Lavinia.

Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, a brutal war has come to a brutal end. With the end of the war has come an opportunity to change for the better and rebuild that country. Only time will tell if Sri Lankans choose that high road, or not. This then is an ideal time for us Thomians to step up and share our values and perspectives to help shape the Sri Lanka to come.

Also in this edition of THOMIANA, we take a look at how change impacts our Thomian identity. Barney Reid takes a look at the inner turmoil of a youngster who worries that he may, or may not, succeed as a Thomian. Dinesh Chelvathurai, meanwhile, reconciles and comes to terms with the identity crisis that he grappled with when he was moved from S. Thomas’ Prep School to Royal College.

Elsewhere in this edition, a former Thomian rugby player laments the changes to the traditional striped rugby jersey. In similar vein, our readers will surely notice the changes to the look and feel of the THOMIANA and the OBA’s web site. Rest assured that these are not changes for the sake of change but changes that have purpose. Only time will tell if the new looks will stay or go.

If the underlying reasons are good then change can’t be all that bad… can it?

If change is inevitable, then ‘Esto Perpetua’ makes a lot of sense. Our Thomian ethos will see us through, be it on the playing field, at school, in nation building or in our own personal lives. Old Heraclitus was on to something… he could’ve been a Thomian!

Esto Perpetua

Vasee Nesiah
Editor

STC OBA (Melbourne, Australia)

www.stcobaaust.org.au

July 2009

The essence of being a Thomian – three teenagers remind us

[This was first publised as the EDITORIAL in the THOMIANA (Vol 13.1) - The Official Newsletter of the STC OBA in Melbourne, Australia]

Who amongst us can claim to be a Thomian? Is it enough that we were once enrolled at that school by the sea? Is it enough that we know the words to the College song and might have had the opportunity to represent the school on the playing field, on stage or in the swimming pool? Or do our actions speak louder than our words?

The recent 130th Royal-Thomian encounter was almost as big an occasion, as the Centenary match in 1979. Once again, Thomian grit and resolve came to the fore – clearly, we save the best for the big occasions. The scoreboard at noon on Friday (day 2 of 3) suggested the game would be over by Tea the same day, or shortly afterwards. Thomian Captain Nirrushan and opening batsman Saleem, however, remembered the essence of being Thomian. They fought back in style and together assembled a record partnership that almost took us out of the woods. Unfortunately, an umpiring error sent Nirrushan back to the pavilion and just when it looked dark and gloomy for STC, a fifteen year old kid walked up to the crease to remind us that Thomians are truly special. Sachin wasn’t going to give up easily and that was evident in his body language and shot selection. As the scoreboard ticked on past 400, Sachin and his mates reminded us all that Thomians come to the fore when others might not. The scoreboard might suggest that the end result was a draw but that only tells half the story. For all practical purposes, victory was ours.

Even as the afterglow of that great Thomian fightback fades off into the annals of history, the OBA in Australia turns its attention to the calendar ahead. It’s easy to be disheartened by news of job cuts, budget freezes and the general sense of recessionary doom and gloom. Should we curl up and retreat or should we press ahead as planned? Perhaps the choices those young Thomians made, at the SSC ground, might have some cues for us?

Under pressure and short on resources, those kids stood up as a team and faced the challenge as Thomians should. There were five LBW decisions that went against us in the first innings and we took the umpire at his word.

Most of those present at the ground saw the turf kiss the ball before Nirrushan was ruled caught in the second innings but Nirrushan took the umpire at his word. Not only did our boys demonstrate ample reserves of Thomian grit, they also took the high road with grace and composure.

The College song asks us to rally round the college flag, whilst other schools talk of books and books and yet others claim to be the best school of all. Thomians, make no boasts. Grit, grace, courage, unity and humility are expected of us. We walk and dine with kings and beggars alike. There is an earthiness about S Thomas’ and yet we’re well prepared for the World’s stage. When we call ourselves Thomians, we set expectations.

There is some confusion as to the origins of the phrase ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man.’ Some say it’s derived from an Old English proverb ‘Opportunity makes the man’ and others point at ‘Because the Hour’s come, and the Man’ in a Sir Walter Scott novel. Some suggest the true origin was the Gospel of John (4:23) ‘But the hour cometh, and now is.’

With all that is happening around us, for Thomians, the hour cometh. There is no better time for us to demonstrate the essence of being Thomian.

Esto Perpetua!
Vasee Nesiah

Editor

STC OBA (Melbourne, Australia)

April 2009

The New Moral Majority – Black It Ain’t!

- Vasee Nesiah

An African American is in the White House and this time he ain’t going to be shining no shoes. No, sir!

 

Whilst it is understandable that most African Americans and others of a certain vintage would see the election as a ‘win’ in the battle for emancipation, the election of Barack Hussein Obama has signaled a far more significant development in America’s psyche. The World has witnessed a quantum leap in how Americans perceive themselves and Obama has laid bare the presumptions of a White and Black America, a Democratic and Republican America, a Religious and Secular America, etc., etc. Not just in his campaign rhetoric, but also in his vote tally on Election Day.

 

Despite the media hype about hordes of African Americans lining up to register to vote, it is notable that the African American share of the total votes cast had only gone up by 1% over the previous elections that put Bush in office for a second term. Similarly, the fear of rampant youth voters hijacking the election, didn’t materialise as they only increased by 2% over the previous presidential election. In their first interview after the election, President-elect Obama’s campaign team confirmed that their campaign over the last 21 months was not built around their candidate’s age or race. Barack Obama won because he won over the new moral majority.

 

The majority of the people who voted for Barack Obama did so because his message resonated with their values. His steady demeanor underscored his consistent message and he carried the electorate with him. Neither his skin colour, nor his shocking middle name, proved to be a distraction to the 66 million voters who placed their trust in him.

 

Barack Hussein Obama out performed the previous Democratic contender in almost every demographic, among voters of all genders, races, education levels, and income classes, and virtually all religions. Obama only underperformed John Kerry amongst older (65+) voters, and gay and lesbian voters. Not since Jimmy Carter have so many evangelical Christians voted for a democratic president and yet in California, that liberal bastion, they voted to ban Gay Marriage. No Democratic primary contest has been as divisive or as fiercely contested and yet Obama won over 80 per cent of Hillary’s 18 million voters. This election has shown that the American electoral landscape is rife with such conundrums.

 

It’s not just The Economy, Stupid!

America is fighting two wars, has an economy in tatters and desperately needs a leader to make America feel good again. On the face of it, John McCain seemed the ideal candidate with his impeccable foreign policy and defense credentials, Republican badge of fiscal conservatism balanced by an image of being more centrist than any other Republican contender. McCain was the only Republican who could win Democrats over to his side and the election must have seemed within grasp with the endorsement of Lieberman, a recent vice-presidential nominee of the Democrats. Conventional wisdom would suggest that John McCain was a safe pick, but conventional wisdom is often the domain of those whose memories outweigh their ability to think ahead. Or as Obama defined, it, HOPE!

 

Obama and his team, weren’t about to follow in Jesse Jackson’s footsteps. To assemble a Jacksonesque rainbow coalition would only do to the Democratic ticket what Palin eventually did to the Republican ticket. Energise the base and then what? Instead, Obama and his team decided that American voters were truly more mature and rational than they’d been given credit for by the media and most politicians. Obama worked hard to stay on the high road, first with Hillary and then with McCain. He refused to be drawn into personality clashes, instead he hammered home the basic tenets of his platform with monotonous rigour.

 

This election wasn’t about equality for people of colour, or the economy, or stem cell research or the war in Iraq. This election was about electing a leader who had the attributes of a leader – somebody who could steady the ship in a storm and lead it to calmer waters. The country responded to Obama’s presentation of himself as somebody with a vision of where the country needs to go and how it could get there. The medium, Obama, was the message.

 

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our minds – Bob Marley.

The real impact of Obama’s election will not have dawned on most African Americans, yet. This is not the dawn of Black Power, nor is it a sign that racism is dead. On the contrary, everyday reality is not going to change for most African Americans. Obama’s election has cruelly robbed the black man of the right to feel sorry for himself. No longer can society take the blame for violence, drugs, teen pregnancies and dead-beat dads. The Obama era will inspire a new generation of African Americans to emancipate themselves from mental slavery and join the new Moral Majority. Those who choose to remain a bitter minority will wake up to the rude shock that their crutch is gone. The white man’s conspiracy to subjugate the black man is no more – ‘The man’ is dead.

 

Moral Majority? Us too!

Almost everybody in every country must know somebody who cried whilst watching Obama’s acceptance speech. What is it about Obama’s election that would make a white woman cry in Melbourne or an old Indian cry in Singapore? What heart strings does a German in Hamburg share with a Brazilian in Rio? The answer, perhaps, is in America’s brand promise and what it means to the rest of the World. Obama’s Berlin speech drew unprecedented crowds and that was no accident. They didn’t come for the rock music in the park atmosphere – they came to HOPE. The World has long swallowed sugar coated American ideals, only to find it a bitter pill. The eight years of Bush and the opportunistic politics of terrorism had sapped most of the World of the desire to celebrate life and just as the economic shutters threatened to plunge us into darkness, America presented us a bright new shining star.

 

We may not have been able to vote for Obama but we could certainly share in the hope that he infused in Americans. He spoke intelligently, not condescendingly. He came from a terribly disjointed and broken family and yet he was a model family man. Obama and his team realised that America’s might was not in the dollar or the bullet but in the brand promise of the American constitution. Obama had ideals that we can all relate to – in sharp contrast to George Bush, and even Bill Clinton. It’s no wonder we cried tears of joy. No longer do we have to tacitly acknowledge or secretly admire tyrants around the globe, just for the fact that they stood up to a bigger bully in George Bush.

 

If Obama stays ‘on message’ as he has done for the last 21 months, then surely these must be the last days of Mugabe and his like in our miserable corners of the Globe? Or is that too much to HOPE?

***

Note: Please click on ‘comments’ to respond.  This piece was first published atTranscurrents

A rush and then the quiet

January, February and March have been quite a rush – running contrary to the World about us…

Bush fires in Melbourne, carnage in Sri Lanka, doom and gloom economic climate in every corner of the World and yet, I signed a new contract, bought a new house, had house guests for two weeks, two dinner dances in Melbourne and a ten day jaunt to have a great time in Colombo and KL with Yogala and Merhini.

April, however, has brought the quiet and the cold.

The recessionary (love that word, not the context) climate seems to have permeated our home as well. The folks Ergo are having trouble paying their bills and that has me looking at other opportunities. Luckily we have a Plan B of sorts in Yogala’s work but thats not my comfort zone. I’m a Plan A type and I’m going to make it happen. Recession, or not.

Premature retirement is not an option. I have plans for April.

Countdown…

The bags are packed and I’m ready to go… not a taxi but Leon (my buddy) will soon be at my door.

At the time of writing this post, I had exactly 36 hours to take-off on a ten day jaunt with Yogala and Merhini. We’ve got lots planned with friends and family back home. We’re all looking forward to the trip, even though we know that we have good reasons to be cautious, if not worried.  Merhini’s preparation has been too funny to watch – she is constantly planning and plotting with her Ladies College friends in Colombo.  I suspect they’re going to run riot in Colombo. I thought that was my job? Baton change? I hope not. Not ready. Not yet.

Also have some concerns about leaving Udhayanan back in Melbourne. Sure, the fridge and larder are bursting at the seams and he will be given a check-list for each day (I’m sure all 17 year olds would love a check-list).   Oh, I’m sure he can fend for himself, and the two dogs will do fine in his care, but then there is the unexpected and the what if?

‘ang on, ‘ang, on!
I’m worrying again. ‘eh?
Age? 

Hmm… Perhaps the countdown is not about going off on a vacation or to behave like a teenager at the Royal-Thomian? Perhaps I’m counting down to that moment when I realise that I’m ready for pasture????

But wait! I haven’t even had my mid-life crisis yet. Or have I? Is this it? Is that a light at the end of the tunnel, or is it a freight train?

Can somebody stop the clock. Please….

Adventures of Cadju, the Kitchen Pirate

Saturday – Yogala wakes up on Saturday morning to make a loaf of ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids to take to the beach – Cadju had other ideas and he wiped the plate clean as soon as she left the kitchen. Yogala has a meltdown but Cadju limits his emotions to a burp.

Monday – Udhayanan hides a big slab of Cadbury’s chocolate from his sister and father but Cadju demonstrates his keen sense of smell and a love for chocolate – Udhayanan no longer has a slab of chocolate to hide.

Tuesday (afternoon) – Cadju is locked in a bedroom to keep him away from the rest of the family as we pack to move house – but he discovers a box of premium chocolates from USA in the closet and he proceeds to eat everything but the cardboard tray.

Tuesday (night) – After a busy day of working at the new house, the family goes out to a nice chinese dinner but Cadju lodges his protest by attacking a kilo of Christmas cake he’d discovered in the larder.  Needless to say he ate the whole thing, almond icing included but he left the decorative red bow – I suppose we could use it again next year.