There is a well-known bridge that serves as a gateway to the city which received a rare honour once when a celebrated Sinhala drama was named after it. That’s just an aside.  A senior purohita usually conspicuous by his milky white dress the other day took a group of foreign delegates round the ghetto-like shanty area lying under part of this bridge. 

The shanty women – the menfolk being away busy with their respective occupations as usual – on seeing the unusual visitors had grown both inquisitive and suspicious. They had tagged behind the strangers walking round their ‘domain’. The purohita seemed to be explaining things to the foreigners and the women could not make head or tail of what was being said because they all were conversing in English. Their patience worn out, the womenfolk then asked the purohita why they were visiting their area. However, the purohita ignoring the shanty-folk had kept up his commentary in English for the benefit of the foreign visitors. 

Furious that neither the purohita nor any official in the group cared to explain to them the purpose of their visit, the women thereafter ringed the group in a hostile manner and directed at them a stream of profanities. 

The purohita’s security guards who found the situation was getting out of control took prompt action to take away the purohita and all other members of the group to safety.

“Thank God. Our foreign visitors didn’t understand the Sinhala filth!” the Ministry officials were telling each other while on their way back to office, they say.