Pora talk - Pora walk and status - Jayalal Rohana

Parents have faced a disappointing situation in bringing up children these days because of the revolutionary behaviour of the children. Jayalal Rohana, an artiste as well as a teacher came forward in finding a solution at the Doramandalawa programme recently regarding the issue that has cropped up as to why such a situation has arisen; which is something that every person is asking one another.

   What he said was that the 'mama Porak' mentality has crept into the society in a wrong way as a result of wrong education and that it has become a cancer. The ideas which he expressed by demonstrating it is follows:
             "An adult lady one day asked why a thing like this has happened to society. Better than asking it from us, it is best to try and ask it from oneself. In most instances, more than the children even the present-day adults themselves don't have a proper understanding. It is mothers who squeeze the child's neck saying 'scholarship ... scholarship'. This happens depending on the level of education that the mother has. This generation of youngsters are subjected to a number of difficulties such as this. Saying that Sri Lanka has a high literacy rate  is a nonsense. What is inquired into in such instances is whether the person is able to write something. What should be checked is whether he or she could understand something. What we feel or sense is not something that is measured. This sensitivity is now moving away from us.

    The reason for that is that the parents are trying to load everything on the child. They say, 'you should wear shoes like this ... otherwise you'd be identified as so and so!'

    There are friends of mine who went to the university. At that time they could walk very well. But by now when they have become big officers, things have become different with them and they walk with their body weight more on the rear side. This is how they walk ... (he demonstrates the walk). Now they have become a 'big Pora'. When asked, they say ... status and role. But status and role does not mean walking like that or speaking Sinhala mixed with English words. Some say, 'mama aasai Jayalal linwalin wathura bonna ... BUT mang eakata kemathi nehe'. They think that when they say so, it's a great thing. This is not what is called literacy .... this is called 'amu gonkama'.

    We are a kind of island-inhabitants who are ready to grasp anything that falls from outside. What I say is that those brains must be cleaned up. We should not ask anybody else why these things happen to us .... we must ask ourselves! This happened because of the nonsensical education itself. Education has already gone to the dogs. Circulars come to schools in lorry loads .... but of no use. What mothers should be told is to take her small fellow to an open paddy field to play. Sensitivity could be found through that.
Video which shows Jayalal acting this out is seen below