“Let them send the satellites and we will produce nurses and develop tourism”
Voice of a Masters Neo Ambassador
I’m a teacher
Of a “Higher Institution”
And teaching subjects
Not to the “simpletons”
But to the “cream
Of our society”
The class was full
The subject was “Sri Lankan Studies”
And the medium of instruction
Wow!
In English
I am proud and very proud
To be a genuine intellectual
That I had mastered
My Masters language
And teach the subjects
In my Masters Language
The undergrads are fresh
And from all the streams
Were grouped in a mix
According to the mastery
Of the Masters’ Language
Seniors, super seniors
The staff, the “nonacademic”
And even the minor employees
Call them “freshers”
One day but not accidentally
I asked the undergrads
Even though I’m an “Intellectual”
I asked the undergrads
Not an intelligent
But a normal question
“Why is there not
A person of our country
Or from the “Third World Countries”
Or the blacks or brown or even yellows
Or women, except Madam Marie Curie,
Half the portion of the population
Was not in the columns
Of the inventors and inventions
Or the discoverers and discoveries
Of the science or social sciences books”
Undergrads are brave enough to respond
In the same Masters’ Language
And said, said without any hesitation
“We didn’t have facilities”
“They are the people for invention and discoveries”
“Let them invent and discover and we will use them”
“We are lazy people no?”
Oh its enough it’s enough
My brave bunch of “the cream of the society”
Like a committed scientist
I had experimented and asked
The same old question
From the undergrads in different classes
And came out with the very same
Brave old answers of slave celebrations
S.Jeyasankar
25.10.2005
*From "Waves waves and waves" a poetry collection in print.
