The Industrial Revolution - In A More Favorable Light (Drawing by me)

 

Poem and Song

 

Wrote this poem many years ago, and later on it was turned into this song. The poem is given below, if you want to listen to the song please copy paste the link below in your browser: https://suno.com/s/HQPJCfQeAmVS0DKo

If you make a friend of Time

It wouldn't matter that you have no dime

For waves that break on the mangrove beach

Will pull your ship from that sinking reef

If the light house is afar 

And a misty fog blocks the North Star

Follow the seagulls to the left

Or north or south which ever is best

A starfish near the beach 

May swim away beyond your reach

But a crab that moves sideways 

May even wish you better days

An oyster that pricks you feet

Could have a pearl on some distant beach

A raft that is blown to sea

Will reach the Island of Serendib

Travel Story

 

Nuwara Eliya is actually two different cities, when the sun shines it’s one of the most pleasant and picturesque cities in the country. But on this cold, dark, damp evening near the Gregory Lake it was one of the most dismal places I have ever been to. Lake Gregory was once a Swampy Bog, but in 1873 British Governor Sir William Gregory decided to dam the Thalagala Lake that originated in the Piduruthalagala Mountains and this strange lake was born. People seemed to have come to this central gathering place near the lake in bad light to have fun. I decided to take a boat ride, in the distance I could see the once beautiful mountains that I had admired on an earlier visit, now seemed alarming and bleak at the same time. The boat ride was boring and monotonous, nothing much happens and the biggest thrill is at the end when the boat thuds into the rubber tires almost throwing you overboard. The next thing to do seemed to be a five kilometer bike ride in a track adjoining the lake and I decided to try it. I found that I was the only person on this track. A cold, dark, lonely, wind blew from the river to the track. What in God’s name was I doing here?

After what seemed like an endless ride, on that dark, damp night, I mercifully came to the end of the track. I had ridden 5 Kilometers but it seemed much longer. Just as I turned and started to ride back it started to rain heavily. I was soaked, there was a man walking in the distance, probably a park employee. When I asked him where I could find some shelter he showed me a distant tree. At the tree there were five Indians four men and a woman. They jabbered in their language and sometimes used English in between. From what I could gather one of them had a serious illness that meant he could possibly die if he got wet on a downpour like this. He also had depression. You could see the others trying desperately to cheer him by telling Hindi jokes and talking to him like a chicken etc. The tree offered very little shelter so I decided to ride on. Then I returned the bike and decided to walk to town. Considering how many people visit it, you always get the feeling that Nuwara Eliya is an under-lit city. It really is very dark. Eventually I had walked near the outskirts of the city. The rain had stopped and the sky seemed clear and I looked up. God the stars from here were gorgeous. They were the brightest I had ever seen and from here the city looked incredible and I realized I liked Nuwara Eliya even when it was dark.

Michael Faraday

 

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was an English physicist and chemist. Faraday’s discovery of electromagnetic induction led to his invention of the electric motor and electric generator. His inventions laid the basis for much of the technology of the 20th century. In 1821 he had used a magnet and a wire containing an electric current to produce mechanical motion, thereby creating an electric motor. Ten years later Faraday reversed the process: using magnetism to produce an electric current, he invented the dynamo, or generator.

Faraday formulated the basic laws of electrolysis during his early work in chemistry. Ion, anode cathode and electrode are some of the chemical terms he introduced. In 1825 he became the first to liquefy gases under pressure. In 1845 he discovered the Faraday Effect of magnetism on polarized light. His later days were spent in formulating a general electromagnetic field theory, later completed by James Clerk Maxwell. The farad is named for him.

The son of a blacksmith in Newington, Surrey, Faraday received little formal schooling. He became interested in science while apprenticed to a London bookbinder. In 1813 he got a job as laboratory assistant to Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution in London. Faraday became director of the laboratory in 1825 and professor of chemistry in 1833. He scorned wealth and worldly honors, refusing knighthood and the presidency of the Royal Society. While other men made money from his discoveries Faraday devoted himself exclusively to scientific research.

The Other Side of Science

 

Science that filled the moon with men

Built planes rockets and flaming jets

Split the atom to countless shreds

Put empty dreams on bad men's heads

Could not duplicate a simple leaf

Or solace a man filled with grief

Clouds that filled the earth with rain

Filled wells rivers and mighty lakes

Was it the work of earthly heads

Or God's hand overhead

Science may harness a million powers

Make greedy men its earnest lovers

Make a few to rule many

Desperate people without any money

But can they bend the hands of Time

That neither you, I nor them can bind

No my friends they just can’t

All of us have to reach the Past

Paddy Fields For Ever

Wrote this short poem

Merry shall be the fields of Lanka

Worked once by ancient hands

Cows and buffoloes still tell stories

Their ancestors ploughed for the motherland 

A richer soil has never been worked on

To plant even richer seeds

Ancient farmers still tell stories

Though dead for centuries

In its mountains in its valleys

Once grew many valiant trees

But nothing could ever try to conquer 

The calm but majestic paddy fields 

A great king once told the people

Not a drop will flow to the sea

Without first being used to water

The motherlands green paddy fields 

Ancient Kings still shout out loudly

Louder than some want to hear

The happiest people in the world were and are

Those who work in paddy fields.

Oil Pastel

 

THE GREAT SANDY RIVER (MAHAWELI RIVER)

Meandering along the valley

Flows the great sandy river

Starting from the central hills

It reaches the sea for ever

Men may come and men may go

But the river flows on

The river reminds me

We are all one

Flow when the sun is shining

Or in the pouring rain

If you stop this journey to the unknown bay

It'll be destiny's end

Water colour

KINDNESS TO ANIMALS

 I wrote the following poem. I like it a lot because it is about kindness to animals and also slightly humorous.

THE ANIMAL ANTHEM 

Beasts of Lanka beasts of all lands

Think you not that it is strange

Your brothers and sisters are slaughtered 

To feed the human race

Pigs and cows are killed by thousands

But are beaten first to make them soft

Though they call themselves very humane

They are a bad un-kindly lot

In its once pristine waters

Fish and other creatures swam wide

But they have put nets to divide us

And in them we all shall die

Birds of Lanka birds of all lands

You have been modified

You are now mere weaklings

Shall ye ever again fly

An animal revolution is needed

Start from every lake and tree

So that birds and beasts of all lands

Will forever and ever be free

Bring your strongest bring your bravest

But above all use your heads

With these cunning humans

One wrong move and you're dead

The birds are our proud airforce

And fish are our  submarines

Land animals are our army

And the rest are the marines

We will win but never conquer

All we need is a free life

Unlike wicked humans 

We don't need other beings to die

Travel Story

 I wrote the following short piece and asked Chatgpt what it meant and it gave this answer.

Many years ago I read a book by one of the world's most renowned science fiction writers. According to him - while most of the Sigiriya damsels hold flowers, one woman holds what for all the world seemed like a transistor radio. He then says that it made him wonder whether King Kashyapa was really the inventor of the radio, fifteen centuries before it was invented in the West. 

Some people think that Ravana, a much more ancient king than Kashyappa, built Sigiriya. Ravana, who is the chief antagonist in the Indian epic Ramayana isn’t depicted very flatteringly in that story. But in Sri Lanka, he is considered a great ruler. Well, Ravana is said to have had an aircraft called Dandu Monara. Couldn't he also have invented the radio? 

In Sigiriya, I met one of my relatives. He was quite old and from the things he said I could never decide whether he was extremely intelligent or a little mad. Over a drink he started his “advice to the young” though god knows I could hardly call myself young. “You know what the problem with the world is” began he “No,” said I. “Well, the problem with the world is that many people walk with only a vague idea of what they want to do.” I wondered secretly whether this accurately described his condition – senility (A decline in memory and other mental functions associated with old age). “Great wars have been fought, and millions upon millions have died because people don’t know what they really want.” “Take Hitler for example, he was a man who walked with a great anger about the injustices to his country after the First World War. But he never had a clear idea of what he really wanted, the result - 75 million people died in the Second World War, “True” said I, (though this was new to me), “and how do you solve this problem” said I, trying to sound intelligent. “A piece of paper,” said he “Just write all your problems on the left side, and the solutions to each of them on the right side, and suddenly everything is clear. No more walking vaguely with anger or greed in your mind” said he. I only wish somebody had given me a piece of paper and said this when I was younger. Come to think of it maybe someone should have given this paper to King Kashyapa, there would have been much less trouble and many more lakes.

Chatgpts Answer

Thank you for sharing this — it’s thoughtful, playful, and quietly philosophical. I genuinely enjoyed reading it.

## Overall Impression

Your piece blends:

* Sri Lankan history and mythology (Sigiriya, Kashyapa, Ravana)

* Science fiction speculation

* Personal anecdote

* Philosophical reflection

* Subtle humor

That’s an ambitious mix for such a short work — and you handle it surprisingly well.

---

## What Works Very Well

### 1. The Conceptual Thread

You cleverly connect:

* The “transistor radio” idea (inspired by a sci-fi writer),

* Ravana’s mythic technology,

* The eccentric relative’s philosophical advice,

* Hitler as an example of misdirected will,

* And finally circle back to King Kashyapa.

That circular ending — “maybe someone should have given this paper to King Kashyapa” — is satisfying. It gives the piece structural cohesion.

---

### 2. Tone and Voice

Your narrative voice is strong. Lines like:

> “from the things he said I could never decide whether he was extremely intelligent or a little mad.”

and

> “though god knows I could hardly call myself young.”

feel natural, human, and lightly ironic. That ambiguity about the relative adds charm and depth.

---

### 3. Intellectual Playfulness

The move from ancient frescoes to speculative radio technology to global war to a piece of paper is bold — and it works because it’s framed as reflection rather than argument.

The idea that massive historical disasters stem from “not knowing what one wants” is philosophically intriguing. It’s simplistic — but intentionally so, which gives it a slightly satirical undertone.

---

## Areas for Improvement

### 1. Sentence Control and Flow

Some sentences are very long and overloaded with ideas. Breaking them up would improve clarity and rhythm.

For example:

> “Ravana, who is the chief antagonist in the Indian epic Ramayana isn’t depicted very flatteringly in that story.”

Could be smoother as:

> Ravana, the chief antagonist in the Indian epic Ramayana, is not depicted very flatteringly in that story.

Small refinements like this would elevate the polish considerably.

---

### 2. Punctuation and Formatting

There are a few issues with:

* Quotation marks

* Comma placement

* Capitalization (“God” vs “god” depending on intention)

* Space before commas

* Inconsistent dialogue formatting

These are technical issues, not structural ones — easy to fix, but important for perceived sophistication.

---

### 3. The Hitler Section

Using Hitler as an example is powerful, but risky. The claim:

> “he never had a clear idea of what he really wanted”

is philosophically provocative but historically debatable. Some readers may feel it oversimplifies.

You may consider slightly reframing it as:

* a perspective of the old man,

* or an example of misdirected clarity rather than lack of clarity.

Right now it reads like a definitive statement rather than character opinion.

---

## Depth Analysis

What’s interesting is that your piece quietly explores:

* Myth vs. modernity

* Technology and imagination

* National identity (Ravana as villain vs hero)

* Madness vs wisdom

* The danger of vague ambition

* Retrospective regret

That’s impressive density for a short prose reflection.

---

## Rating

Here’s a breakdown:

* **Concept & originality:** 8.5/10

* **Voice & tone:** 8/10

* **Structure:** 7.5/10

* **Technical polish:** 6/10

* **Overall impact:** 8/10

**Final rating: 8/10**

With editing and tightening, this could easily become a 9.

---

## What Kind of Writer This Suggests You Are

You think associatively. You like:

* Big ideas

* Historical irony

* Blending myth and reason

* Gentle satire

That’s the profile of someone who could write strong reflective essays or literary short fiction