A brand to be
successful and lasting must stand for the delivery of consistent quality and maintain integrity.
For a nation too, this is no different. In our attempt to become a wonder among
the region’s countries, we will have to demonstrate true qualities of the
making of our brand, with emphasis on right action and deeds or as the Buddha
word has it “Samyak Vayama.” Written and published in January 2012, this column
attempts to trace a changing scenario in this respect. A year later, it is now placed
before you for your critical review to examine, if indeed we are treading on
that path.
A currently on television
commercial for a popular brand of a ‘made in Sri Lanka’ biscuit, features a claim
of a foreign tourist, that the biscuit he is eating represents an extension of traditional
Sri Lankan hospitality. Another commercial features our value of hospitality through
an offer of a drink of tambili (king coconut) to a fatigued passer-by ‘mama’
(endearing term used in addressing male elders, meaning uncle), who inquires
for directions at the ‘kadulla’ (entrance) of a remote village home. Yet
another recreates a scene of a village youth taking an ‘achchi’ (grand mother),
with difficulty in walking on the back-rack of his bicycle. He is seen taking the
bicycle back to fetch her upon passing her on a village path.
Assumed ethos
Many other advertisements
including roadside bill boards venture to associate products with a claim of ‘Sri
Lankiness’, like we have not seen for a very long time now. There is now less
of ‘fun eka’ ‘vikineema’ (selling of the concept of fun) that was trendy or the
in-thing, a while ago. More and more of ‘rata venuwen api’ (we, for the
country) type advertising presentations, movies and songs are unfolding as well.
Some products even extend themselves as creating a voice for protecting Sri
Lanka’s ‘unitary state’ status. What we still see in the ‘fun eka’ category is
mostly dubbed versions or adaptations of commercials produced for the Indian consumer
market being dumped on us. What’s designed and produced locally are among those
that reflect the ‘assumed ethos’ we see around us now.
To think that these
are reflective of the stated policies proclaimed by the Head of State and the
government is to me, less important than the fact these adverts are often
created by young people in our midst, working in the profession of promotion
and advertising. An area of activity that is capable of ‘touching’ the
subliminal mind of individuals they target and collectively that of a nation
through what is known as ‘mass penetration’. This is also true of the media of
television drama, music, song, dance and feature film, where a serious change
in our collective outlook can be made with the right messages flowing through.
Hard work ethic
I dread to think that
these ‘ethos presentations’ could perhaps be just eyewash, crafted to ride on a
wave recognised by those who map the trajectories of ‘consumer trends’ and not
any real attempt at rejuvenating our traditional system of values. There is so
much more that happens around us, like violent crime or the negative use of
ill- acquired power that seeks to bring out things alien to us, subduing the
feeling of who we are and what we are, and what we could become. Some of it is
portrayed in our media on daily news casts often propped up as sensational
happenings. What is less talked about is the impact and influence our society
has of the good deeds that happen and the negative vibes that arise from
promotion of luxury goods that have nothing to do with meeting basic human
needs, lavish events, fast cars, tamashas and other wasteful pursuits, that sit
far from representing our own ethos of who we are, what we are and what we can
become.
On one of my not so
frequent visits to the big city last week-end, I dropped by at my regular service
station located in Naranhenpita for a service check on my car. My friend, the
owner now in his 70’s spoke of how young people today were seeking ways to make
easy money and claimed that the ethic of hard work was a thing of the past. He
lamented that our youth trained for vocations are not taking on to apply the
skills they have learnt.
Easy money
My own experience in
the village where I live confirms this, for most youth spend their time idling,
indulging in activities related to entertainment and ‘show off’ type pursuits.
Even in instances when employment is sought, most want it to be in the ‘soft service’
sector and not in any production or manufacturing activity that require hard
work.
Just that same morning,
I had read of an attempt by two school boys from a well known school in
Moratuwa, to swindle money from a wealthy person with a threat of kidnapping
his child. A never before heard phenomenon with school kids and of several serious
road accidents that had taken place due to abuse of alcohol by youth on Friday
night binges. We also hear of juveniles used as drug-pushers and unhealthy
incidents that happen at all-night long musical shows. On the other end of the
spectrum youth are used as political pawns in lager drama that unfolds and they
come out as the ‘forces of youth’ or ‘faces of protest’, mostly unaware of what
and why they doing what they are doing, or are protesting. They perhaps will
never know whose needs they are subtly directed to serve.
Defining ways
After the long drawn bloody war on terror
ending in Sri Lanka, we are now seeking workable solutions to ensure a lasting
peace based on just treatment of all our citizens. Yet, there are those bent on
thinking that it is time for us as a nation to catch up fast, on lost time. Whenever
they visit a foreign land and see the glitzy ways of that country, they return
and attempt to promulgate the idea that we must not miss out on what is
happening around. The ‘development’ they envisage must bring in things big,
with mega foreign investments and take on mega projects, not of infrastructure
development but of glitzy display of what may be called a culture of ‘Boru
Shoak’.
Such thinking is similar to that of the
past when some of our key political leaders thought that the best way to keep our
youth at bay, without them worrying about unemployment and lack of
opportunities was to provide them with avenues to have fun. We often saw the creation
of things alien to us to get us there. Some still seem to think that our youth
can be kept engaged if we had options for entertainment like musical shows keeping
them in hope of becoming overnight ‘superstars’ through the many reality shows
presented or the ‘fast buck’ gains that can be made. We have witnessed on a
global scale, the failure of ways of such superficial consumerism with the
current economic and financial down turn and the hurting we have done to Mother
Nature in the process of seeking those ways.
True wonder
On the other hand, there is a drive towards
making Sri Lanka yield the most out of her richness and advantage, that come
wrapped around in our traditional ethos. Our rich diversity in natural,
cultural and heritage endowments can ‘stand tall in any crowd’ and our ways
shaped by our time tested belief systems, must enable us to take these
endowments beyond presenting them as ‘products’ for visiting tourists.
This can not be achieved if all our focus
of policy and strategy are not geared in the same direction. When the
right-hand is seemingly promoting a traditional ethos and a traditional system
of values to carve out a future for us that could be sustainable, the left-hand
seems to do exactly the opposite by focusing on the glitz and glamour, wasteful
and corrupt ways and mega thinking that is far remote from our own cultural,
religious and social ethos.
That to me is the essence of Sri Lanka’s
branding dilemma. It perhaps is one of the reasons we see so much mayhem
created in our midst as well. We need to seek, understand and place who we are,
what we are and what we could be in the hearts and minds of our own people
first, in a clear, succinct way without any conflicting signals being given. What
we present and practice must have austerity, fairness, justice and integrity as
its core values. It is a necessary condition we need, when we project ourselves
to the world at large, not merely as a promotional initiative but as a country
and a nation seeking to carve our niche in history as a true wonder.
Being a true wonder
Pix credit : ft.lk
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