Sri Lanka, March 17 -- For those who wonder why there are no more landslides in most elections and why even when there are some, the huge mandates begin to carry no weight in no time, there is news. There is news, if they were under a rock, that is.

J. R. Jayewardene ruled in the 80s with a five-sixths majority and was so landslide-happy that he was audacious. Before gender reassignment became popular at least in certain parts of the world, he said he would reassign gender, except it was the only thing he couldn't do. (I'm able to do anything except make a man a woman and vice versa.")

If he was making that comment today he would have probably hastened to add he can do that too.

JR's was a thundering majority, to use the apt descriptio...