The Mango Tree

One evening Percy shared one of his stories.

When I was in the army, something happened very interesting. It was 1976 and Mrs Bandaranaike was our Prime Minister. When she went to other countries, always we had an Acing Prime Minister. His name was Mr Maitrhripala Senanayke. He was living in Colombo and at such times we gave him the guard - not only us but Airforce, Police, Navy and everybody.

One day when Mrs Bandaranaike left for another country, we wanted to give him the guard and everyday they sent to his house about twenty four soldiers from our regiment and one day they selected me to go there - me too.

Then I went therefore to guard.

That day was a very nice day - no rain -and my turn was at midnight - from 11oclock to 1oclock. At his house so many soldiers - maybe every twenty metres - one soldier, one airforce, one police around his house.

My guard commander said to me “Percy! You go from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock as a sentry.” Then at night he relieved another soldier and I took my point. I had a helmet and 303 - No not a 303 but a SLR self loading rifle and full battle order kit.

Around his house there were so many flower bushes and from the flower bushes they made so many flood lights to the house. Then I took my point and I walked a little bit.

This house was very popular among the soldiers because there were three mango trees. Very excellent mango there - very small mangoes but sweet and every soldier know about this mango and how it tastes. When they go there to the guard however they liked to eat mango - they plucked them without permission and ate - very tasty.

My point was behind the house and under the mango tree. At that time was mango season and so many mangoes in the tree - thousand and thousand mangos I can see from the floodlight and also I knew how tasty - I tasted it before this mango.

When I went to my point - this house had three floors - on second floor I could see Acting Prime Minister reading the book..... just he had his PT vest and I could see his bust - only I could see his bust, the book, with the glasses and the light. But he cannot see what happened outside the house because the floodlight came from the bushes to the house. He cannot see outside but the soldiers can see everything what happens inside the house.

Maithripala Senanayke M.P. 

I was very lazy. My arc was about 30 metres to left and right and I walked with my gun. Also after a few minutes I got very thirsty when I saw the mango. I looked everywhere on the ground - maybe sometimes mango fell down and we could eat that. I couldn’t see any mango. Maybe the soldier before me he found it. About 5 or 6 metres off the ground there were so many mangoes. So many small bats come to the mango but they were never falling down.

I am looking everywhere between the trees. I didn’t guard - I looked between the bushes. I never cared about the Acting Prime Minister. Now I was only looking for mango. The Acting Prime Minister doesn’t know what I do. He thought I do 100% correct my duty. I couldn’t find any mango between the bushes, so I decided to pluck the mango, but I cannot. I am not tall enough. I looked for a stick. Very beautiful grounds - not like a forest - no stick. There were nice branches on the flower trees but I could not break them.

Then I was very sad because time was going so fast. One o’clock I had to remove from there. Now already 12.30 time and I was greedy to eat mango, so I am thinking what to do - I am planning.

Always when the bat came, I looked - but just mangoes shaking -never falling to the ground. I took my gun to down. On it was a half metre long bayonet. Before I removed the bayonet I tried to pluck the mango with my gun. I could not reach high enough . I cannot shoot to the mango bunch. I decided to remove the bayonet and throw it to the mango bunch. But I had to do it in only a very correct way because the Acting Prime Minister was only a few metres away, so I have to throw my correct shot.

So I removed the bayonet, which was about 750gm heavy and very sharp and very long. There was a very nice mango bunch of about 30 nice mangos. I decided to throw to the mango tree. I wanted to do it just one time. If it was a wrong shot, it must go straight near to the Prime Minister.

I threw the bayonet to the mango bunch. It was a miss. Directly it went to the window. Thrum thrum ta tum! Bayonet fell down to the verandah. The Acting PM heard it and he took off his glasses. He looked down, but he couldn't see anything because the floodlights came to the house and I was very afraid if he made a phone call to my regiment maybe I would go to the jail, because he can say one of the soldiers wanted to kill him.

Then I was very afraid now. I forgot all the mangoes. Now I am thinking how I could collect my bayonet before the guard commander came. I could see other soldiers, airforce and police are in a big hurry. I saw they looked everywhere for what had happened. I walked there like nothing happened. I walked like a cat. After a few minutes I went a secret way and collected my bayonet, fixed it back to my rifle and came to my point.

Then I heard the Acting Prime Minister - he had a servant his name Siri Pala - calling “Siri Pala! Siri Pala! There is a soldier downstairs there. You give him 10 mangos from the fridge.” Then after a few minutes Siri Pala came with cold fresh mangoes - 10 mangoes. And I ate very much - also I gave some to the next soldier.

Maithripala was a very good man. If something happened like this now, definitely I would have to go jail for ten years.

An Unforgettable story in my life.