SriLanka, Sept. 10 -- From the colonial era until the advent of the open economy in 1977, one of the reasons people listened to the "wireless",or Radio Ceylon, was to find out what time it was. Around noon, the familiar announcement would come: "The time is twelve noon. Here is the news from the police." Then came the little musical flourish: ting, tong, tong. The radio was not merely a source of news and entertainment; it was, in a sense, the country's public clock.

Then came television. The "television box" brought with it something that seemed more precise and modern: the time appeared digitally, in numbers. There was an almost irresistible satisfaction in seeing the hour, minute and second displayed on the screen.

"There, the exact ...