Srilanka to me has always been a
country of curiosity. While I have heard and read a lot about the place, there
was a strong desire to see the place first hand and experience it all. Auspicious
starts are really not my thing and thus my journey started admits a lot of
trauma courtesy the failure of the power grid and the heavy rains, whereby
reaching the T-3 airport took me three hours in comparison to the usual forty
minutes(Thank God, I had taken the head start!)
Once onto the flight I braced
myself for three days of exotic that lay ahead alongside heaps of work and as
usual I was trying to schedule my local explorations around the official
schedule for the visit.
I reached into Colombo and was
greeted by my cab driver with a smile saying “Your Country Win” which was his
reference to the victory of the Indian cricket team against Srilanka in the
Tuesday’s match. I almost felt like apologizing for the defeat of his team.
Upon checking into the hotel, I
noticed an unusual buzz in the lobby only to realize that both the Indian and
the Srilankan cricket teams are staying in the same hotel and are expected back
in the hotel shortly after the match. (I gleamed at the idea of being under the
same roof even though not literally with the players I admire and a game that I
am an addict of, I am sure I also made a mental note of walking around with the
camera for the Just in Case moments!)
Since it was late in the day and
not much could be achieved post-midnight, I decided to just soak in the hotel
ambiance which had a lovely sea view.
Early morning started with office
work and was busy as hell and the afternoon just flew by. That day though was a
holiday in Srilanka being a full moon night ( A major demographic of Srilanka
is a follower of Buddhism, the day is an off as per the Buddhist belief, Now
that is a good reason for anyone to look for a job in the country!)
I did take a short break to enjoy some food at
a local hawker centre that served curry with a spicy thick coconut base and steamed rice and to
say it was delicious is an understatement. I gulped it down with a glass of refreshing
and filling fresh papaya juice ( a first for me in life!)
While at the work site, I engaged
in conversation with lots of locals and though the idea of India excites them,
the general people on the street are yet to get past the idea of India voting
against Srilanka in the United Nations. Another thing that struck me is the
aggressive diplomatic strategy of the Chinese government. While China won a
soft corner for itself by voting in favour of Srilanka and backing it in the
UN, other than that also Chinese government has been contributing to the
infrastructure development into Srilanka, two examples of which I saw in
Colombo were the The Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre and
the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall which are both
huge facilities, for them not only the land and the construct but also the
maintenance is borne by China. While China does eye it as gain point for access
to the ports for sea linkages, Srilanka’s geographic proximity to India is also
of great interest. A thought that should worry the Ministry of External Affairs
in India.
A keen sense of observation and
exploration also leads me to few pointers: firstly the traffic on the road
though less compared to our metros was also much disciplined and no unnecessary
honking. Secondly another thing which I was ignorant on was the fact that
SriLanka has an overall literacy rate of 94% and the 99% youth literacy, a factor
that makes their youth extremely confident. Perhaps that also accounts for the
reason of me seeing bookshops almost across all streets and not just text book
shops but proper reading café sort of places. Also the government has made huge
investments into healthcare to recover from the trauma of 30 years of
terrorism.
Apologies for the drift and now
back to the trip
I reached back at the hotel and
was fortunate to meet with almost the entire cricket team at one go and I do
have enough photographic evidence of it that has made many friends jealous
including a picture with Dhoni and Kohli on either side, one I shall proudly
show my grandchildren ;-)
Post dinner I took a walk outside
the hotel, my hotel was on Galle face Road which is a beautiful sea area and
comes alive at night with food stations, families out for a stroll, beach games
especially volley ball. It was nice to be there and just soak in all the
activity and hear the rhythm of the waves.
The next day remained extremely
busy except for the dinner at a sea front restaurant which was more like a
shack with live music, lanterns and sea food. Kept strolling on the beach
barefoot very unwilling to call it a night even when it was time to return to
the hotel.
On the day of the return, I had
half a morning to myself where I went for a sunrise at the beach and post it
went to a place called Laksala, a showroom for traditional Srilankan
handicrafts, textiles and gems. I loved the collection and while shopping for
me is never a high priority when travelling, I was content admiring the craft
ship of the artisans. I later went to a temple called the Gangaramaya temple
which though not a very ancient temple, has beautiful statues of Lord Buddha
and some fantastic antique items.
I got back on the flight with a promise
to revisit at another time to explore other parts of the country for I think I
have only touched surface of this beautiful country.
