Lovely times

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.