An Extraordinary evening with Ordinary People

Although I left Sri Lanka in Aug 1980, I am privileged to live or travel to South Asian countries frequently since then.  When I meet people from ordinary walks of life in such countries, I feel good.  This is not to say that there are no ordinary people in Australia or the USA, where I lived a considerable number of years.  But, in my heart, they are different types of ordinary people, and they do not warm my heart as those I meet in South Asian countries.

Galle face from Shangri La, Colombo

Recently, I was in Colombo, and I wanted to go to a temple around 6 pm.  I came out of the hotel and waved at an auto-rickshaw for transport.  Autorickshaws (autos) in Colombo are metered, and mostly, the drivers turn the meter on, as the passenger gets in.  This is not the case in India, where I have used autos regularly.  Instead, the fare needs to be agreed before the journey starts. 

The Lake View from Shangri La, Colombo

The driver, recognizing that I have come from overseas, asked me if I wanted to buy gems.  I declined.  After a brief silence, he told me that for every potential customer he takes to the jeweller, he gets a voucher for 2 litres of petrol worthy of 2 USD, irrespective of whether the customer purchases anything or not.  He said that all that I needed to do was to spend 5 to 10 minutes, pretend to purchase something. 

A failed attempt of the Lotus Tower and clouds to mask the Sun

After a few minutes of contemplation, I agreed.  I did want to buy small jewellery for my wife and wanted to get a feel for the prices and selections.  As I entered the jeweller, I was warmly welcomed by a salesman.  There were several of them, but I was the only customer at that time.  The shop was VERY brightly lit.  The salesman greeted me in English, gave me his business card, and asked where I had come from.  I said that I am a native of Jaffna, but now Australia is home.  The salesman said that he spoke Tamil, my mother tongue.  Since then the conversation took place in Tamil.

Minute by minute, the number of people who wanted to help the salesman increased, and the price of the jewellery I showed interest in dropped by a few dollars.  I was offered a cup of tea, which I declined as I was feeling guilty for wasting their time.  I did not want to continue the charade, so, I politely told them I am only looking to get the feel for prices and selection and left the shop.

The auto driver was happily waiting for me.  He asked me if I bought anything, and I said no.  Had I purchased something he may have received an additional commission.  He then took me to the temple, where I wanted to go.  At the temple, he showed me the voucher and offered a discount to the fare.  I guess he wanted to do the right thing by me.  I declined his offer and paid him in full.  He was willing to wait until I have finished my prayers and take me back to the hotel.  That too I declined.  I had something else in my mind.

Kathiresan Temple, Bambalapitiya, Colombo

I have been to this temple many times.  My first memory of the temple is in the late 50’s as a little boy, going there with my parents.  The temple has gone through several rounds of refurbishment since then, it looked very clean and well lit.  I was at the temple after the scheduled hours of pooja, so, hardly anyone there.  I wanted to make a special offering to Lord Shiva in memory of my deceased family members.  As I waited in front of the Shrine, a young priest, approached me and waited till I opened my eyes (I have a habit of saying prayers with my eyes closed).  He took details of my deceased ancestors from me, and did the prayer, and gave me the offering.  The offering was a collection of few betel leaves, two bananas, flowers, and a small quantity of holy ashes.  I gave him a thatchanai (an appreciation for his services) thanked him and left the temple.

Sri Lankan Beaches, Second to None

My plan then was to get some alcohol, snacks, street food, and return to the hotel, watch darkening skies of Colombo as it went to sleep (my room was on the 32^nd floor of the hotel) as I enjoy my acquisitions of the evening.  

Within ten minutes of walking, I found a supermarket, but that store was not licensed to sell alcohol.  I took a packet of peanuts and walked to the checkout.  The cashier was a young Tamil girl, she recognized me as a Hindu (I was holding the offerings from the temple in one hand, and had holy ash on my forehead), and wanted to be friendly.  She teasingly asked me in Tamil if I would give her the bananas, and she did so as a conversation opener.  I immediately offered, but she felt a bit shy, so, I insisted that she takes them.  She smiled, and called the security guard standing nearby, and asked if he would like to have the beetle leaves.  The man did not have any teeth to chew, and he said so and declined.  Then the girl asked him if he would like to take it for someone in his family, and he said he would.  The girl took the offerings from me, took some holy ash with piety, applied on her forehead and handed over the beetle leaves, bananas and flowers to the security guard.  I paid for the peanuts, and as I exited the shop, I saw the security guard eating the bananas I gave.  I felt good and started looking for an auto to return to the Hotel. 

Galle face taking on a new face under SWRD's supervision

I woke up an auto driver from his slumber, and he agreed to take me back to the hotel.  I told him that I would like to get some alcohol and some street food.  He took me to a liquor shop, which is a small version of Dan Murphy's in Australia.  A variety of alcohol, mostly beyond the reach of an average Sri Lankan was on display.  I bought the local rum (Arack) and some ice.   As I got back to the auto, the driver was concerned if the prices were unfair.  I reassured him that the prices are fair.  Then I asked him to take me to the Galle-face green, my favourite place for street food, before dropping me at the hotel.  Got a good portion of squid and local bread (paratha) for dinner, and returned to the auto driver for dropping me at the hotel.  I paid his dues and extra 80 LKR (50 US Cents), and he was very happy.

Within a few hours, I met two auto drivers, a bunch of jewellery salesmen, a priest, a salesgirl, and a security guard.  The first auto driver wanted to share his commission, the priest was willing to wait for me, the sales girl was friendly, pious and generous, and the second auto driver was concerned if I had paid more than necessary for the booze.  They are the ordinary people missing in my daily routine.  I think I made a small difference to their evening, and so did they to mine.