Whiff of Nostalgia!

Two weeks in a faraway land and you start missing home, the food and its aroma’s, the surroundings and basically everything including the potholes, the toxic air! Why does it happen always? What’s the reason? Emotional fools! Sentimental buggers! These are some of the oft heard clichés that we come across when you whine about missing home. I totally disagree with this criticism and I can personally vouch for that as I have travelled a fair bit. The reason is primordial moorings of a human being attached to the environ where they grow up. Neither a penny less nor a pound more.
Before this blog turns into a forum for discussing anthropology and sociology and mankind’s moorings, let me return to the original intent – blogging my experiences in a foreign land. Well, the initial euphoria has given way to a subdued enthusiasm. From the high of jet skiing at Bentota to the longing for an Indian curry, I have seen it all in the past few weeks. Strangely enough, I have been unable to sleep for long hours with frequent breaks possibly because of change in weather and location.


The roads here are full of reconditioned Japanese vehicles and to acquire one people here pay a fortune. Our own Maruti Suzuki is extremely popular here particularly the ‘ALTO’. Indians command a fair degree of respect and admiration for the way India has progressed in the recent decade. Nobody thinks am an Indian and everybody speaks to me in Singhalese. Why? Well you have guessed it right!! Coming back to the lifestyle of the populace, apart from swanky Japo cars and a few smattering of Indian ones, Colombo has several sea side restaurants teeming with people, offering tremendous varieties of sea food and is a heaven for the foodies especially the fish lovers. You name it in and you have lobsters, crabs, Cuttle, Prawns and what not in your plate. A year back, you would not have imagined moving here esp. after dark when the war with the Tamil rebels was at its peak. The battle weary Sri Lankans have braved the war with courage and tenacity and are now enjoying the fruits of that long struggle with a spell of peace and stability. No wonder, they are out and partying. However, the police barricades and security posts are a stark reminder of the cost at which which peace comes. Wish we in India could also solve our domestic problems soon so that the entire population can enjoy the fruits of peace and stability.

This piece would be incomplete without a special word of appreciation for my wonderful and graceful hosts and it would be no exaggeration to suggest that it would be hard to find a more humble group of people anywhere else in the world. Sri Lanka is a wonderful country, fledgling but pregnant with possibilities of growth and prosperity. May god help them to achieve their rightful place under the sun!