I don’t think I will ever understand them. There is no future here, schools are bad, teachers don’t teach properly, and how to send the kids to university they are always closed no? And so hard to have a good … Continue reading →
There is something about being around too-loved children that is profoundly irritating. It is nothing to do with the children themselves. In and of themselves, the little humans are quite nice, all beautifully brushed and fed and clothed and high-spirited. … Continue reading →
A hundred years ago, I’m reliably told, the average household didn’t bother with the day you were born. Silly parties were reserved for the day you first read the first letters of the alphabet, when you started menstruating, and so … Continue reading →
Remember the glorious days when if you needed help around the house with cooking, cleaning or keeping the garden tidy, all you had to do was send off to Talawakelle and a six year old from the family tea estate … Continue reading →
It’s October and everyone who paid attention in grade 5 tells me knowingly that it’s the maha monsoon and will go on till November. As far as I am concerned it feels like it’s been raining since the beginning of … Continue reading →
Remember the glorious days when if you needed help around the house with cooking, cleaning or keeping the garden tidy, all you had to do was send off to Talawakelle and a six year old from the family tea estate … Continue reading →
It’s October and everyone who paid attention in grade 5 tells me knowingly that it’s the maha monsoon and will go on till November. As far as I am concerned it feels like it’s been raining since the beginning of … Continue reading →
A hundred years ago, I’m reliably told, the average household didn’t bother with the day you were born. Silly parties were reserved for the day you first read the first letters of the alphabet, when you started menstruating, and so … Continue reading →
“Akki, it’s time to have lunch, stop playing and bring Malli to the table.” Pause. “Thaaththi come and eat, we are all waiting no…” Why is it that perfectly sensible people have a child or two and instantly start using … Continue reading →
Among many Sri Lankan writers, brevity has often been the only way to get round the lack of talent and staying power that is required to produce longer works. When the great Sri Lankan short story (in English of course) … Continue reading →
“You know this new rule they have brought in,” said my friend T indignantly, “about the zebra crossings?” “No,” I said curiously, expecting the worst. “What’s this now?” “You have to stop now, if you see someone on one.” I … Continue reading →
You only had a few weeks to get over Mother’s Day and then came Father’s Day. Yes, after the hundreds of advertisement about buying all sorts of stupid things that your mother never wanted, we had the next deluge of … Continue reading →
Service industries in Sri Lanka actually aren’t. For the most part they’re a series of transactions cloaked in mystery and hopeful anticipation, where a mechanic will energetically fix the weird sound from under your Toyota for weeks on end, your … Continue reading →
How come when some European comes to Sri Lanka to research, they “go native” with little visa requirements, but when we go to Europe or the US, we are ”visiting scholars” of 9 months? And how come no one asks … Continue reading →
or at the very least around South Asians, when you walk around an airport and hear conversations that couldn’t be from anywhere else. Man gets on shuttle to airport. Kelinma gravitates towards closest white, youngish woman, hopefully with mid-thigh hemline. … Continue reading →
“Akki, it’s time to have lunch, stop playing and bring Malli to the table.” Pause. “Thaaththi come and eat, we are all waiting no…” Why is it that perfectly sensible people have a child or two and instantly start using … Continue reading →
Among many Sri Lankan writers, brevity has often been the only way to get round the lack of talent and staying power that is required to produce longer works. When the great Sri Lankan short story (in English of course) … Continue reading →
I don’t think I will ever understand them. There is no future here, schools are bad, teachers don’t teach properly, and how to send the kids to university they are always closed no? And so hard to have a good … Continue reading →
“You know this new rule they have brought in,” said my friend T indignantly, “about the zebra crossings?” “No,” I said curiously, expecting the worst. “What’s this now?” “You have to stop now, if you see someone on one.” I … Continue reading →
You only had a few weeks to get over Mother’s Day and then came Father’s Day. Yes, after the hundreds of advertisement about buying all sorts of stupid things that your mother never wanted, we had the next deluge of … Continue reading →