A MEMORABLE DAY

I returned last evening to the half way home after a week of absence pondering if I should seriously consider sharing my time between my room I was going to shift to and the home. Any positive thoughts I had towards even considering such an arrangement took a hike when I was subjected to the latest idiotic bureaucratic procedures that the Management had introduced which at best could be described as dumb. Relieved that I didn’t have to waist any more time on this aspect of my future course of action I went to my room and after early dinner retired to bed. I was supposed to meet the Doctor the next day to formally notify him of my plans.

I was informed this morning that the good Doctor was indisposed and would probably see me only on Sunday. I didn’t quite care as I had so much of piled up to look into so that I could quite the Home by the end of the month.

Trying to do some housekeeping on my laptop I stumbled across a directory of music that I had downloaded over the last few years and started playing some of the tracks. I was hearing some of songs after so long and I was enjoying myself and dancing to the tunes when I suddenly noticed a Resident at my window staring at me in utter amazement.

This guy suffers from both a speech and hearing impediment but with a hearing aid can manage to pick up sounds legibly. He has been here for over a year now and I do smile at him when I see him and greet him with the only thing I know in sign language; Good Morning! I opened my door and beckoned him in, he indicated he would be back and in a moment returned with his hearing aid. With a mixture of sounds and gestures he indicated to me that he liked the music I was playing and whether he could listen to some more. I positioned one of my speakers near his hearing aid pick up device and went about selecting the best tracks from my collection.

I started with the first song I played on a guitar, ‘The house of the Rising Sun’, I took my guitar out and showed him how the chords were formed and using all my miming talents and gestures explained to him how I stared playing as a kid. This lead to the fist Greek song I ever learned by a teenage heartthrob Gnianis Parios showing him pictures of my days at sea. This unusual conversation between me and this guy was observed by several members of the Staff and other Residents who I think came to the conclusion that I had not taken my medication!!!

I played him one my favorite Hindi Film Songs performed by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar in the film Umrao Jan staring Rekha, to me the all-time sexiest woman in Bollywood. I tried to mimic the dances, my late sister did when she finished learning the Indian Classical Art form Barathanatiyam, to the song showing him a picture of my Sister dressed for a performance sometime before she died. Memories of the drummer or the Murudhangam player Atchuthan, also my teacher, came to my mind as I showed pictures of me performing at a folk concert drumming. Extracts of music from the album chess ended up by my sharing how I felt when I first saw the musical in West End. I showed him pictures of Diana Ross while playing some her songs and pictures of me in Las Vegas and explaining to him how I had gone for one her concerts and missed a chance of a life time of her sitting on my lap as I was one row behind the guy she chose to do so! For the first time I was remembering wonderful moments of my life with both the living and the dead sharing it with someone in a unique way and understanding the true meaning of the word joy. I was also able to think of my dead relatives without that acute pain of loss that these memories usually evoke!

I really wouldn’t blame anybody who watched this drama in my room thinking we were both mad!!! The music was loud, I was gesticulating and miming like a monkey in heat, this guy was reacting with grunts, sounds and noises and widely waving his hands accompanied by this insane look on his face and moments of comprehension when he would give me the thumbs up and nod his head violently.

While playing my favorite songs he learned a lot about me as I about him and we both understood each other! We were both exhausted after about four hours and finally ended up watching a tribute to Herby Hancock on U Tube.

I have been told by those who have read my material that I write well, I know that I am a good story teller but what I didn’t know and something I found out only today is I can communicate. And the look this guy gave me when we both acknowledged that we had to stop said it all.

I saw him to his room and he asked me in his own way, which I have learned to comprehend at last, why I so was happy today. I told him because I would be leaving soon and staying on my own. He hugged me, pulled back and with a dead pan expression showed me his palms and shrugged his shoulders, indicating, with what I know now, his pain that he had no where to go!!!

THE WIFE, MARRIAGE AND THE RYDER

The combination of the tittle is the sequence of events. I had met Wife after a long time in circumstances that were not acrimonious, discussed the complicated topic of marriage with my Serendipity and the comment my Wife made on my posting of yesterday in that order. The post a result of my wanting to rationalize a Wife, Marriage and a Comment in context of where I am heading in my life and what I think now.

I met my Wife and enjoyed a pleasant evening with her and my Mother-In-Law. The range of topics was varied and I did feel that at last whatever the future holds it would be something without malice complemented with moments of serious acknowledgements of the ground realities and acceptance that being apart with identified common ground of contention was a solution. What was especially satisfying for me was there was a commitment that whatever we do should take into account of the interests of both us. In lite banter the cost of a divorce was tossed about, scenarios of how life would be, expectations and hopes etc., amongst many other topics dominated the lively conversation. It followed the trend I had set some time back in a telephone conversation with my Wife. My reasoning had been accepted and progress in our individual lives was evident. Stories and events that had happened and on going were exchanged. My Wife read my blog, the initial chapters of the book I am writing, commented on the blog and a delicious meal concluded proceedings.

My Serendipity had read my Wife’s comments and when we chatting the next day the topic naturally drifted to what had happened the previous evening and the subject of Marriage came up. Her rather idealistic view of the whole business wanted me to summarize twenty one years of Married life the second time. I really couldn’t! There is no magic potion that makes or breaks a marriage that I know of. The standard prerequisites that are glibly tossed around of compatibility, understanding, compromise and sacrifices are just the tip of the repository of phrases that I have come across in conversations with so many on this subject. Heck I have used them so often!

Once married, couples tend to forget why they did so in the first place. When romancing we tend to take the effort to reinforce love in a big way, taking time to find just the right place and ambience to pursue ardently the person who interests us. Invariably this nose dives in priority after a few years of signing the dotted line. Initially physical encounters are protected to ensure optimum fulfillment. Subsequently the phone rings or the children cry whenever the need arises!!! Birthdays celebrated with intimacy no longer counts. Being sexy and taking the effort to look attractive loses its importance since security is assumed by the legality of marriage, and guaranteed continuity presumed. Many forget that success require care, attention and nurturing. Somewhere down the line focus shifts and the quality of life together deteriorates. Before long boredom leads to either infidelity or some other distraction. I too at one time like my Serendipity was convinced by the image of successful marriages. Then I also learned both personally and from my observations what goes on behind the public facade. I should know I did the same not once but twice!

I now believe that if you have a lifelong affair with the one you love the chances are it will survive the test of time. In my case there were other problems but that is my conclusion after two failures. I don’t think I am the marrying kind and I should have lived in sin. Even though I hate to assume certainties in retrospect, I think had I done that I wouldn’t have hurt so many people. Finally apportioning blame for a joint failure is meaningless and the only statement that reflects my philosophy accurately is, It takes two to Tango!

My love affair with alcohol is not something that I am very proud of but neither is it something that I waste my time dwelling on. I have the made the effort and with the continuing reinforcement that I instill in myself daily, have at last achieved the balance to ensure that the bottle won’t be a problem for me anymore. So many years have now gone by and there is so much to be happy about and so much to cry about. Could things have been different if I was different?? I wouldn’t know. I am what I have become and that brings its own fortunes and misfortunes. Like it or not that is something that I have to live with. I doubt that inherent traits and instinctive behavior can be changed and even if I could I wouldn’t want to change my personality to an extent that I end up to be something I am not. I am great believer in learning from the past and as I always maintained there is only one thing in our existence that we have absolute control over barring unforeseen tragedy. That is the present. The past serves as the best tool for knowledge and experience. We have no control over what the future holds and attempts at predicting it is not only foolish but idiotic. The present is all that is there to be dealt with tangibly, clearly and precisely using every iota of intelligence and skills available complimented with the lessons of the past. This ensures a yesterday that one can be proud of, a today that can be made interesting and prepares one to face the tomorrow with confidence!!!

As for the Ryder my Wife left as a comment I see her point. It has not been easy on her but neither has it been on me. We have both contributed towards what happened and should take comfort that we can still communicate effectively and warmly without strangling each other on sight. If we are smart we should take those lessons very seriously and apply them in our live styles in whatever time is left for us on this Planet. We are better off apart and as close friends since we know each other so well. We tried to make it work twice and failed and as someone once told me making a mistake once is acceptable, twice can be forgiven but a third is lunacy. In our case the costs of failure though heavy at the time has fortunately not left serious scars in the psyche and is obvious to those who have known us over the last two decades that we look good and content now. So tell me why on earth fuck it up??????

FORTY EIGHT HOURS

I returned to the half way home after a two day stay in Colombo. I came back late in the afternoon yesterday and decided to have lunch in one of the wayside restaurants that populate the coast line in this area. I spent a very fruitful afternoon not only having a good lunch but also organizing the logistics for the weekend when my fellow students are due here to attend a joint study session before we sit for our exams next week. I returned to the half way home around four PM planning an easy evening and early night to recoup and get ready for the intensive study program I intend to commence from today.

I was accosted by a visibly agitated Doctor who had noted that I had returned to the half way home early in the afternoon and then subsequently gone out again. It transpired that he needed my services urgently to help him out with one of the Residents who had to be taken to hospital for the customary checkup before admission to the Halfway Home. I knew this Resident as he had been here before and much against the Doctor wishes discharged himself prematurely without completing his program. He was an Alcoholic!

I really was in no mood to take care of belligerent alcoholics familiar or otherwise and certainly didn’t want to spoil what had been a very pleasant stay in Colombo getting involved in the admission procedures of the Institute. Nevertheless I acquiesced very reluctantly and marched off to the Residents room prepared to use my rather intimidating powers of persuasion to ensure that this guy got ready pronto and went to hospital. The sight that greeted me made me pause and throttle the words I was about to deliver in anger. This was how I would have looked like in May 2010!!! Empathy took over and I quickly changed my tactics and eventually found myself accompanying the guy to the Hospital. So much for my relaxed evening!!!

The gist of what he conveyed to me was a familiar lament. The reasons equally uninspiring, the conclusions and results boringly identical. But my usual sarcastic one liners and wit was tempered with a feeling of Deja Vu and a cold feeling of realization of how this had happened to me not just once but on several occasions. The Consultant Doctor at the Hospital was a Psychiatrists I used for second opinions and I was able to quickly get the Resident attended to. My concern that there was risk of seizure due to withdrawals was put at rest and the Doctors rather bemused look as to what I was doing in Hospital dressed in what I refer to as my HADU outfits in Sinhalese, generally consisting of old T-Shirts with holes in strategic places and my trade mark crumpled track pants was replaced with a wink, when I explained that I hadn’t come to him for his opinion but due to the emergency at hand and I had progressed quite well, thank you, since I consulted him in February.

On the way back to the Home I was preoccupied with an analysis I had done when researching the best way to overcome alcoholism. There are those who seem to able to give up drinking without any repercussions or the issues that many of us go through when we are forced to accept that we have a drinking problem when things really hit rock bottom. They stop and stay away from the booze for the rest of their existence! Then there are those who manage to do so with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar programs and after some trial and error end up leading lives of sobriety. Then there are the more troublesome cases such as mine that require hospitalization and a period of sanitization and repeated relapses before sobriety with occasional lapses is finally achieved. The last category are probably in the eyes of many the most incorrigible and often viewed with disdain and ridiculed by many who don’t have an alcoholic problem and cannot understand or comprehend how this can happen. They dismiss these individuals as not being strong willed and capable human beings!!! They don’t know or care to acknowledge that they might end up in the same boat one day! Life has a strange way of dealing off the deck.

Back in my room after finishing my work and listening to music, tired and exhausted I looked back at the last forty eight hours. It had been great. I had a pleasant evening the previous day, Saro read my blog and was the first to post a comment, my Mother-In-Law thought it was fabulous and I should get the material published but by far the best moment for me was the incident that occurred when I left the Doctors room at the Hospital. I couldn’t read the Doctors expression but his tone and the look conveyed subtleness in meaning that I have yet to comprehend. Looking at me straight in the eye he said “Thank you for taking care of my Patient! “ My re-joiner “No problems Doc! I have been there”, accompanied by a wry smile was followed with a tear drop from my eye!

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION.

This post was instigated by my being involved in the annual Vesak Bakthi Ghee event held at the half way home yesterday and a subsequent conversation with one of the latest additions to the staff cadre of the home who had read Anthropology for her degree. Bakthi Ghee is a collection of devotional invocations to the Buddha. The modern day renditions are extremely catchy and pleasing to the ear. I was hired to design and print the Souvenir for this occasion and as the Sinhala lyrics had to be transliterated into English, (to allow those who couldn’t read Sinhala to participate) resulted in my trying to understand the lyrics when it suddenly dawned on me that these devotional songs were actually documenting historical events musically and an extension to the famous chronicle of the period when Lord Buddha preached Buddhism and the events thereafter, the Mahawamsa. Why religious overtones surrounded this event, when wonder and awe at a rich cultural heritage would have been more appropriate, struck me as absurd!

My understanding of Buddhism is that it is a way of life and religion shouldn’t be playing any part in this philosophy. This view is shared by many a practicing Buddhist who have asserted so to me as an when this topic has been discussed when the occasions arose. I shared this that evening after the event with some the staff at the home.In the course of this conversation I asked the student of Anthropology, who is a Catholic as to how she reconciled Darwin’s theory of evolution with the Catholic premise that God created Adam, Eve and the rest of the whole haramarang! (choose the order). So much so for what we learn, believe and practice. Reminded me of my physics teacher in school who once told the class that we all knew our theory as far as Ohms law was concerned but wouldn’t know how to replace a domestic electrical fuse if our Moms asked us to!

What is even more bizarre is that we generally end up with the religion that our Parents belong to and seem to modify our thinking along the way, seeing and learning completely contradictory philosophies and still end up with this fanatical belief that ours is the right choice so much so that we are even ready to kill for this! Religion does play a significant role in people’s lives. The comfort, solace and the strength that we humans derive from it is no doubt beneficial provided that is not intrusive and shoved upon all and sundry as the best choice. That choice or method of practice should be private and judiciously enforced as such. Certainly macabre rituals cannot and should not be tolerated and everything should conform to what is acceptable to the social norms of the Geographic Location. This is bound lead to problems and they will have to be no doubt dealt with. Finding a method to do so will be contentious to say the least. But I digress now, that is another issue.

It is the Institutions that end up interpreting Religion and assume custody that should be checked and monitored. Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted as saying “I am surrounded by priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world, and yet they lay hands on everything they can get”. How very true! I have only seen one Priest in my entire existence whom I can vouch for personally never had anything apart from a hut in the Jungle in which he sheltered from the elements (It didn't belong to him), slept on the floor and was surrounded by various Idols that were very generously donated to him by the Owners who believed they brought them bad luck!

History has proved on numerous occasions that religion and politics is the most lethal cocktail to ever hit the sack. It is then that events so barbaric occur and that is when morality and consciousness don’t complement justice and fair play but get thrown out of the equation. We cannot allow institutionalized religion in the modern context especially with the advances we are making and the progress of technology. Our young need to learn the latest in Science and that has to be nurtured with the sense of balance and comprehension required to believe in whatever religion or philosophy that cater to individual needs and comfort zones rationally. It is important is to bridge the huge contradiction between what is taught at and what is perceived so that individuals empowered and confident about their ability to make the distinction between right and wrong fairly and without preconceived notions will emerge. This would lead to a more mature collective and a philosophy of live and let live.

One of the Buddhist staff members participating in the discussion opined that Buddhism is more close to evolution than anything else religious or otherwise (apart from evolution itself, that is) she is aware of. I agree! The philosophy teaches a way of life that ensures the evolution of the being from the present state of existence to the ultimate state of enlightenment. Breaking the cycle of rebirth as it were. It attracts me and quite a lot of people as well. In its simplest form it is the essence of clean living and a clear conscience. Call it what you like but what I find so appealing in this concept is that you are ultimately responsible for what you do and are answerable for your actions. There is no divine intervention or lack of, to thank or blame. However I too contradicting myself seek recourse from that elusive God for comfort when in distress. This is hard for me to overcome and is an essential ingredient in my philosophical potpourri. But then I am a complex person who not only has strange relationships with both my Gods and Demons but also with fellow Humans.

THE REAL ANNIVERSARY

TO BE POSTED

LARRY FLYNT

A new Resident was admitted a couple of days ago and unfortunately this man walks with a crutch. Why this sight should be associated with a wheel chair in my mind still confuses me. This thought came back to me last night and I remembered a movie in which the main character is the victim of a failed assassination attempt and survives it only to be paralyzed waist down. I couldn’t for the love of God remember the name of the character until this morning that is when it dawned on me that I was thinking about Larry Flynt the publisher of Hustler Magazine.

I had seen copies of the Hustler Magazine when I was a kid and the few who had them in my home town were very proud owners and would show them off to me with great pomp and ceremony. I would have been about 12 years old and these pictures were a welcome sight and very educational for me. Not to mention of course their role in stimulating a growing awareness of sex which I was going through at that time.

I didn’t know much about the Publisher till I saw the movie The People Vs Larry Flynt in the nineties and subsequently saw a news clip of the man himself proclaiming to the world, or whoever was watching TV at that time, that he had, had more Women than Huge Hefner! A point of view that was dismissed by a Reporter in an article who opined that who cared anyways. It asserted Hefner’s playboy Magazine was something that would have been popular even at the time of Sodom and Gonorrhea, I mean Gomorrah and somebody should put the old codger (Flynt) out of his misery!

For me why I enjoyed the film and respect the man is for his stand on the freedom of expression which is a commodity that very few people seem to want to defend these days. It is one of the first casualties in lot of Counties including mine. Furthermore porn unlike war isn’t a killer, unless of course you’re very careless.

More recently Flynt had approached the US Congress for a bail out in light of the present economic downturn in the US and to me that showed this man has balls. I mean if you look at it America is bailing out the Auto Industry when people stopped buying American cars long before the crisis and entertainment especially Adult is a very popular pastime and is a growing industry. It needs all the help it can get! I am sure it will be a cast iron investment.

But Flynt also came to mind in context of an article I read in the only local Sunday Paper I follow regularly. The writer in comparing the situation in Libya and Sri Lanka asserted that the later had still not reached the state of oppression nor does the climate for Revolution exist unlike the former and change is still possible within a democratic framework. He is right Sri Lanka has still not reached the epic proportions of repression that so many of these crackpots have subjected their people to. But if this trend continues it won’t be very long before this Country joins that elite crowd and we end up like them.

Flynt may have been a smut pedaler to those who want view him as such but his character is of a man who believed that there were issues that needed to be fought for. He is called a free speech pioneer and used his resources towards espousing that. What concerns me is the scarcity such people in Sri Lanka who are ready to see this looming menace and willing to take action now without waiting for the situation to deteriorate to an intolerable level. It will happen if things go on like this and are we to allow this rot to continue for god knows how long before we are goaded and forced to take action?

Another long drawn out battle after a repressive regime entrenches itself is something that we can ill afford. Two uprisings one long drawn out Civil War and at the end of it all we seem to be in the same place chasing our tail and shouting the same old rhetoric. The cost in human suffering is yet to be measured and the damage to the collective psyche is bound to have social consequences that will be far reaching. An old friend of mine told me just after the 1983 riots that Sri Lanka had lost its innocence! I don’t think we lost it then. It happened a long time before 1983 and unless we learn the value and necessity of true freedom and are willing to defend it, never mind the innocence, we will never mature as a nation and be truly united to even contemplate genuine progress and true development of its Citizens and Society.

THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE.

We landed in Chennai on schedule and after checking in our onward luggage to Hyderabad proceeded to the Domestic Terminal. For a regional hub Chennai leaves much to be desired. I was told it had been a lot worse till the recent renovations had been done. But to me it didn’t seem to have been through any renovations and looked a mess. But my buddy assured me that this was not the case as he had travelled through here before, during and after the renovations. Apparently at one time the drive way to the Airport was alongside the walkway from the International to Domestic Terminals.

Anyway we got some magazines from one of the book shops and proceeded to the departure lounge for our almost eight hour wait for the connection to Hyderabad. It was unusually cold for this part of the world. Colombo had experienced the coldest weather in sixty one years because of the impact, experts had said, of Global Warming. We had with us warm clothes so it was comfortable. The time passed slowly and at last we heard the boarding call.

We boarded a bus to get the aircraft and I was a bit surprised. This was almost a two hour flight and I thought the renovations would have meant we walked to the aircraft from the lounge. Was I in for a shock! We were being flown in a two engine turbo prop that looked so short and small and did I have the he bee jeebees! For moment I was at loss for words. This was a come down with a nasty bang. The only analogy I could think of was a limo to a bullock cart!

You boarded the aircraft from the back and it was on a flight of five odd steps hanging on what looked like twine with a even thinner version as your handrail. I clutched at this and with some trepidation managed to board the plane. We were right in the front and there was another shocker. We were in two seats that were flush with the separating panel of the cockpit from the cabin and We had two passengers facing us and I swear if I had stretched my legs it would have landed in between the lady in front of me! Not something you would want to do in India. This was a small aircraft. The only time I had been in something smaller was way back in 1978 when due to bad weather and a strike by the El Air Crew there was only one flight out of Tel Aviv and I could have sworn that the plane’s wings were flapping to keep the aircraft in the sky! I wondered if I was in for a similar experience.

Taking off was even more unusual. The flight attendant pulled her seat from a slot before the door to the cockpit. It looked like one of those folding ironing boards you find in today’s space saving apartments. When she did her demonstrations I had to strain my neck backwards to get a glance at her! I was pushed forward on takeoff by a good eight inches off the backrest of the seat. But at the end of it all the flight was uneventful and smooth and we were on time. It was cold as hell and we quickly rushed through the airport to a Taxi and made are way to the Brides Residence.

Hyderabad was fun and I really enjoyed myself. I was seeing so many people I hadn’t met in a while and felt so much at home. It was an experience that I will never forget. The City is cosmopolitan and apparently has a large population of Sri Lankan Students who do inter marry with the locals and settle down quite well in this part of India.

We went for a walk one day into the town close by to where we were staying and the sidewalks were a death trap at least at that time. There was a lot of cable laying going on and I stubbed my toe many a time on those walks. A relation of my Buddy’s, he is tall bumped into a sign that clearly stated mind your head because he was looking down to avoid the pot holes in the sidewalk!

One stretch of the side walk had a long wall which had a sprayed message as to not pass urine There! The stretch that had this caution was clean, but further on there was no warning and it stank! I used to buy cigarettes from a shop that had a board stating it was the CICAGO CIGARATE & PAN SHOP.

The wedding was great and I learned of some enchanting customs when the Master of Ceremonies introduced and got all the guests to do some very interesting dances. Leaving early morning I noticed how in the night the streets had been swept clean and the City looked spick and span to greet the new day. The drive to the Airport was fast and the road leading to it was so well laid out. I was told by my friend that the Rajiv Gandhi Airport is reputed to be the best in India. I do not know how this compares with Delhi’s new terminal One but I was impressed.

Back in Sri Lanka on our way back home I saw something that really made this trip so eventful. On the back of a covered pickup truck was a three piece Papra band as they are known. They were an integral part of my childhood at carnivals at our neighborhood school fares. As for the jinx and the curse that has been in my life??? I think it is gone and I was looking forward to 2011!

THE DAY DAWNS.

Was I excited; I couldn’t sleep much and was full of anticipation to embark on what was going to be a new adventure for me. At last I was off to India. I had checked on-line and found out that the Aircraft was an Airbus. I had been on them before. I remembered when Indian Airlines introduced them on the Colombo Bombay sector and I was taking a flight to Colombo when somebody mentioned I was taking an Airbus, wondering what kind of a bus had wings and could fly ?

As usual we left home late and made it to the Airport an hour before departure, passengers are supposed to be at the Airport three hours before, but that was nothing new to me. When I was a frequent traveller and my late first wife worked for an Airline I used to be at the Airport just in time to be bundled into the plane. That was another time of my life.

My Buddy is a well-known actor and a frequent flyer. One of the counter girls recognized him and we got a business class upgrade, and that was a cool way to leave Colombo. The Airport had been renovated and looked really good. The traces of the old Airport were there but there were a few additions and it was plush. We went up to the duty free grabbed what we needed and had some lunch at the Business Class Lounge. I walked around and surprisingly was quite relaxed and all those fears and apprehensions I had about flying seemed to have vanished. I got my buddy to take a photograph of me and sat down to mail it to my Mom when I heard the boarding call.

We made our way to the security check point and this was the first time I experienced post 9/11 security. I was standing behind my friend when a rather young pretty looking security officer requested me to remove my belt and shoes before passing through the metal detector. I couldn’t help it! I removed my belt and proceeded to unzip my jeans as if though I was going to strip! The look on the Woman’s face and the frantic gestures she made at me to stop was a sight I wish I could have captured for posterity. The Officer in Charge looked on highly amused while I feigned ignorance and sheepishly told the Woman “Aiyo Mang Dane Naha! Mang hithuwe okkamma galawanda ona kiyala. Kalekata passé mang plane ekka yanne!” “Oh my god I didn’t know I thought I had to remove everything! I am taking a plane after a long time!” I don’t think the Woman quite realized that I was pulling her leg! My buddy in the meanwhile had missed all this and was frantically looking for me further down the walkway.

The inside of the Cabin was a sight for sore eyes. I breathed deeply absorbing the fragrance of the interior and felt at ease as I walked to my seat. I had picked a window seat as I always did on top of the wing. I looked out at the tarmac and the memories of the numerous occasions I had done the same thing flooded my mind. I thought to myself so this is what I missed out on all these years!

We were ready for takeoff and as I strapped myself in as the aircraft started the slow ride to the runway. I enjoyed every shudder and vibration that the engine made. I was on a high. The stewardess came with my drink and while sipping my smoothie and gazed out looking at the vast ground surrounding the taxiway when the Aircraft reached the take off position. The familiar sound of the engine revving up was so comforting as the Aircraft moved slowly at first and as it gained speed I watched the runway blurring as we approached takeoff speed. I waited for that moment when the Aircraft leaves the ground and suddenly you know you’re airborne and you hear the noise of the hydraulics in action. It was wonderful to be flying again!

AFTER EIGHT YEARS A TRIP ABROAD

I last made an overseas visit in 2002 to India, and from that time onwards even though I did get a new passport in 2007 I never saw the inside of an airport all these years. Considering that I was such a frequent traveller from the age of 2 when my Mother took me on my first trip to India and my globetrotting as a Sailor and subsequently as a business traveller, in retrospect I am surprised that I was able to stay so long in Sri Lanka without feeling the urge to travel somewhere. I don’t what stopped me but my life had gone so wrong that I didn’t even feel the need or desire to even get out of Colombo. I guess alcohol was the only thing that mattered to me.

When I first came to the half way home in July 2008 I was too weak and drugged to take even a five minute walk in the compound. Things started improving after my third month and I did regain my strength and started my outdoor activities and by December 2008 I was very fit compared to what I was when I first came here. But though I did start wanting to travel abroad again I was afraid that I might not be able to stand the strain of travelling and at one time I had resigned myself to the fate that I am going to be stuck in Sri Lanka for the rest of my life!

But after I came back to the half way home last May one of the things I had decided was that I was going to make an overseas trip before the end of the year. This was one of the resolutions amongst others I had made when I was reflecting on a course of action while in hospital. The reason for this sudden obsession to travel was instigated by a story my late Sister had conveyed a long time before she died and during the period I was in an out of rehab and things were generally fucked up. Apparently she had been told by an Astrologer that I need to cross international waters if this bad period in my life was to come to an end!! I don’t particularly consider myself a very superstitious person and after my Sisters death my family generally abhors any thinking in that direction. But I was obsessed with this one statement she had made. I mean considering all the sound advice I had got on matters I should have listened to and didn’t should explain the logic of my convoluted thinking that I use when it suites me.

By July I was reorienting myself and staying with my best buddy during the week and coming to the half way home only on weekends. In spite of all the other hassles I was going through during this time the trip abroad was always in my mind. Problem was my Family were very reluctant to send me off anywhere on my own at that time and I couldn’t find anybody whom I could tag along with as well even for a short period of time. But then lady luck smiled at me. My best Buddy’s Sisters Daughter was getting married and the wedding was to be held in Hyderabad. His family knew me from child hood days and I had no problem in getting an invitation. So India it was and the tentative date of departure the 26th of December 2010, duration four days!!

This was end November and was I excited. I was going with my buddy and meeting people I had not seen since 1983. I was looking forward to it. Then came a small snag. I had lost all my previous passports and had only the current one which had no endorsements of travelling anywhere The Indian Visa Office required that I get a Police Report to that affect otherwise the chances of my getting a visa would be slim. Now I like most people in Sri Lankan hate visiting Police Stations unless it is absolutely necessary and in this case it was if I was going to break this jinx. Usually I know somebody or know of somebody who knows somebody to get things done. So I called one of the later who informed me not to be a dumb ass but just walk up to the nearest cop shop and make the complaint like anybody else without trying to draw unnecessary attention to myself as the cops would wonder why I was peddling influence for a simple matter of reporting expired passports that I had lost. Made sense so I did exactly that and walked to the nearest cop shop which was a couple of blocks away from my office and except for a slight misunderstanding with the chaps who let you through the main gate as I had inadvertently declared that I live elsewhere. They said in that case I had to make the complaint to a Police Station of that area. I resolved this with some ingenuity and made my way to the crimes desk.

A well-built Cop, quite pleasant looking and in civvies, was in charge. Ho queried as to what my problem was and once I explained what I had come for very politely requested me to wait till he finished resolving the problem at hand involving a transaction between a buyer and a seller of some textiles on a nonpayment of dues and wanted to know if I would like to take a walk and come back later. An offer which I declined saying that I will wait as this matter was a bit urgent since I had to apply for my Visa the next day. I sat and watched this interesting process of a genuine law enforcer doing a good job. I did complement the Cop when it was my turn and I noticed the wry smile of appreciation my comments evoked.

A rather pleasant looking Lady Cop sat herself next to me and proceeded to record my statement. It was going very well till I said in a mixture of Sinhala and English that I probably would have misplaced or dropped my passports taking them out of the case I carry my laptop Computer in when I travelled in the many three wheelers I take when I commute in and around the office area during the night. Now the statement is recorded in Sinhala and there was an embarrassing pause. The literal translation of laptop into Sinhala is extremely suggestive and the Lady Cop and I tried not to laugh while the Officer in charge looked nonchalantly at the Ceiling. I almost blurted out in Sinhala “Mang Oyage Odekkuwa Idegenna Mage Lapto ekka Pennendada?” “Shall I sit on your Lap and show you my Laptop?” Like I said the officer in Charge was well built! There was a pause and silence which was broken suddenly by the Lady Cop asserting loudly in Sinhala “Mama Dane ne naha me Magula mama Laptop kiyala Liyanawa!” Translation “I don’t know anything about this damn thing I am writing laptop!” I signed the statement and walked out and burst out laughing when I hit the side walk. A few passes by did give me strange looks. I did ask the guys in office if they knew what the correct term for a Laptop in Sinhala was. Everyone knew what a computer was and the only guy who checked online came up with a word that I didn’t even know existed!

I got my statement the next day and the visa three days after. I passed the Lady Cop on foot patrol prior to my departure to India, one day in the evening on my way home; she recognized me and gave me smile that will be etched in my memory for ever.

ANOTHER DREAM

I went to sleep late last night very relaxed and quite content that I had done quite a lot during the day. It had been a while since I had listen to a track from my yoga music collection, so instead of tuning in to my favorite radio station I chose a track I use for my yoga that had a mix of modern Rock and Oriental instruments, put it on repeat, set the volume to suite my comfort zone and drifted off to sleep.

I find myself on top of a rock very similar to the one that the river Ganges in India gushes out from beneath the glaciers and starts its journey to the sea. If I remember right this is supposed to be very high in the Himalayas and bloody cold. But I am wearing a T-Shirt and Jeans and standing on the rock bare feet, which is very unusual for me. There is a pathway to the bank of the River and I walk down to the river bank, it’s more a stream really, wash my face in the cold clear water and drink some as well.

Though this is supposed to be the river it is very shallow and the rocks are sparkling under the sun. I walk across to the other side where there are some strange trees. They look like Christmas trees but they are all silver like something out of a picture post card. I try touching them but I can’t feel anything. There is no vegetation other than these trees and I am very confused but not particularly bothered by this surreal environment I find myself in. I look around me but I can only see these trees all around and pathways leading from where I am and disappearing into some sort of a haze. It’s like I am at a center of half a wagon wheel with the spokes leading away from me in irregular directions. It all looks pretty organized.

I pick one in random and walk away from the River and suddenly find myself in a field with weird shaped rocks placed all over the place. They vary in size but the path I am in snakes its way through these rocks and there are various branches leading away in different directions. It’s pleasant and I hear some faint music in the background. I walk a while but the scenery seems to be the same. I decide to take one of the branches to my left and I am back on top of the rock I started!

But now my Serendipity is at the bottom of the rock standing in the river. She too is wearing a T-Shirt but her Jeans are rolled up. She looks at me and I make out a sad smile. I go down towards her and though I try to talk I can’t. She is telling me that somebody has died. I can understand everything she is saying clearly but there is no sound except for the faint music. I look around and see two men walking up the River towards us, one is smiling at me as if though he knows me but the face is unfamiliar. He has very sharp features, sporting a beard and brown in complexion. I think I know him but I can’t place his face. The other is sullen and frowning at me. His features are not prominent and his image is vague. He has long unkempt hair and he doesn’t like me!

I turn towards my Serendipity and notice that is crying softly. I try to ask her why but she doesn’t seem to hear me. She looks forlon and so sad that my heart breaks. I am unable to comfort her. The guy who was smiling at me comes near me and puts his arm around my shoulders and I gather he is reassuring me that everything will be all right.

My phone rings suddenly and I realize I have my cell phone with me! I answer it and my dead sister wants to know when I would be joining my Mother and Her for lunch at the Hotel. My Serendipity is shaking her head at me and frowning now and this time I can’t understand what she is saying except she is annoyed at the interruption. I try to explain that I have to go to the Hotel but she keeps shaking her head. My smiling friend is still reassuring me while the other guys frown has turned menacing!

I don’t how long this drama went on but I am suddenly all alone on top the rock with loud music replacing what was in the background. It is the Osibisa track I use for my 6.30 alarm!