http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXvLYV9MZLI An often overlooked minority, the Kaffirs of Sri Lanka are African descendants who have been living on the island since the early 1500s. The word Kaffir literally means ‘non believer’ and unlike in most other parts of the world,…
Sundays are usually when most people do their grocery shopping for the week in Sri Lanka, and often you’ll find them at roadside markets. The best deals, especially for vegetables and other perishable items, are generally available towards the end…
A soldier galloped down the palace gardens, the black flag in his hand ripping at the wind. Three women stopped their laughing and splashing in the fountains to watch him pass, smiles dropping. As the rider disappeared through the gates,…
Flipping through the 2014 calendar, my mother mournfully remarks that there is just one public holiday each for the months of March and August this year. It is somewhat of a family tradition to sit around the table and count…
“OMG!!” Exclaimed my newly married friend. “I just realized that all you buggers* will be really old moms”. Thank you, thank you for that. Here I am, suffering from quarter life crisis, panicking over no emergency savings fund and a…
I was 19 when I experienced my first ‘White Christmas’, and somehow it didn’t feel right. In case you are wondering, it didn’t just start snowing in Sri Lanka one fine Christmas; that was in Iowa, USA. Despite what all…
So, moving on from our obvious obsession with tea, I’d like to focus on another craze prevalent in Sri Lanka: the ‘fairness’ preoccupation. Fair skin is highly desirable, and it’s often a topic addressed blatantly with zero political correctness. My…
About a year ago a friend of mine and I decided that we wanted to explore other cities and towns in Sri Lanka and check out a few of the sights and places that we as locals sometimes take for…
My first encounter with elephants in Sri Lanka (not that I actually remember) was when I was a few days old and I was carried under the belly of an elephant. In Sri Lanka, newborn babies are often carried under…
“Pure Ceylon Tea” – now there’s a marketing line that I’m sure people throughout the world are familiar with. It often brings to mind a picture of someone elegantly dressed, sipping a cup of golden red tea poured out of…
As the sun sets, signaling the end of another day, the scenery that surrounds me is one of the hardest to describe. Galle Face Green* in Colombo is where the hustle and bustle of city life meets the vast Indian…
