my tuktuk driver friend

a funny thing happened to me today, my official last day in colombo.

way back on the 1st of January 2009, i met an unlikely friend. this tuktuk driver who drove me to my friend's whom i was visiting. a friendly person, like most tuktuk drivers i meet (hehe), who claimed that i was his first customer of the year and i'll bring good luck. i never knew i can bring good fortune to anyone till i met this person. ever since then, every now and again, when i'm walking somewhere he'd pass by me in his tuktuk, always in colpetty, waving hello, asking if i need a lift or just a general "kohomatha?". this usually happened every few weeks but i haven't seen him for several months now.

today, i was walking home from Keells with my friend, indu, when this tuktuk driver, stopped nearby and asked us to get in the tuktuk. my home was only 5 mins away but he still wanted to give us a lift, probably looking at the 500 kgs of groceries we were carrying. of course we didn't refuse the ride. he asked how i was and said "my friend, no?", and after i told him i'm leaving colombo tomorrow (in my halting sinhala), we said our goodbyes. he was genuinely happy to see me and likewise.

i'm happy i met him the day i was leaving. it seemed almost fitting to say goodbye to a place i have lived in and been with some of the nicest people, including my happy tuktuk driver friend.

too much rain

went out with my friend, cat, to watch a movie this evening.

during the movie itself, it started thundering and by the time it finished and we came out, it was raining so heavily. we didnt have an umbrella (which i had conveniently kept in my other handbag) and the cab and tuktuk services were all out. we thought we could wait till the rain stopped a bit but of course that never happened. it was pouring cats and dogs, after days of no rain!!!

and so we decided to make a dash for it, after seeing some brave persons walking out in the rain without an umbrella and with plastic bags, scarves and sometimes nothing on their heads. we could see that the road was heavily flooded. cars weren't getting through and those that did come were stuck mid way drowned in the water. but we decided to be brave and head out in the water. we were knee deep in the water n it was quite fast flowing, and then my friend decided to warn me of open drains which can suck you in. scary! at one point, my feet was directly above a closed drain and some seaweedy thingy was tangled in my leg. yuck! but anyway we manage to cross the road to safety and being quite carried away with the excitement of it all, cat wanted to take photos. most of them turned out blurry but we did capture the moment. hah! anyway, we crossed over to galle road, which was the main road and buses were still running.

and finally, after cat falling into a shallow hole, and some random guy on the road annoying us, and after missing a bus, we managed to catch a tuktuk guy who dropped us home for 100 bucks. safe home, a cool shower and a yummy dinner afterwards, i'm just wishing i wont catch the flu tomorrow morning.

ten things

since i'm currently jobless and have a lot of time in my hands, i have come up with this random post. i have thought up of a list (i think they call it a bucket list?) of ten things i want to do before i die or too old to lift my walking stick or become bonkers one day. sounds pretty dramatic doesn't it? but really some of it is quite ordinary

1. go bungee jumping

2. learn how to ride a bicycle

3. hike a mountain (any mountain cos aiming for the Everest is a bit too high)

4. visit Palestine

5. do a voice over for a cartoon/animation film

6. get a quaint little house and live by the sea

7. start my own project for vulnerable people and for it to become a success story

8. travel the world in a train/bus/car/anything but an aeroplane

9. create a nice portfolio of photos taken by me

10. learn how to whistle

leaving colombo - III

9. Majestic City, a home away from home and the only place i used to shop for shoes, handbags, gifts and popcorn

10. King coconuts which are orange and sweet


11. My friends (need i say more?)

leaving colombo - II

5. Kotthu Rotti


6. Bars cafe, where hanging out with friends was complete with cheesecake and tropical delight fuit waffles

7. My ancient house, with rusty treasure boxes, a bookshelf so huge it makes up one side of a wall, old armchairs, my bedroom and a lot of memories

8. TNL Radio, my only companion during the long nights before exams (i know i can listen to it online now, but its not the same when Oasis and REM play from your ancient rusty radio)

leaving colombo - I

i leave Colombo in a few hours, knowing that i leave behind a treasure chest full of memories. i'm saying goodbye to a part of my life, spent in a city which is home in every special way and so in honor of all the beautiful moments i've had here, i wanted to share a list of 11 things, which i'm going to miss terribly, terribly, terribly.

1. Galle Face Green, a place which has seen me grow up literally. love the beach, the prawn vadas, the ice cream vendors, the acharus, the pier and everything else

2. Carnival, an ice cream parlour, to which a weekly visit is a must. gonna miss the best ever mint choc chip icecream

3.Living close to the beach so whenever i want to, i can go the beach to see the most amazing sunsets

4. My bedroom

if i were a....

This fun post was inspired by wanderlust

- If I were a season, I would be autumn
- If I were a month, I would be November
- If I were a day of the week, I would be Friday
- If I were a time of day, I would be sunset time
- If I were a planet, I would be Earth
- If I were a direction, I would be going South
- If I were a tree, I would be a rain tree
- If I were a flower, I would be an araliya
- If I were a fruit, I would be a watermelon
- If I were a land animal, I would be an elephant
- If I were a sea animal, I would be a starfish
- If I were a bird, I would be an owl
- If I were a piece of furniture, I would be an antique rocking chair
- If I were a liquid, I would be crystal clear water
- If I were a stone, I would be a crystal
- If I were a kind of weather, I would be rainy
- If I were a musical instrument, I would be an acoustic guitar
- If I were a color, I would be forest green
- If I were a facial expression, I would be a smile
- If I were an emotion, I would be contentment
- If I were a sound, I would be a lullaby hum
- If I were an element, I would H2O
- If I were a car, I would be a Beetle
- If I were a food, I would be rice and curry
- If I were a place, I would be the south coast of Sri Lanka
- If I were a flavor, I would be ice lemon tea
- If I were a scent, I would be the smell of wet earth
- If I were an object, I would be a well read book
- If I were a body part, I would be an index finger
- If I were a song, I would be Leaving On A Jet Plane

What about you?

getting married

i got married last month.

when i was small, unlike most little girls, i never dreamt of my wedding. being a total tomboy, hanging out with my brothers and playing WWE were the highlights of my childhood. i grew up and i still couldn't picture myself in a bridal dress. and when i got engaged, being a bride was the last thing on my mind. i never looked forward to my wedding and dressing up was equal to facing the guillotine.

somehow things changed. i remember the exact moment when i actually wanted to be a bride, with the flowers, the flowing dress, the jewellery, the mehendi. it was at one of those boutique dress shops where this salesman draped this gorgeous flowy material all over me and turned me around to face the mirror. it wasn't Sarah looking at me anymore. it was someone else. i actually looked a bride! to be more precise, i felt a bride, and to be really honest i wanted to be a bride (finally!). and then of course, the wedding date was announced, shopping was being done, functions being organised, wedding cards posted and everything was a whirlwind.

i got married in my hometown, a not so faraway place but with a faraway feel to the place. getting married in that pattinam was a huge deal. four couples were getting married at the same time, including my brother (dont be shocked but it happens in our pattinam). and you dont get just one function and not even three. all in all (and i actually sat down and counted) there were 8 functions. so let me list them down for you:

1st day

1. Sirai Kalathuradhu (which literally means getting out of jail) + Paal Seeni (Milk Sugar) function. a special day for me cos this marked the beginning of the functions. i get to dress up for the first time, and wow! i felt like a Ponnu. we gifted milk, sugar and sweets to my husband's place. followed by a home function where people sang and recited when jewellery was put on me by aunts and cousins. first came the tiara, then the necklace, followed by an earring, a ring, another ring, and loads more. it was a lovely feeling being adorned.

2nd day

2 & 3. Mehendi function/Poochappu. my friends came to my pattinam that day, making my wedding even more special. at the Mehendi function, i was seated in a carpet surrounded by little girls who sang nasheeds, danced and threw rose petals and jasmines at me. followed by people putting mehendi in my hand and kissing me. at the Poochappu function same evening, i was gifted wonderful things by my in-laws, including clothes, shoes, and a brand new SLR camera. wow! i felt totally loved.

3rd day

4. Wedding reception (Allaippu). nothing special for the Ponnu to do. my family had to greet and thank a multitude of guests (measuring to approx 1500), giving them small complimentary gifts. i didn't have to dress up and thought of chilling out with friends, but of course, my plan was ruined by photographers who bullied me into posing like a 1960s tamil movie heroine. my friends had a laugh at my expense!

4th day

5. Nikkah. this was the main function where i get Married. thanks to my friend Nan, who dressed me up, i looked great. i was taken to the mosque and my hands placed in my husband's hands. i am now officially Mrs. S.

6. Pon Sodippu (Bride display for the public like a chimp at the zoo, but i didn't do any tricks. just sat there looking pretty waiting for everyone to admire me haha.). same day as the Nikkah, i felt exhausted by the time i had to dress up. i literally got out of my Nikkah dress and got into this one. but maybe it was the excitement of it all, i didn't feel tired. of course the afore mentioned photographers once again tried to bully me but i refused to cave in. hah!

7. Thaalikettu. same day as functions no. 5 & 6. and i guess you can imagine what time it started. 12 midnight it did! and we went to bed that day at 4am. the four couples were seated in the stage about to snooze. luckily there were a few games invented to keep us awake, one in which the groom had to stick coins in the face of the bride. if it stuck, then Go groom! if it didn't Go bride! of course it didn't stick for me so naturally i won. many gifts were given and i got a lovely ring from my husband. i was sleepy at the end of it all but felt loved all the same.

5th day

8. Waleema/Maravanam (Homecoming). next day. got up late. had late breakfast. chilled around. by the time i got dressed, lunch time was over. i had to dress up (first time in a Pattu sari) and go to my husband's place. my brother's newly married bride also came to our place for her homecoming. so once we welcomed her home, i went to my husband's, where once again i was gifted jewellery and other wonderful things. aaahh! life was good.

so that ends the list of functions held in said pattinam but this doesn't mark the end of all functions. we had a reception in Chennai and one in Colombo, where i got to meet friends who were not able to come for my wedding. (special mention to Rish who organised the Colombo reception).

among other things i loved about my wedding, here is a list of things most memorable to me:

- my wedding was a family reunion after 2 and half yrs. felt great that all the Ps were in one place.

- 3 of my dearest friends came for my wedding. Cat and Naz all the way from Colombo and Nan all the way from Tooty :) my friends being there for me on my big day was all i could wish for. My sister's friend Thiv also came which made it all the more sweet.

- i was given to drink milk in almost all the functions (a pattinam custom) and i thank god i am not lactose intolerant.

- the night before the big day we had an all night powercut and my cousin Nus and i had to sit in the balcony, where she put Mehendi for me by streetlight. we sat all night but my Mehendi was lovely in the end!

- the exciting shopping, most memorable was shopping in the crowded, dirty and surprisingly well stocked Mint Street. i have now being officially been converted to shopaholic-ism.

- i missed my grandfather a lot (who had passed away earlier in the year) but at the wedding, i was happy that my grandma was happy.

- Vapa, Umma and Mami's massive support during and before the wedding and of course Nus, my wedding planner/cousin/naathanar, and Naj, my other wedding planner/sister without whom the functions wouldn't be half as wonderful.

- and finally i got to welcome a wonderful person into my family.

all in all, i loved being a bride. it was chaotic, the few weeks before the wedding, but somehow it all came together in the end and now that its all over, i want to get married all over again. i keep telling myself that every other bride gets to dress up only once, but this pattinam bride got to be a Ponnu more than once, twice or thrice.

*happy sigh*

blog time!

i suddenly realised i spent more time today redesigning my blog than actually blogging! pooh pooh

and alas! what have i been doing all these un-blogged about months, wiling away my time, ignoring my poor blog? 5 months to be exact. time to buckle up and write, write, write while i have still have time on my hands!

speak to you tomorrow, my lovelies :)

koli's coincidence

i have been neglecting my blog for sometime. a month to be exact. so a thousand apologies goes to you, my dear diary.

two weeks ago i came up with a hair-brained idea (during one of my rare eureka moments) where i thought i'd invited my lovely, yet bonkers friends to send in posts to my blog, especially when cool things happen in their lives. i have herewith provided a promising platform for those posts which define both epic and funny, and to start off my initiative, here's what koli had to say about a little incident in her life. Thanks a bunch, my dear :-). Enjoy reading, readers:

"Everyone has had those rare occasions when one was feeling too bored and idiotic enough to visit a random chat room and start chatting with some random guy… well I did too, a rather embarrassing one as you would have guessed. I was about 17 when I found this guy, let’s name him Mr. M, he was wayyy older than me, he was doing his MBA in London, but was from India. We started exchanging mails and we got close, as close as close can get through e-mails… I mean in a platonic way ppl, nothing else!! Atleast on my side… so, when I turned 18 and had to go to India for my Degree I realized this could get risky to continue mailing him, since he was in Chennai too. So I very nicely told him that I won’t be mailing him anymore, after telling him that I was moving to India, (of course ppl what 18 year old in her right mind can make a correct decision.) But then I realized my mistake and stopped all communication with him, but apparently by then he started to “like” me,) but that was the end of that.

Couple of years later… the small world that this earth is… I happened to meet him… not meet “meet” him…but ya, somewhat… how?? I was going to Dance for Mr. M’s own sangeet function that was to happen the day before his wedding. Coincidence??? Uhh.. I think so… I was Mr. M’s sister’s best friend from college. Yes. Things like these do happen in real life too..."

64

Today I was going to meet my friend Cat for lunch at her place, which was at #64 Blah blah Road, Colombo. Since I was planning on getting to her house by bus, Cat had given me specific instructions on how to get there, and knowing me, I'm quite bad with directions and numbers. So there I was in the bus, which was thankfully not crowded, siting next to the window and thinking to myself "Now what number did she say her house was? Oh yes, it was #64 wasn't it?" and two seconds later, when was the bus was way before my stop, I saw a huge (and totally random) board in front of a building with just the number 64. The number 64 was pretty big!!! And I felt like I literally brought that #64 board into existence by thinking it. WOW! It was so weird.

Anyway, I thought I should mention this here (being a coincidence and all) but seriously, I sincerely hope that my life doesn't turn out to be Final Destination Part 4, where I can think the future. But then again, maybe I'm just making a mountain out of a molehill.

New day today?

Last few weeks have been quite tense for my little country. We are at the edge of change and many feel that today there will be an opportunity to bring about a difference. Most of the people I know have been, on the one hand, excited, and on the other hand, apathetic for what lies ahead this morning.

Yesterday was one of the most anticipated elections and, as I write, thousands of votes casted are being counted. Come morning, we will know who the winner is. We had two candidates; both played a big hand in bringing an end to war, an end to mindless terrorism. At what cost? some might ask but others are more than a bit grateful that the days of uncertainty and loss are finally over. And what now? The war is finally over but can we forget the sacrifice, the suffering and the silent cries? some might still ask but others see that post elections, what matters is what lies ahead. Its time to let go of the past.

Voting can be a double edged sword. We had two candidates, many promises and many more agendas. Whom have we decided was better; for governing our people, for ensuring development and for bringing about lasting peace? Have we chosen the right person? Will our choices bring about a positive change? Will our choices make a small amount of difference, if at all?

I've been thinking of my choices for some days now but little did I realise it was all in vain. I never got to cast my vote, my name not being in the "list" and many others like me never got to exercise their right. This affected me much more than I realised.

In a few hours, a leader will be named. There will be many people celebrating victory as well as many others enduring defeat and all I can do is wonder if we will ever see that change we keep talking about. Will there ever be a new day? I don't know.

Once in 3 weeks

Blog time!!!!

I think I am unconsciously timing my blog posts in such a way that I post every 3 weeks. Or is it another coincidence, that I somehow end up blogging every 3 weeks? and isn't it weird I get this blog writing tendency only on the 3rd week of every month?

Anyway, I'm super excited right now cos within a manner of 5 mins two more coincidences happened. Nothing of significance so I'm pretty sure my blog readers will be rolling their eyes, and saying "Is that all?". Nevermind what they say, I say. So this what happened. My friend, Cat is spending the night here and we decided to watch a movie. I had Up In The Air with George Clooney in it, so we decided to watch it and the movie was pretty good. I liked the ending. As soon as the movie is over, I come online and my bro is online too. We start catching up, and here's how our conversation goes:

me: hello

aren't u asleep?

Sul: hello...nope

went to watch a movie

me: what movie

Sul: Up in the Air

it was alright...

me: what a coincidence

oh my god

Sul: why

me: i just finished watching Up In The Air

Sul: hahaha

really???

me: ya i was watching it with Cat

Sul: shaaaaa telepathy

me: just 15 mins ago

Sul: magic

me: i know

i need to blog about this

So here I am blogging about the Up In The Air coincidence.

The other coincidence is to do with phone calls again. I was in the midst of making shopping plans with a friend who claims to have an unlimited credit card, and we were planning this via Facebook status messages and chat, while at the same time chatting with my other friend on MSN separately. (I know, I know, we are so technologically diversified). And then both of them then buzz me at the exact same time (the very same second mind you) saying "on the phone...brb". And apparently I find out that they are on the phone with each other. What!!! how could they decide to abandon me at the exact same time? and they were not even chatting with each other! Oh well! I decided to use this moment of being abandoned to blog about it. Hurray for time well spent. (Looks like both of them are buzzing me right now saying with a "Are you still there?", again at the same time. Sigh)

Hmmm while I'm at it, I might as well write about this other coincidence which happened two days ago. This week was a very good week. Not only was I able to fully recover from the world's most nastiest cold I had last week but I was also finally able finish my thesis. Yippee! I completed my viva (which is like a worst case scenario interview where the examiners dissect your every chapter and cross-examine you as though you're a no-good criminal, but thankfully I survived) and my thesis is now on its way to becoming leather bounded/gold embossed heading-ed piece of good work. My examiners were kind enough to suggest I publish it. I thought of calling up this friend of mine to ask her for publication related advice later in the week and Voila! that very night I got an email from her saying that her sister is launching this service called "Writers Unblocked" which offered just the very thing I needed. That very night people! She'll be helping me publish my thesis. Phew. This world works in mysterious ways.

So thats it from the Somebody here on my Once in 3 weeks/Up In The Air/On the phone/Writers Unblocked experiences in January. Till next time (perhaps on the 14 Feb??), goodbye.