Srilanka – different perspectives by Alok Das

At the outset, allow me to qualify the title. When I say different perspectives, it might raise many eyebrows: different from what? Many researches have been done on Srilanka and many books have been written too. I am not an academic / researcher and outside my friend circle, people hardly know me. So different from what? Valid question, no doubt.

Well, I am an Australian who was born in Bangladesh and my perspective on Srilanka is greatly influenced by that. What does that really mean? Interesting? Triggering any curiosity? Now let me tell you my story about Srilanka.

My rendezvous with Srilanka started when I was in primary school. I am a gen X who grew up in a third world country, mostly in small towns. In those days there was no Internet, and even television was a luxury in many parts of the world. So arguably our imagination was sharp as we used to read books and newspapers. If I may borrow the phrase from the English poet par excellence John Keats, we used to travel to different parts of the world – sometimes even backwards in time – on the ‘viewless wings of poesy’, or simply put, using our imagination. Occasionally on television news, they used to show clips on unrest in Srilanka. As a child or as a teenager, I did not know what that was about, nor was interested in that. I was more interested in Srilanka as a cricket team. Like many other children, I was a sports enthusiast and loved cricket. Because Srilanka played cricket at an international level and Bangladesh did not at that point, I knew that there was a country in that name that played cricket.

In our childhood and teenage years, we used to read a lot about different regional co-operations on the newspapers, e.g. EEC (European Economic Commission, which later evolved into European Union), ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), to name a few; and last but not the least, SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) which directly impacts many of us as both Bangladesh and Srilanka are members of SAARC.
The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka in 1984 and that was the first time I heard the speech of a Srilankan President, or any Srilankan for that matter. Yes, I am talking of Junius Richard Jayewardene. Then I was convinced that he was the best speaker in that summit. Now when I walk down the memory lane and feel most of the things have become obscure, I am still convinced that he was the best speaker in that summit. Politics apart (politics is not my business), I feel that JR (as he was fondly called) was an excellent public speaker.
Because of the summit in 1984, the state owned Bangladesh Television also televised some documentaries on Srilanka. ‘Lo and behold!’ that was my first reaction, ’they are very similar to us’. The country was (and still is) very beautiful, full of green forests and pristine beaches. The people looked very similar to us. So apart from being a cricket playing nation and having a good public speaking president, they also have a fascinating people and culture! Srilanka was not just Srilanka to me. In Bengali (my mother tongue), it became ‘Sri’ (meaning ‘beautiful’) Lanka. I started to feel curious about Srilanka and thought that the best way to know about the country would be to read about it.

However, I was still a child and had no idea where I could read about Srilanka. Occasionally I happened to find articles in some newspapers about Srilanka and would read those articles eagerly. ‘Prince Vijaya, the legendary king was a Bengali? Fascinating’, thought I. Even though later on I came to discover that this claim is disputed, it did not impact my fascination for Srilanka. I also discovered that Srilanka has very rich Buddhist heritage. Bangladesh also has a rich Buddhist heritage.

In the years that followed, in a senior class in school, I was very excited to know that Ati?a D?pa?kara ?r?jñ?na, the legendary Buddhist scholar of the eleventh century also visited Srilanka briefly. In the geography text book included on my school syllabus, when I read about the Pidurutalagala (or Mount Pedro), I started to love it and climbed to its peak many a time (only in my imagination though).

An article I read on Ananda Samarakoon also had an indirect role in increasing my interest in Srilanka. He came to India to study under Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate for literature in 1913 and who would later become India’s national poet. Tagore was not only the greatest writer of Bengali but of all Indian languages, and he is probably the only writer whose songs (both lyrics and musical composition) are used as national anthems by two countries (India and Bangladesh). The article about Ananda mentioned that he was deeply influenced by Tagore, and he sang his first version of ‘Namo Namo Matha’ to Tagore for his opinion. Tagore, as per the article, suggested some changes. This, I cannot confirm, is true or not; but what is true is that for many years (actually many centuries) people of Srilanka and people of Bangladesh have touched each other’s lives.

When we were in year 10 in school, we had a better reason to feel similarity to Srilankans. Bangladesh had its first female prime minister in 1991. Srilanka had set the tradition for the world by having the first female prime minister in the modern era.

Later on when I studied at the University of Dhaka, I used to hear from some of my friends at the faculty of medicine that they had some Srilankan classmates who were doing tremendously well. I was not a student of medicine, so I did not know them personally. Anyone who would hear those conversations would deduce Srilankans are brilliant in academics. And indeed they are.

I came to know Srilanka even better when I migrated to Australia. At the university I had some Srilankan friends. Later on, through work, I came to know many Srilankans as my colleagues and clients. The best thing about Australia is as a melting pot of different cultures, it gave me the opportunity to come across not only Srilankan people but also Srilankan cuisine. When it comes to mouth-watering Srilankan dishes, any discussion of my personal exploration is incomplete without any references to the documentaries featuring Peter Kuruvita. This wonderful artiste – yes he is not just a chef, he is an artiste – has endeared Srilanka to many non Srilankans.

Both the people of Bangladesh and Srilanka have fought natural disasters and showed resilience, have fought their colonial masters and know how to show hospitality. Both countries are well known for their cricketing prowess.

Needless to mention Srilanka has produced many people who are famous at an international level. Starting from cricket to beautiful beaches, from wonderful temples to mouth watery cuisines – this beautiful country continues to fascinate me. And let me tell you – as a non Srilankan I can confirm it – Sri (beautiful) Lanka has so many unique features that it can fascinate anyone. I have not travelled to this serene country yet, but will surely some time in near future. I send my love for brothers and sisters of Srilanka.