Lanka Ashok Leyland
Well, duh. Ayubowan doesn’t just mean good-bye. It also means hello, blessings, and all sorts of nice pleasantries. You say it while bowing a little and putting your hands together as in prayer.
But don’t get the idea that people are ayubowaning each other all throughout Sri Lanka. No one has greeted me in this way in the last five days, nor have I see anyone say this to anyone else. So much for that.
During the chaotic five-hour ride from Colombo to Matara, three words popped up everywhere and eventually turned into a mantra: Lanka Ashok Leyland. It’s on the front and rear of 75% of the buses and about 60% of the trucks here. A quick Google search a few minutes ago reveals that it’s the local car chassis corporation here.
Anyway, so I have been in Sri Lanka for about five days now (although it is a little difficult to keep track of time here, like on any other big trip). I’ve been staying at “Pointe Sud,” Nerissa and David’s home in Kamburugamuwa. It’s a gorgeous Indo-British colonial home perched atop a large hill overlooking the Indian Ocean. While the immediate surroundings are green lawns with coconut trees and banana plants, we are unmistakably in the middle of the tropical jungle. No big animals prowling around, though.
Nerissa, David, and their son, Sammi, are U.K. ex-pats who have been living here in Sri Lanka for about five years. Included among the many community projects they manage is the Rohana Special School, the place where I’ll be volunteering, probably officially starting tomorrow (I have a meeting with the principal today).
Living on an estate with eight house staff serving you three meals, afternoon tea, and lime drinks is not the typical way a volunteer begins his shift in a Third-World country, and I remind myself of that fact every day. Still, the ocean views are unbeatable, the sunsets mind-blowing, and there’s never been so many stars twinkling above the hundred-odd fishing boats whose searchlights mark the night horizon.
When I get more settled in — that means moving out into a guesthouse in Polhena in the next couple days, and starting at Rohana — I’ll definitely be able to blog more. There’s so much to say, really!
oh my! and here I thought you were in a small 2 or 3 bedroom cabin! Talk about a smooth transition! Can’t wait to hear more
“Lovely, all absolutely lovely!”
Adam - thank you for saving me the google work - I’ve been wondering the same thing about Ashok Leyland as the trucks here in Bangalore have the same note.
“a Third-World country” is passe.
Saying “a developing” country is preferred. Good luck and keep on writing!
Perhaps folk are more friendly today. Ayubowan was very common this August