Why am I fascinated by elephants? Is it because they were part of the landscape when I was growing up?
When my kids were little, I drew elephants with them on their drawing pads. I bought elephant-themed toys for them. Elephant safaris were on our itinerary when we travelled to Sri Lanka. To top it up, my brother’s in-laws owned an elephant.
My fascination with elephants continues. Now, I draw elephants with my grandkids.
How did I come to own the two ceramic elephants above? I encountered them in a departmental store in Colombo a few years ago. With their fine array of multi-colours, I saw them as a great décor item for my house in Sydney and purchased them immediately.
The teapot is a different story.
A year ago, Rachel, one of my co-workers, was leaving. She gifted this beautiful teapot with its colour and regalia to match my colourful décor. The thoughtful gift of a bright-coloured teapot with its oriental design found its way amongst the two colourful elephants in my home.
Tea is also something close to my heart. Sri Lanka produces some of the best tea in the world. Tea has been part of my life since childhood. It is in my DNA.
The two elephants and the teapot are a great match. They remind me of my colourful heritage from the island of Sri Lanka.
Cyril Stanley A story of gratitude — Denzil recalls a friend who looked out for him in his budding years in Sri Lanka Denzil Jayasinghe 11 min read · Aug 27, 2022 1 Give us a bit of background on how you met Cyril. It was the seventies in the sleepy village of Dalugama , my ancestral hometown, some ten kilometres from Colombo. With their flared bell bottoms and Afro-style hair, it was easy to notice Cyril and his younger brother Edward. I’d bump into the duo in the neighbourhood as I walked home after a day at college. A casual hello greeting turned into a conversation and an evolving friendship with the duo at an age when making friends was effortless. However, it was Cyril who reached out to me first. What did the brothers look like? C yril was a younger version of Smokey Robinson and his brother, Edward, a junior Lionel Richie but darker. Both had curly hair, grown long, copying the Afro-American idols of the seventies. Smokey Robinson, Cyril Stanley lookalike Where did they
My experiences of rebellions How waves of violence in Sri Lanka broke a young man’s heart Warning — Distressing scenes described in this story. A YOUTH INSURRECTION DURING MY BOYHOOD 1971 — There was a strong student and youth socialist movement styled on the “Che Guevara” clique. Many poor, unemployed and underprivileged young people joined this movement. My two elder cousins, my father’s brother’s children, Sisira and Marie, were also in this rebel group. In their home. They replaced Jesus’s picture with that of Mao Zedong and Che Guevara. Both of them, teenagers, boldly spoke about a future socialist society. A society in which everyone was equal in Sri Lanka. Young as I was, it was a bit gibberish to me. In April 1971, the movement turned violent. The insurrection began when the rebels started attacking police stations. The Sri Lankan government responded by deploying armed forces with brutal force. Rebels cut power lines and blocked roads with trees in the countryside. Schools wer
Arya Sinhala This story is about the significance of this costume in my family and its cultural relevance. My father wore shirts and pants as any English-educated Sri Lankan male did back in the day. Everybody gave their children English names. I am named Denzil Bernard. A few years after I was born, in the 1950s, Sri Lanka was trying to assert its ethnic identity, a decade after it gained independence from Great Britain. A new prime minister, espousing an ethnocentric identity, came into power. Emulating Indian leaders’ post-independence direction, he gave up his Western attire, despite his Oxford education and wore the national dress, Arya Sinhala. Arya is an ethnic and cultural designation to which the Sinhala race makes claims. The cultural transformation started in my family. My sister, born four years after me, was named Rekha Flora. She had an ethnic name and a Western name. Occasionally my father donned the national dress. My father’s elder brother ultimately gave up his West
2 min read·Oct 19, 2022
Comments
Post a Comment