The Bentota Days - Day 4

Since the idea was to leave the Hotel Eden at Beruwala by 9, I headed off for a long walk on the beach.

 Another barefoot one hour walk that was very refreshing. I walked to the end and got back. Dressed up, breakfast and we were on our way. 

Mendis drove us along the coastal road which had some stunning architecture - government buildings, churches, temples, schools, homes - quite stunning.

 Unfortunately I couldn't not l get pictures as we sped off quite fast. 

In Colombo Mendis drove us along the Marine Drive which had many shacks and restaurants along the beach. There's a rail line right next to the beach with some quaint railway stations - you have to cross the tracks to get to the shacks. 

Mendis then showed us the Port City, a whole city that is being constructed from reclaimed land. It is a very well planned, ambitious project. Lovely. We drove through and city and then headed out to the airport.

Thanks Naresh. Lovely trip. 

The Bentota Days - Day 3

I woke up early and walked 20 minutes to the 1734 Kande Vihara temple. The walk was pleasant with many quaint houses in a quiet neighborhood abutting the lagoon, a railway crossing and finally the temple which is on a hill. A huge golden statue of the Buddha appears on the hill. 

On top of the hill is a Vishnu temple, idols of Shiva and others. People were lighting incense sticks, pouring oil into lamps and lighting them, offering fruits to the gods. Families, school kids, college going kids were all visiting the temple early in the day. 

I returned from the temple and after a quick breakfast we hired a boat to explore the lagoon. We didn't realise it was a mangrove, think with vegetation and animal life - a crocodile, huge monitor lizards, kingfishers, monkeys and so on. It was a beautiful 45 minute boat ride.

On our return we went our ways - Naresh into the water and me walking along the beach. A good 45 minutes later I returned and we read our books until it was time for lunch. 

Post lunch I stayed up to watch the heavy rain and finished reading 'Comfort Crisis' by Michael Easter. All hopes of a long walk were dashed as the rain didn't abate like in the previous days.

We gravitated to the sportsbar where Naresh tried to teach me snooker and we played a game. Then we settled down to listen to some lovely live music. I requested the young singer to sing 'Words' and he obliged. 

Then a lovely dinner and back to 128. 

The Bentota Days - Day 2

Day 2 began with the promise of a good breakfast spread followed by a walk to the beach and for me, one of the rare occasions of getting into the water. 

So after breakfast we made our way to ther beachside, read our books for a bit (Naresh is reading Corbetts Omnibus while I am reading The Comfort Crisis). Inspired by the call to get out of my comfort zone I dipped in the sea for a bit and then headed along the beach barefoot to locate the end of the beach ala Columbus.

This beach has the softest sand I have ever walked on - it's like a carpet most times. One of the local boat men came and told me that he would offer a boat ride, and that the sea is rough and there is a dangerous dip behind Naresh because this is where the river meets the sea. I told him we'll think about the boat ride later and walked on. 

Further down, maybe 500 metres or so, shacks started to show up, small ones unlike the Goan ones, stores that sell beach wear, one offering a massage. And all along there were resorts each opening into the ocean.

 At one point the beach narrowed into a small concrete path and I followed that. There was a man fishing and he told me it was high tide at this time and if I wanted to swim (I did not) I could get into the little lagoon ahead. 

There was a smaller beach with an artificial lagoon created by some kind of a wave breaking concrete structure. One guy was fishing from it. I saw one surfing school with two lean, hippie type forty year olds manning it.

 Beyond that beach was another concrete path that went around a bend. The sand grew rough with coral here. A small island with lighthouse showed up. I walked on till then path began getting merged with private properties and headed back.

Naresh was out and reading his book and I joined him and in a while it started drizzling and we headed into the pool bar. The rain increased, pelting down, the sea churned, the beer cold, Backstreet Boys singing their hits, an old friend to share the moment - could not have been better. We spent a magical 2 hours, talking about all sorts of things and then headed in for lunch. 

Post lunch the rain abated a bit and we worked off the days exertions with a nap. Since the sky cleared in the evening we headed out for a walk. 

The sunset was stunning. 

On the way back we stopped at a bar right on the beachside and had a drink and chatted some more, continued that into our sports bar Champs in Eden, had a solid dinner and then retired.

A perfect day.

The Bentota Diaries - Day 1

So Naresh offered me a trip to Sri Lanka and I said yes. We took off from his house at 830 am, got to the Shamshabad airport by 930, did the immigration, security and all that and went into the lounge where he has some privileges. We decided to indulge ourselves with a beer to set things off. Flight was at 12.

It's a 2 hour flight to Colombo and the captain pointed to the Ram Setu which we could see. Some people in the back got excited and shouted Jai Shri Ram. Anyways flight landed around 2. Our driver Mendis was around with a placard and two small garlands with orchids.

Then we took off towards Bentota town which is by the sea, 65 kms from Colombo and a two hour drive almost. Stopped for lunch at Sashas and then headed off. Reached Bentota by 5ish and checked into Hotel Eden Beruwala which was quite nice. A massive swimming pool, direct access to the beach and a stunning sunset. Naresh swam a bit while I walked along the beach before it started to pour.

We headed to the sports bar and had a beer, listened to music and watched the rain pelt down for two hours. Then we headed off for a lovely dinner - a really good spread.

The place is full of foreigners, just the opposite of Goa. The locals are sweet and gentle. 

Hoping to explore more of the beach tomorrow and perhaps the Buddhist temple in town. 

So far so good. Way better than expectations.

Victory Song - Chitra Banerjee Divakurani

I find this slim children's book in Anjali's shelf and have been planning to read it for a while. Mainly because A's book shelf always always more interesting and then it is a Divakarani book. And it's slim.

It's 1939. The story is set in Shonu Gram in a farmer's house. Preparations are on for the marriage of his eldest daughter. The younger daughter Neela is the rebellious one. At the wedding feast a bunch of freedom fighters show up and ask the congregation to give up something for the cause. Encouraged by a baoul (who also teaches Neela how to sing 'Vande Mataram') the guests give up money and jewellery. Neela gives away her gold chain.

Neela's father leaves home to join the freedom movement and goes to Calcutta. One of the freedom fighters, a 16 year old called Samar, comes to hide at Neela's house after being injured. Neela goes to Calcutta to search for her father. With the help of Samar and other freedom fighters, she finds her injured father and has to somehow get home while escaping the police who are looking for them. Will she or won't she? Will she and Samar meet? And marry? 

It's a children's book so they make it home. She sings Vande Mataram as Samar leaves and he says he will come back. I'm sure that's good enough for a child to sleep happily at night. 

Can't believe I picked a book which has a theme of Vande Mataram at a time when there's so much discussion going on about it. Can't also believe that there's so much discussion going on between people who probably can use their time better in building the nation.

Anjali - Orpheus Wins Third Prize at IIT, Delhi Fest

Miranda House Acapella troupe Orpheus won the third prize at the IIT, Delhi Festival. Good start. 

Let Go - Daisuke Yosumi

This book gives 50 lessons from Japanese minimalism. Yosumi was a successful music producer who worked with some of the biggest names before giving it all up to live near a lake in New Zealand, fishing and growing his own food, while writing bestsellers. His idea is that life gets richer by letting go and that one can experience freedom of letting go instead of the pain of loss. 

Yosumi gives out his principles in various areas such a 'Money and Belongings' to start with. He talks of the importance of clearing things now instead of postponing, letting go of what we're not using, not stocking up and using only what we need, being generous, stop making small unnecessary purchases, stop impulse shopping, buying exactly what you need, not buying to impress, choosing your own lifestyle, buying clothes you'll like. 

In 'Work' he advocates letting go of work one is not good at, multi tasking, do what you love, trust your intuition and not follow majority, eat even hungry and not stick to routine, let Go of assumptions, do what feels right, start and keep going instead of procrastinating, instead of balancing do one thing no one can do.

In 'Health' he advocates sleeping early, going to sleep when you feel hungry, not to overeat, making each day your best day, embrace each moment, be alone, create instead of feeling judged, use words that empower, slow down, you do better when you enjoy the process, learn what matters, look within and be silent. 

In 'Relationships' let Go of networks, make plans you wouldn't miss for anything instead of being available all the time, leave comfort zones and letting go of the past, do new stuff instead of taking the usual holidays, express yourself freely, call only the people you love most instead of everyone, give in to tradition and greet people, be well mannered, polite, shut yourself from the phone, tell people you'll contact them instead of them contacting you, compete with yourself, don't defend - take responsibility, apologise whole heartedly, don't hold yourself back, make mistakes. 

In 'Lifestyle' he says, let Go of fear of lack, take less stuff, go to places that spark joy, choose few or just one, don't fear being foolish and do what you love, stop being online, feel free to run away and do stuff that matters to you.

In 'Company Loyalty' he says, find ways to be useful to the world not just the company, never let Go of your dreams, don't leave your freedom, don't get stuck in past successes, stay present. He says we must work in freedom, protect our true selves, and bring our most important dream to life. 

I liked all his ideas. Things I'll take to practice is the stuff about tradition (greeting, being polite etc), getting rid of unnecessary stuff, do what you love and cut out all the rest, let Go of the past and be present. I can see many things falling off which means there will be space for the new.

Yosumi for example does not write articles, he focuses only on his books. And they become bestsellers.