My beginnings
1 January 2009
My story begins in Sri Lanka. I grew up in the sub-urbs of Colombo. I was born in Kolonnawa and, according my some photographic memories and my mother and father, we lived briefly in Athurugiriya. Now, according to my parents, this was the first place they rented after they got married and having me, their first son. They must have lived there around 1969.
My mother.
My mother was born and grew up in Kolonnawa. Her mother, my grandmother, was a Buddhist from Kotikawatta and my maternal grandfather was a Catholic from Hendala, Wattala. I do not know how they met but I learned that it was quite a thing for a Catholic to get marry to a Buddhist around those times. In fact my grandmother’s father has opposed to this marriage, but my grandfather has faked himself a strong man and threatened to kidnap my grandmother if permission was not granted for the marriage. That was the end of any resistance from families. I heard that they rode on a cart with white horses after the wedding. My home in Sri Lanka still have an old black and white wedding picture of my maternal grandparents. And it is a classy picture and it seems those days they must have had a very nice wedding, judging from their attire and setting in the picture.
Now, back to my mother. She is one shy person, even now. She was the eldest among 3 girls in her family. She used to work at the British Ceylon Corporation (or BCC) when my father was introduced to her by a friend of her called Anette. Anette lived in Welivita and knew my father. I remember Annette had a sister called Girlie. Any way, I also remember Anette’s funeral in Welivita. She untimely passed away during a childbirth. My mother has studied until Senior School Certificate examination or SSC as they called it. It is 10th year public examination. I am not sure what happened to her results. But I think she did not do well. Only thing she was good at was home science and I remember, throughout my childhood, she cooked curries, to cakes, to various snacks including home made marshmallows and ice cream.
My father was the 6th son of a 9-children family. His father was a farmer. My father has joined army when he was 18. He married my mother when he was 31 and my mother has just turned 20 then. My father was no officer in then Ceylon Army. He was just a soldier. He told me how he joined the army. He and a friend of his names Almeida, rode the bicycle to Colombo city and saw the line to join army. They got two application forms according requirements forms needed to be signed by their parents to give consent. They filled the forms and Almeida signed as my father’s father and my father signed as Almeida’s father and they were recruited immediately. According to my calculation, the year they have joined army must be 1953 or 1954. My father has studied until Grade 8. But his knowledge and ability was almost like a university graduate. That was also due to the fact that after Grade 8, he went to a Catholic seminary with the intention of becoming a Brother. After few years he gave up to join the army. He spoke English fluently. And speaking English was a sort of social status in the country for some time. Sri Lanka is a country where Sri Lankans themselves talk to each other in English especially among Colombo urban educated people.