My New Blog Buddy

I got a new Blog Buddy. She has cute children. I imagine the actions of my son through her photos. Soon they will be with me. I am really curious.

Trip to Rustaq

We recently had a trip to Rustaq. On our way we came across a sprinkler system.

Being Alone

Yesterday I experienced being totally alone. Normally I used to have partners in my life to share with. I could recall how I spent my university days with three other guys in the same room. We shared the same rice packet, gathered and discussed our difficulties and almost everything in life.

All of a sudden the loneliness has given a meaning to my life. It will make you more strong and more confident in a way. I thought of a life of an ascetic. He might have to be very strong not to give up his effort since there is nobody to encourage him. On the other hand he might have been really happy to be alone without a single person to discourage him.

However, loneliness pave a new way for you to think, to steer your own path. That I have experienced for the first time in my life.

An Year with Determination

I would like to call this year as the year of determination. I have determined to do lot of special things. First one I achieved as a new year gift. That is I had been called " kind hearted" by a special person in my life. That I totally inherited from my father. I cannot explain the joy I gain whenever somebody tells that " You are like your father".

The series of determined tasks will be revealed whenever I achieve them. I am proud to announce that they will neither be harmful to the society nor exceptionally ambitious that will affect the others.

Many Happy Returns of the Day and Merry Christmas

December 25th is a very important day for me since it is the Birthday of my Better Half and of course the Christmas. I wish my wife "Many Happy Returns of the Day" and "Merry Christmas" to the whole world simultaneously.

Our Annual Christmas Party

We recently had our Annual Christmas Party at Dolphin Centre. I was the lucky guy to win the first prize in the draw which was held.

His Flexibility

My father was a very flexible person. He allowed us to decide of our own. This reminds me Buddha's teachings about "Kalama Sutra", the last line which says:

"After observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

My sister explained one such instance he allowed her to decide of her ownas follows:

"Thaththa used to dress me up sometimes, when I was in the kindergarten. I can remember once I wore a frock to school with all the buttons in the back. That dress had the buttons in the front but I did not listened to my father and said it is dressed in the other way. He didn’t argue with me. He was such a flexible person."

Vulgarising

I just read an article about Vulgurising one of the nice creations of Amaradewa. It is
"Shantha me re beela... pissu natai vedila, Mulu gama natavai pissa"
in place of
"Santha Me Re yaame, Kumudumale siriya"
The original song has a strong impression to calm down your stressed mind. The latter is only a distortion of lyrics in order to provide almost nothing.

I am really fond of wrap music and find nothing wrong in it. For instance "Rangahala Dan Atha.." wrapped by Sangeeth is really innovative. I enjoy both songs sung by Wijerathna Warakagoda and Sangeeth. Latter has not harmed the impression given by the song.

But the earlier example reveals a sad story of how people play with good piece of music and almost killing the great songs by adding no value to it. I wonder what these people expect from this sort of distortion.

A Management Practice

Today I learnt a management practice. That is, if you feel an employee is unnecessarily bothering you( fromManager's point of view) you will never give the message to him directly, instead he tells a selected employee (presumably senior to the earlier one) " why X is hanging around?, I don't have time to talk to him"

But when the said emplyee meets him, the manager never gives a least expression of his displeassure. See how tactful he is?

Pithu Padam Namamaham

One of my fellow emloyees used to read a piece of paper everyday before he started working. I asked him what was this? He said it was a prayer. I thought I am doing a similar thing since I used to keep my father's photograph on my dressing table and worship him, saying" Pithu Padam Namamaham" which gives me a very pleasant feeling to start the day and feel like getting my father's blessings to achieve whatever the things I face in my life.

Our Own Meal

We prepared a meal in an innovative manner. It is a great joy to taste the meals prepared of our own. Though I am not a good cook I contributed well so that the output was a great team effort.

The meal consisted of boiled vegetables and fried fish decorated with leaves.

The day I Met My Partner in Life

This white Octagonal tower made of solid blocks tells the whole story. During my childhood I was fascinated by this isolated giant located in Devinuwara, 160 feet tall. I used to visit this place as a school boy because one of my friends used to live nearby.

The lessons I learned in "Social Studies" in school allowed me to get to know about the symbol of a lighthouse which I put as a mean of identification in my tutorials, lecture notes, etc. whereas my friends used to ask me "Are from a Light House Family?"

On December 11, 1998 exactly six years from today, I met a lass in a train travelling from Colombo to Matara. We shared our feelings and decided that we are meant for each other. Today she is my loving wife and the marvel of it was that she hailed from a "Light House Family". She used to live at Lighthouse quarters with her family since her father was the Officer-in-Charge of the Structure.

Destiny made me to be a part of the "Light House Family". I am really surprised by this series of incidents.

Just to Share the Happiness I Gained

Yesterday I visited one of our fellow employees who was sick. I bought some oranges for him.I remember the days I felt very lazy to visit sick people. I hardly visited them.My fellow employee took the small bag of oranges and said "Thank You" in a faint voice. The gratitude in his eyes made me to feel happy, happier than ever. I knew he thanked me for my visit but the great thing is it was my father who paved the way to do little things like this on behalf of the others.

I was really surprised by the feelings I gathered.I observed my father from my childhood. He used to visit patients in " General Hospital, Matara".He hardly missed one. He not only visited his relatives and friends but also people who travel with him in public transport and the poor villagers.

I remember one of my relatives say " your father used to go to almost all the funerals of the people he knew".

My father never advised me to visit patients or participate in funerals.Instead he proved that is the way to treat people by his acts silently, similar to the manner he has passed away.

Thaththa, I don't have words to explain how I felt happy just by following the good habits you never insisted us to follow, but proved by your acts.

A Milestone

All of a sudden I saw that my blog has been viewed 99 times. This is my maiden century. Very few people knew about this blog and there were some strangers who shared my feelings with their own ideas.I wish to thank them all.

The mission remains the same." TO FIND GENUINE PEOPLE".

My Pal

Yesterday my sister gave me a very important contact detail. That is of "Thusitha", my pal. Though he is my cousin I never feel that he is so, because I consider him as my own brother.

I can still recall the good old days we spent together. We used to call ourselves "King Pawn" & "Queen Pawn". Of course we moved together as the said pawns who were very close to each other. I was really glad about Thusitha's perfomance in chess, just like "Tinker Mama" who was a grand master of our childhood. We reiterated the past by playing chess, where my father and his father used to play.

The perpetual check has commenced my friend, in the Chessboard of life where we cannot see any possibility of a checkmate.

Half the Glass is Full as Opposed to Half the Glass is Empty

I got a great idea. If I am an average left hander I will die nine years earlirer than an average right hander. So I might be able to school earlier than I've expected. I got the following from one of my colleagues:

"Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people"

If it is true, my dream to school again as the popular song:

'Thawath warak mata paasal yannata labunoth mama yanawaa"

Will be expedited. Isn't that great?

Positive Vibrant

This was a phrase used my one of my much loved cousins in describing my father. He said my father had a 'positive Vibrant' in his voice.

I can recall many instances where my father using this remarkable ability of him. One such instance, I will never forget in my life.

When I was in Second year of University, I wanted to buy a computer. But I was hesitant to ask my parents about this because I knew their financial constraints. However one day Thaththa was listening to a conversation I had with one of my batchmates. After the discussion he queitly came to me and asked "Do you want to buy a computer? "

I lied saying "No".

But he was in touch with my feelings and said: " Once I get my money which is expected to be released I will buy you a computer"

He bought me one. He never ever expressed his desires and never thought of buying anything for him. It is not the amount he gave me, but the intention to fulfill our dreams was GREAT.

I owe you a lot not in monetary terms but in terms of the rich feelings you gave me which has been deposited in my heart which will enhance with time.

He was Against the Conservatives

My father was against the Conservatives merely because he didn't want anyone to suffer. Even though the medical advisors state that there may be some difficulties in food digestion when you are sick, he didn't want us to suffer by not having food we love to eat when we are sick. My sister explains this in her own words:

"The other reason why I loved him to be with me when I was sick was that he allowed us to eat whatever we want. Because those days when we had fever our adults didn’t allow us to eat everything. We were given only some selected food, such as rice porridge or cream cracker biscuits, which we didn’t like much. But thaththa did not believe in it. Thanks to him I still do not lose my appetite when I have fever! "

I have gone through the same experience and that's why I want him to be my father forever.

One of His Favourite Proses

'Akuresse Muhuna Balamin Sinaasisee
Neela Walaa Ganga Muhudata Galaa Basee"

These two lines were originated by Thaththa when he was young. He used to be a poet and very few people knew about this rare ability of him.

His hometown was Akuressa and the River "Nilawala" was flowing beside his residence. Still the river flows and the poet has left us leaving the sweet memories of him with us.

This was sent by one of my sisters which really touched my heart.

"Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am, I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well."

Thaththa, you really live in our hearts forever.

Being a Left Hander

I am a left hander. My mother is also a left hander. She used to write using her left hand when she was small. I remember she used to say either Aththamma or Seeya had changed her writing habit and forced her to write using her right hand. She says her hand writing should have been better if she was allowed to write using left hand.

I disclosed a contradiction. I use right hand to cut papers using scissors and this is what wikipedia has to say about it.

"scissors, a very common tool, are arranged so that the line being cut along can be seen by a right-handed user, but is not visible to a left-handed user. Furthermore, the handles are often molded in a way that is very difficult for a left-hander to hold, and extensive use causes severe discomfort and pain"

So even though I am a Left Hander I enjoy the benefits of a Right Hander. Isn't it great?