Keith in Sri Lanka

I enjoyed a bit of extra sleep this morning, then woke up to find that we had no running water in the house. The family worked out this was because of a leak between the water tank across the road and the house. Rasi is extremely practical, so he fixed it in no time with the help of Daya and their cousin Ram. I had one of my favourite breakfasts in Sri Lanka - a simple bit of roti, accompanied by a delicious dahl curry, then headed off into Norwood to do a bit of shopping. It was a lovely sunny morning, so I wanted to take advantage of that before the inevitable rain arrived later in the day. I walked into Norwood to do a bit of shopping, and it was beautiful, so I took a few photos of all the gorgeous plants that I could see. I stopped off at an immaculate shop (unusually clean and tidy beyond my OCD dreams), and chatted with the shopkeeper, who I found out was a former police officer here in Norwood, so I was on my very best behaviour with him! I needed a few items to help me prepare...

If yesterday felt a bit like Christmas Day, today was quite like a Boxing Day continuation of the festivities. It started with a very leisurely morning, where there were lots of people milling around but nothing much happened, apart from various family members popping out to get a bit of shopping or see local friends. Everyone was back by lunchtime though, and we enjoyed another delicious meal, where there were so many of us that we ate in shifts. The weather is astonishingly bad, with incessant rain that got heavier and heavier as the day went on. I popped out during the briefest of breaks in the rain and took some photographs, including ones of Ragu bringing Afwaj and Arjun back in his car. It will be the last time everyone sees him in this car, as he is just about to purchase a new car - well it's a 10-year-old second-hand car, with one previous elderly owner who hasn't done many miles in the car and looked after it well. More relatives arrived in the afternoon, including Vi...

I have been in Sri Lanka for two weeks now, but it feels like so much longer! Today was the main Deepavali celebration, and it was reminiscent of Christmas Day in many ways. We didn't attend a religious ceremony, but we did go back to Daya's parents' grave again to pay our respects, before returning to the house and there was a brief Hindu ceremony where everyone paid their respects to the key family members that have passed away over the years. Daya explained to me that the kolam pattern he had created on the Deepavali banner is from a Tamil tradition that is around 5,000 years old, well before the much more modern rangoli patterns that are painted on the ground or on girls' hands. This Deepavali display created a colourful backdrop for today's lovely celebrations, and there was much excitement as we sat down and gifts were exchanged, not dissimilar to what we might experience on Christmas Day. In the same way that a traditional Christmas Dinner is just a more elab...

Yesterday, I said I would be celebrating Diwali, which is what the festival is called in Northern India (and commonly in the UK, too). In Southern India, Sri Lanka, and other parts of Asia, including Singapore where I was born, the festival is referred to as Deepavali, which is what I shall be calling it from now on. For some very basic information about Deepavali here in Sri Lanka, please click on the following link:  Deepavali in Sri Lanka (2026) | Festival of Lights, Dates & Customs Pretty much everything you will read in that link is happening here at Daya's home over the next few days. Indeed, this morning alone we had the cooking of traditional sweets in the kitchen, the thorough cleaning of the house, various guests coming and going, and various shopping trips to get all the Deepavali provisions. It is extremely similar to our run up to Christmas, and every bit as exciting - especially for the children, of course, who absolutely love it. Another similarity is the fact th...

Yesterday's blog was greatly delayed by the lack of an internet connection in Pussellawa, although I found out, of course, that this was not confined to Pussellawa, but widespread across Sri Lanka due to the shocking weather conditions, with torrential rain almost every day. There was no internet connection still this morning when I left at 10:00 on the journey back to Norwood, so yesterday's blog and diary were not completed until this afternoon, but today's is back on schedule. Having only worked for three rather intense days for the Gnanam Foundation, it seems crazy to now have a five-day break for Diwali, but I will make the most of this last bit of time with Daya and his family, with a much more intense schedule still to come when I return to Pussellawa. I had a very pleasant journey back to Norwood, and it was lovely to be back here with the family, although I am excited to go back to Pussellawa in due course, as the work there will be very rewarding. I will use the r...