friends
like the vitality of the early rays of Sun
like the very fertility of mother earth
like the sparkle of the last drop of water on earth

friends
the very seed of life
the very breath of fresh air
the soul refreshing sense of life

friends...

It Has Been A Long Ride...

It was year 2011 when I made my last entry on this Blog and since then things have changed considerably in and around my life. I have become a mother of two! I have become a full time home maker! I have involved myself in cake decorating. Life has become simpler and complex at the same time.

One thing I have learnt is that experience shapes lifestyle. It has made me different and it has made me wise...

Looking forward to updating my Blog frequently from now on!

Cheers!

Bhel Puri

Yesterday I had the privilege of dining with a friend's family as they were leaving the area for a while. It was amazing food that gave me the idea to blog about it. They are Indian nationals which are students of Purdue University. We were really enthusiastic to try out their food as they liked our spicy Sri Lankan foods like Little Jack or Green Jack curry, String hoppers and Pol Sambol.

The food was Bhel Puri and it was the green gravy that caught my taste most. Spicy and tasty with layers of choped red onions and tomatoes, it was a real treat. The speciality of trying out different foods and drinks from different countries are the best thing when you live away from one's home. I believe food really weave together different people and cultures. At home we always really on Chinese food to give a break to the routine Sri Lankan cuisine and Indian foods and dishes have a significant role in snacks and eating out.

Even though we are so far from home, we still are previlidged to find our spices, rice and vegetables to maintain our traditional cooking for our little ones. For my belief is that we should teach our young to value all kinds of cultures and have a special place for our Sri Lankan cousine regradless of where ever they reside in the world. For this world is a vast continent where all of us should enjoy living together.

Wondering what to do...

Lately I've been struggling to find things to occupy myself. Only the other day a friend called from Sri Lanka and asked me what I'm up to these days! I said "nothing". Plainly it may sound, I'm out of work. Last month up till my dear daughter Hazelle's birthday I've been busy with planning her very first birthday party. The food menu, cooking arrangements, her dress and so on. Last but not the least her very first birthday cake. I loved planning her birthday cake, the trials I did with cakes and icing and fondant... I really enjoyed the thrill of accomplishing something so sweet to eat!! Well, my planning did its job and the cake came out well. I got lot of compliments and everybody liked it! And then after a week, my husband wanted a birthday cake done for his Professor. That was easy as I had practise now. It took me almost three days to finish Hazelle's birthday cake amidst all attention and care given to her while working and with the help of my husband. But now in one day I can finish a cake! So keith's order was done in a half a day!

Now i'm bored. Apart of my daily housework I read. But thats all. It doesn't keep my mind occupied. My love for doing new things has opened up lot of doors for me but I'm kind of standing in one place wondering what to do...

My daughter....

Today after some rainy cloudy dark dull days (I'm serioous!) we have sunshine! Its remarkable how this nature plays in our daily lives. One moment the Tornedo warning buzzes and in next fifteen minutes its hardly cloudy...

Momentum of life... It never stops its hand on the shadow of the soul. Changing its visibility, affecting the rythm of flow.

It seems yesterday that my Daughter was born and I can remember how hard it was for me that very first day. I survived because my mother was there to help me. Next my husband starting his studies and my struggle into caring the baby.. After six months we coming together again and moving to US... And another six months have passed and my daughter is almost one year now. Time has created a steady platform for me to play my part in this world. This last year has taught me a load of lessons and made both catagories of people who like me and dislike me as well.

I learnt that I just simply cannot satisfy everybody. I needed to figure out the priorities and to whom I should pay more of my attention to. Because I had a small baby-doll who was continuously seeking my 100% love and attention.

Now she has grown to a lovely toddler whom still won't leave my side for a break. She may outgrow that in a few months or she may not. But rest assured, I will always be there for her.

I love you my little darling daughter and may you grow to be a better mom than me!

Is it wrong to be Selfish?

Lately I came across a person whom I got acquainted with recently declaring that being selfish is a matter to be! I just wondered through my mind these few days about the comment made in public. This person was very confident about this particular feeling and conveyed it in a way that intrigued me. If I may, this person is quite strong in both physical appearance and personality. From the facts that I know this person is quite successful in life. Does that give any reason to be proud of being selfish?

I just went to find the meaning to describe selfishness. Putting personal beliefs and desires ahead of others' feelings and desires are being described as selfishness. And to see there were more questionnaires  on this subject than I wondered.  From my past experiences I'm quite aware that there is no exact Right or Wrong but I wanted to give a thought to this concept. 

I taught myself that being considerate about other fellow human beings was the right thing to do. Sparing a little thought wouldn't harm! Well I eventually valued being unselfish. I tried to find that quality in others too and praised it whenever I saw it. But one day, as usual in life, I got hurt badly by trying to safeguard another's feelings and i thought that may be the price I got to pay. 

But that was a long time ago. I'm not quite sure why I feel so intrigued by being selfish. I think may be you need to be a little selfish too. This world holds quite too much to handle at once and on the long run hurt is inevitable. I guess lets be a bit selfish to the extent that it preserves our identity and not be hurtful to anybody around us. May be that person I mentioned is someone like that. I hope for the best.

Vesak Day; a moment to think...

Today according to the Sri Lankan calender, The Vesak Day and tomorrow is day after Vesak. It is a national holiday in Sri Lanka and a significant day in the year for a Buddhist.  The Wikipedia also has given an insight for the meaning of the day mentioning that it is "Buddha's Birthday". I'm not sure whether it is actually an appropriate definition for Vesak. True that Prince Siddhartha was born on a Vesak Day. And Prince Siddhartha gained the knowledge of the Truth on Vesak Day, enlightenment which made him Lord Buddha. And then life of Lord Buddha spreading the message of Truth, the understanding of the meaning of all those questions arose within the search of spirituality. The passing away of Lord Buddha is the third significant happening on the Vesak day.S o its a combination of all these incidents that make Vesak Day an important day of a Buddhist's life.

Even though I mentioned "A buddhist's life" I'm not quite certain whether it is really correct. The preachings of Lord Buddha always demanded clear understanding rather than some blind belief on the teachings. Buddhism always required logical thinking and understanding of deeper meanings. I think in most Asian countries it says that you are born to a certain race and a religion. And truthfully that is how I got my religion. BUT when a person matures in life there should be the right to decide on his/her beliefs as much as he/she gets the voting rights. I strongly believe that Buddhism shows a helpful pathway with logical thinking, for a better development of spiritual life. An insight of the truthful meaning of life itself. 

My opinion for Vesak Day 2010 will be that we all take a break from our daily routine and step out of our box, think about how we live. Are we being truthful to our beliefs and understandings of life? Are we living as true Buddhists? May be that will uncover some new understanding which we all lacked in our lives.

My shift in life..

Actually I'm not sure when I posted last time. But I know it has been a hell of a long time. So many things has changed for me and actually I've changed my country of living too.

I reside in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA now. This is my second week here and dear, my life has changed a lot than I thought. I'm living with my husband who is reading for his PhD in Purdue University and I'm here with my baby girl (I got a baby girl last July!!!) and its really cold here!

I left my job last December, which I enjoyed doing. Nobody liked the idea of leaving it but I had no choice. I was determined to come to my husband as soon as I could ever since he left the country in last August. I had no life without him. Our baby girl was growing so fast and I wanted to share all this new experience with him. And I knew deep down in my heart, it was hard to live without Keith. He is my inspiration, my guiding star. And I knew he too needed us with him. So we made a decision. We would take the risk and live together.

It was tough. I had to do all my documentation work and everything alone. True, all my family and Keith's family helped me in every way they can. My job was something I was hard to give up on. I had to undergo a few operations and there were times that I just lost my breath! I was not sure whether I would make it. With so many deeds to figure out with a lot less time as my baby was too small to leave with anybody and go running.

Finally, I made it. I'm happy with my family now, Keith, Hazelle and me, under same roof. Things may not be easy for us, but I think we better be together and face obstacles than living seperate afraid of problems.

Hail Sri Lanka!

Finally, remainder of LTTE in international community has accepted that their so called leader is Dead!

Well, I should say they took a way long time to admit defeat. All those malicious intentions of tarnishing our country's image in front of international community was a good hell of a joke for them. Now see whose laughing!

Tamil People in the world, see what they wanted to do to our country, in which we all lived happily some time ago. Lets come back and build this nation. This is your country as it is mine. Do not just be a refugee to another nation when you have a place to live as a normal citizen.

Hail Sri Lanka!

Good to be back...

It really took me a long time to allocate some thought on posting but I think I missed quite a few chances on blogging certain things I wanted to share.

But now, I'm a happy bird. From one end, my motherland is a free nation! Isn't that happy enough?
After more than three decades my motherland, Sri Lanka is enjoying freedom from terror. War against terrorists is finally over and thanks to our brave soldiers, at the cost of their lives, we here in Sri Lanka enjoy freedom today. Hail the Hero's of War! May they be granted everlasting peace and health and prosperity.

I'm quite out of words these days as the joy and hope for a better future has made my vocabulary a bit frozen.

Long Live Sri Lanka!

Breakthrough's that becomes as common as sand..

I just read one of the interesting posts my husband has made. Usually I don't get next to nothing of what he blogs on his work ;-))
But this has a good message which includes a clip from youtube.com. Check this out.

Holiday at Kandalama

It was a memorable trip to Kandalama last weekend as the destination was worth all the fatigue of long distance travelling through a dry zone.
Heritance Kandalama is a unique type of a resort situated at Dry zone in Dambulla about 160km away from Colombo. Opened since June 1994, this is a master piece of Architect Deshamanya Geoffrey Bawa which took 22 months for completion. This had been refurbished in December 2005 but the spirit had been preserved.

The uniqueness of this rare beauty is that it is environmentally friendly. The Hotel spreads to each sides of the mountain with a dark thick forest area surrounding its existence. If you look at the hotel from the middle of Kandalama Tank, the picture you would witness is a giant step in the middle of a green mountain. It is also said that one day if the buildings and other structures are demolished from that surrounding, the original rocky green mountain will lie there at the site. The architecture is such that it has taken every step to conserve the nature around it and also make a simple and elegant holiday get away place with all the tranquillity and the nearest to nature.

Not only the service and excellent food, all things of Kandalama will make a difference to anybody's holiday. One can wake up to the singing of red vented bulbul who are in ample numbers around the hotel. The breeze is soothing that flows from the side of Kandalama Tank. And there are many more treasures for anybody to explore on their own in the woods surrounding this place. Lot of monkey activities which are so delightful to watch, bird watching and elephant rides are to name a few.

Their environmental conservation projects include recycling of water and garbage. Water used by guests are recycled and used for gardening. The garbage are recycled and there is a paper manufacturing plant which make paper out of Elephant Dung. And also as this is a forest area lot of reptiles and wild life meet different situations like attacks to nearby villages or meeting to the on going traffic. These creatures are rescued and taken care of at the Animal rehabilitation centre and all of them are released after a maximum period of three months. They have a garden with herbs and all the trees in the premises are named with the local name and scientific name.

If one is truly in need of a holiday in tranquillity, this would be the ideal place to be as one can be living apart of the city and feel the calmness of being near to nature's most strangest secrets.

My Valentine Gift..

The most celebrated holiday or festival or you name it, the Valentine's Day fell on last Saturday and this is the second year of my marriage. Repeating last year we decided to go out on a holiday and this time it was Heritance Kandalama at Kandalama.
It was a tiring distance to travel but the way back today was more of a dangerous and tiring agenda. As it was a journey of more than four hours I realised how well I was kept from danger and brought in to safety and caring all through this holiday. It was my husband who was like a guardian angel protected me even from the harmful rays of Sun. Tears were coming to my eyes for the responsibility he displayed at all times, still taking me on long walks and been annoyed at the request of the tour on the elephant and a boat ride in the Kandalama Tank which ultimately succeeded.
I think this was the best Valentine Gift for me, to be near him and be cared by such a lovely angelic person. I hope that the title I had put for this post will be suitable enough to convey the gratitude for him.

Fruit Juice While it lasts!

Its the beginning of a long weekend here in Sri Lanka and everybody will be looking forward to it. I was going through the latest headlines around the world a while ago when my husband wanted me to go through a certain blog page. A sarcastic smile in his face told me what to expect (or nearly did).
A blog page on how to make fruit juice by Sumedha, one of my husband's colleagues. I could see the meaning on that laugh!
I went through the blog myself amid all the criticisms and believe me, I liked it. Atleast I think he has been very frank about his passion in making friut juice, which is considered a female job!
Way to go Sumedha, I wish you good luck! And by the way, keep adding more to it.

Violin..

Faces faces everywhere
Eyes are protruding with dismay
People walk by stop and stare
What the speciality at bay
A lovely hand discoloured from Sun
Burnt with a harsh skin
Ragged cloths not washed for months
moving to and fro
A music so soft sweet and clear
flows the surroundings
A violin played with an ease
by a beggar sat on the pouch.
Life is at its bitter worse
Cursing an unknown
A loneliness has covered that face
A cry for a desperate call
Who can end this misery
Who can light these lives
Bring hope and happiness
To those who lying aside...

I found love my way

I was just loafing around
Life's corners up and down
I moved around... peeped..
fell aside... but got up again
walked along the tides
Stumbled upon many a place.

Faces everywhere
Unknown and some forgotten
time was passing by... tick.. tick..
weather changed from cold to warm
Sun started shining its blissful rays
warmth filled the air, ice melted away
frowning at the smiling Sun.

Silence packed his bags to leave
as no welcome he received
Birds started signing happy songs
with the pine trees swaying in breeze

I sat down at my window-seat
looking around the wonderful things
world of cold melting away
a warmth of love had risen its way

why the sudden change I wondered
a pair of brown eyes
were looking through its way
had halted at my window-seat.

I didn't realize the change
the warmth out of coldness I felt
too sudden to believe
Love has come my way...

Matrimonial Bondage.

Its always nice to meet your old friends atleast once in a way. One most common place is at their own weddings. I happened to get such a chance yesterday as two of my friends got married to each other. The specialty in this is that both the bride and the bride-groom are my friends. It became a lovely day as most of my friends got together to wish the couple their best wishes to the new life.

Meeting some of these friends felt like seeing a long distant relation. Everyone was smiling and chatting with cheer as all had so much to share! It was a bustle when all got together. It was fun!

Anyway, Dear Buddhi & Amila, thank you for inviting us all for your wedding as we had such a good time together. May your new life be full of joy and merriment so that whatever hardships that comes on your way will not harm your happiness!

Missing daily smile

It has been a dull day today. I'm home alone! I feel the scale of my room today. Too dark already.

I've been married for 18 months now and I have always found difficult to stay away from my husband. Especially when he goes abroad its dull and dark and lonely.

I was even wondering what I should be blogging about today but nothing struck my mind. Only that I got to wait alone at home.

Anyway, in Sri Lankan culture (i should say Asian) , when a girl gets married she becomes solely dependant on her husband for not only physical but morale support. At least to tell her that she looks good in her Saree today!!

Well I will miss that then... But I know I have his attention always and forever even though he's not around. Thats the bond that is created in marriage; an everlasting binding to each other.

A Daughter's Life

Life of a daughter in an Asian culture is a complex mixture of duty and responsibility filled with emotion and respect. Toddler years are spent in the midst of the beloved mother and father who nurture and nourish for the years to come. All the little little things are learnt and responsibilities are taken with maturing sense of life. Falls in love with sweet little butterflies, sing with the wind... oh what a wonderful life...

Life goes on. Youth arrive with that small pink babies grow up to be young pretty ladies ready to conquer the horizon. Those watchful eyes seek the sight of a young powerful man who resembles the beloved father's ways.. fall in love and enter matrimony and live a blessed life.

Has anybody wondered how painful it is for a daughter to leave her father's home and enter into a new house? Has anybody wondered why the silent tears roll down her cheeks whenever she thinks of her old days? Has anybody wondered how lonely she feels amidst the members of her new family?

Life is full of surprises. A girl is destined to leave her home and build a nest for her own. The lessons learned with her father in the sun, the memories gathered with her mother in the barn and the days she shared with her siblings will be turned into a scrap book; turning its pages one by one will display her life she had just left behind.