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Published: January 14th 2014
Our last few days in Sri Lanka went by very quickly. Once we decided to move on we were anxious to get going but Kantha made us promise to stay for his birthday party, on the 8th of January. The party was a perfect excuse to wear the saree his wife Kanthi had gifted me the week before. The day after she gave it to me, I asked Vajira to help me find a fabric store and then a women's tailor to have the blouse and underskirt made. He did and also gave me suggestions for the style of blouse I should choose. Afterward we went to the men's tailor to have Matt's sarong sewed up. Dressing in a saree sounds very simple - all you have to do is tuck a long piece of fabric into the underskirt and then flip it over a shoulder, right? Actually, it's very complicated as there are a gazillion different ways to do this and very tiny changes denote not only different countries but regions and ethnic or religious differences within a country.
On Kantha's birthday, his son Asitha spent the day setting up a DJ booth with turntables and console and two
giant speakers and Kanthi and her sisters and sisters-in-law cooked from morning on. She had asked me days ago to come see her when I was ready to dress but I didn't want to bother her when she seemed so busy. So I did what anyone trying to learn a new skill would do, I googled it, and then enlisted Matt to help me manage all that beautiful fabric. Together we followed the directions we found on YouTube diligently and after 30 or so minutes made a grand entrance at the party.
Kantha told us we both looked beautiful and that he was honoured that we had showed up in traditional attire. Then he called over his daughter and delicately handed me over to be completely re-done. She took me into a back room and started unrolling the saree from around my body.
"Didn't I get it right?"
"No."
"Not even a little bit?"
She shook her head and smiled at me. "It's all wrong."
Like I said, it's complicated. After stripping me down to blouse and underskirt she wrangled the saree into neat pleats and knots. In 5 minutes flat she had me
re-wrapped and when I went back out into the party several people commented on the fact that I chose to wear my saree in the southern Sri Lankan style. Yup, that's just what I intended all along.
Matt fared a little better than I did, but not much. He asked Kanthi's brother Priantha if he'd rolled the sarong correctly and Priantha said that he had, it was a traditional Sri Lankan style all right. But no one under 80 wore their sarongs rolled that way anymore. Ashan and Rasad got a kick out of his old-man style. So much for Google.
The dinner was plentiful and delicious - fried rice and hoppers, dhal curry, sweet and sour chicken, curried chicken, spicy tuna, meatballs, salad, potatoes, vegetable curry. Dessert was fruit and ice cream. Asitha played a mix of traditional Sri Lankan and Hindi music, Western Trance and Bollywood songs. Around 10 PM a sweet strawberry bubble tea was served. By then we were completely soaked through with sweat from the crowded dance floor and the hot, humid night. As I continued to dance another guest I didn't know showed me how to throw the loose piece of my
sari back over my other shoulder so as to avoid tripping on it while I danced.
The skies were clear and we sat in the garden looking up at the stars and moon and then at the guests. Ashan, Rasad, Prima and their friends looked like Bollywood heroes on the dance floor. They dragged Matt out and showed him some moves. I didn't recognize any of the songs but the music was infectious.
When the cake came out everyone stopped to sing and Kantha sliced it into small pieces and then hand fed each guest one at a time.
Kantha's family is Buddhist and the party was alcohol free, but we could tell when a few of the men snuck off to nip at a bottle of arrack as the dancing got even more intense. The party was a blast and we danced straight until 11:30PM.
A few days later, the day before we left, Rasad finally joined us for a swim and a friendly "race" around one of the rocky islets in the bay. Matt measured it out on Google Earth at 1.3 km and the three of us swum out together, while Ashan and
Asitha watched from shore. Rasad said his friends thought he was crazy but when we finally reached the beach again he told us that the distance was a record for him and we could tell he was quite proud of himself.
The next evening Kanthi cooked us an early dinner of fresh cuttlefish with smoky chilies and baby curry leaves, dhal curry, rice and a cucumber, tomato and onion salad. We drank our last Lion ginger beers and exchanged e-mail addresses before saying good-bye to our friends and leaving for Colombo and the airport. Six weeks were not enough to see everything we wanted to see in Sri Lanka. We had wanted to make a trip to the cultural triangle north of Kandy, but at the last moment decided to spend our final week with friends instead. I think when we look back, we'll be glad we did.
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Heather
non-member comment
you guys look fabulous
Your posts and photos make me feel so happy for you. Although we miss you in the chilly waters here, we are so thrilled that you're having such fun and wonderful adventures. May you be happy and healthy and may all your travels be with ease. Love H