Sunburnt Home - an Australian-Sri Lankan novel Arrival

Chapter 2:

By Sunil GOVINNAGE

When Jayadeva saw thousands of tiny star-like bulbs down below, he realised that the Qantas jet had completed one lap of its long journey. The island continent of Australia lay silently waiting, deep down under. Jayadeva saw the lights of Perth through the window like tiny Christmas bulbs pasted onto a dark globe. He managed to get a bird’s-eye view of the city, which housed only a few skyscrapers. His eyes filled with tears, seeing the continent which was going to be his second homeland. He tried to wake his wife, Malini, who was sleeping comfortably next to him. He wanted her to see the view of the country where they were going to live for the rest of their lives. She woke up. Realising that the plane was still in flight, Malini grumbled, “Wake me when we touch down.” Turning her head, she went back to sleep.

-- Will the plane land safely without a disaster?

Jayadeva was scared. He soothed himself with the thought that Qantas had never suffered a fatal crash.

Circling the city like a large kite, the jet locked into its approach path and began its descent. As the plane turned one hundred and eighty degrees to find its landing space, Jayadeva had another good look at the Indian Ocean and sighed deeply. He felt as if he were leaving a known territory forever.

The plane landed and taxied slowly to the terminal, which Jayadeva imagined as a smiling relative waiting to welcome them. As Malini woke up and stretched her limbs, a flight attendant announced that in a few short minutes they would be able to disembark. Soon afterwards, they joined the rest of the passengers in the flurry of activity associated with disembarking. Malini carried Asela, their two year old son, on one shoulder, and a small bag on the other.

Jayadeva followed Malini, carrying a heavy bag and their daughter Sunitha, who was just four years old. The children were sleeping calmly, unaware that they had just accompanied their parents on a long journey and arrived in a new country. Sunitha woke up and asked for her fur Kangaroo—a symbol of Australia but made in China—which Jayadeva had bought her while on board. It had fallen from her hands onto the floor and rolled under the seat from where Jayadeva retrieved it. Sunitha clung to her toy. Asela continued to sleep deeply, curled into Malini’s shoulder like a joey.

Jayadeva was pleased to note that separate immigration counters reserved only for citizens didn’t exist in Perth, unlike the international airports in America. He had learned about the American practice sometime ago while on a civil engineering study tour in the USA.

-- This is a good example that Australia is an open country with no race or ethnic divisions. It might take at least another one or two hour to attend to the immigration papers and collect the unaccompanied baggage. We might be able to reach Perth by about nine-thirty. Hmm…Why did we come to this country where we’ve no friends or relatives? Can we find suitable jobs? Can we buy a house and have the same comfortable life we had in Sri Lanka?

Jayadeva’s thoughts were disturbed when he realised it was their turn at the immigration counter. He felt a bit nervous. The officer on duty was a polite, young female. She looked like a western model he had seen in a news magazine. The officer looked at Jayadeva and Malini, who were still carrying a child each, and greeted them “G’day” but Jayadeva couldn’t understand what she said.

The officer quickly obtained visa numbers from their passports and recorded them in the computer. When the computer accepted the record, she said, “Welcome to Australia. You are permanent residents now!” and smiled politely. She stapled a small record indicating visa numbers to their disembarkation cards, politely smiled again, and pointed them to the Customs area. There they met an Australian woman with blond hair who touched Sunitha’s long hair fondly and said: “She has gorgeous black hair. Let her keep it like that.”

-- All Australians must be nice, polite people like these two!

After a short walk, they arrived at the luggage handling area. Jayadeva found a trolley on which they put their hand luggage. They were also carrying an extra bag full of gifts Malini had bought from the Indian market in Bangkok, on their way to Australia. When Jayadeva had pointed out to Malini that it was useless to purchase various gifts and extra clothes of various sizes, she had responded: “Some of these gifts are for the Australian friends we will make, and the rest are clothes that the kids can grow into in a year or two. Devika advised me that we must make friends with white Australians as soon as possible. She also told me how to get my overseas medical qualifications accepted.” Devika, who studied medicine with Malini in Colombo, had received training in surgery as a post-graduate student at a university in Sydney.

Jayadeva wondered how they were going to manage their entire luggage as they carried only a part of it. Their unaccompanied luggage contained most of Malini’s medical books, family crockery, a wangediya, a miris-gala [1] and other personal belongings.

Although it was almost seven in the morning, it was dark outside and wet. Rain was falling faintly and added another dimension to the darkness. When passengers left the lounge, Jayadeva felt the cold air rushing through the sliding-doors into the waiting area.

-- Winter had just begun. The weather will change!

They were surprised to note that there was not a single soldier guarding the airport as in Colombo. It brought some relief to Jayadeva’s confused mind.

-- This is a lucky country! No civil wars! No ethnic divisions! No wars!

They had to wait nearly two hours before they could collect the rest of the luggage as the Qantas cargo office where they had to collect the unaccompanied baggage would be open at nine o’clock.

--Why can’t these people open their offices early like in Sri Lanka?

Sunitha was still asleep. Malini prepared milk for Asela who woke up hungry. Malini said: “It would be good to have a hot cup of tea.”

“I’ll bring one over from the restaurant,” said Jayadeva. He realised that he carried no Australian money and cashed two traveller’s cheques at the foreign exchange counter. When the cashier handed him a few notes and coins, he realised how weak Sri Lankan currency was in Australia.

At the restaurant he ordered a cup of tea, and the person at the counter gave him a strange look. “Take away?” she asked. It took Jayadeva a few seconds to understand what she really meant. He nodded. “A dollar fifty,” said the cashier. He mentally calculated the cost of a cup of tea in Australia.

-- It costs less than two rupees for a good cup of tea in a Colombo hotel!

They shared the tea and fell asleep, surrounded by their luggage and two children. When Jayadeva woke up, he checked his watch and noticed that it was still on Sri Lankan time. Malini, who had adjusted her watch on the plane, helped him to change to Perth time.

It was nearly 9.00 o’clock. He thought the time had come to set out from the airport. He carefully stepped out of the arrival lounge with his family placing his right foot first, as he was setting out on an important journey, a custom he had learnt as a child from his parents. He struggled against the cold wind which seemed strong enough to lift him off the ground. Jayadeva worried that he couldn’t remember to recite a stanza from Maha Mangala Sutta or Maha Piritha [2] when he was stepping out into a new country and to lead a new life.

He looked around for a taxi and saw a line of cars parked in an orderly manner. As he moved closer, the car at the front of the queue moved forward in a controlled fashion. The taxi driver realised that Jayadeva was unsure of himself and opened the door. He had an olive complexion, a moustache and a broad forehead which drew Jayadeva’s attention immediately.

“Where are you going, Mate?” the driver enquired. He was not as pleasant or polite as the Immigration Officer or the woman who had admired Sunitha’s hair.

-- He must be somewhere from Asia, or maybe from the Middle East.

“Perth,” Jayadeva replied.

“Perth is a big place Mate! Which suburb or street do you want to go to?” The driver asked sarcastically as he stretched his arms.

-- He must be seasoned to this city. Must be an uneducated chap!

Jayadeva took a piece of paper from his pocket and mentioned the name of the motel where they had reservations for three nights. Then he said, “I’ve my family inside. We also need to pick up a few more bags from Qantas’ cargo office.”

“It doesn’t bother me, Mate, once the meter is on, whether the car is moving or not, it will go on ticking!”

-- He must be a really rude, uneducated chap!

After loading their luggage and their two sleeping children into the taxi, they drove away from the terminal to a building nearby. They managed to collect their unaccompanied luggage in about fifteen minutes without any hassles and proceeded towards the city. The driver, who had been inquiring about their details, had learned soon where they came from and Jayadeva’s occupation. He continued talking to Jayadeva who was trying to get an idea of the city’s layout and an orientation, in spite of the rain.

Are you a civil engineer?” The driver wanted to confirm a fact again. “Have you already found a job?”

“No!”

“Do you think that you can find a job easily in Perth?” He continued, “I know quite a few engineers who couldn’t find decent jobs. They are all driving taxis now! What a pity! This is how this clever country is treating educated migrants,” the driver said, raising his voice.

“Are you also an engineer?” Jayadeva asked innocently.

“No. I’m a thoracic surgeon! We left Lebanon to escape the war. I was in shock for a year or two after we arrived here. But, now I’ve got used to things here. I’ve saved a bit of money. It’s okay. We’ve a new house. My kids are studying in good schools. At least there are no wars in Australia!”

“Why didn’t you sit for the Australian Medical Council Exams? I’m also a doctor, a paediatric surgeon. They have advised me that I could get into medicine, if I’m really good at it,” Malini joined the conversation.

“Welcome to the club, Sister! Welcome to this lucky country!” The driver glanced over at Malini through the rear-view mirror. “I don’t want to hurt you, but as you are also a member of our noble profession, I’ve to tell you the truth! That exam is there to eliminate candidates. I just sat for the AMC exam twice and kept my last chance. As you may be aware, you can only sit for the exam three times. I don’t have time to study right now, but one day I’ll give it one last shot. If you came from a white country like England or South Africa, then no exams for doctors. All the doors are open to you then!”

As the taxi entered the City of Perth, Jayadeva looked out of the window and tried to mentally map out the city he had seen from the air but he couldn’t get his bearing.

They reached a roundabout and joined a line of cars moving slowly, but steadily towards the city which was hiding away among dark clouds and a thick mist. There were no pedestrians, no cyclists, no bullock-carts or cats and dogs on the road. The taxi passed a set of traffic lights and continued onto the Hay Street. They arrived at the motel.

The grey, cold morning of July had spread upon the sleepy city. The cold air tore his body. Jayadeva wondered how he would survive in this climate without proper warm clothing.

Jayadeva opened the door for Malini who was still distressed by the news shared by the driver. The two kids were leaning against their mother. This was the beginning of their long journey in another country.

For feedback and readers’ response: [email protected]

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Footnotes

[1] A mortar and pestle A tool made of solid wood, ceramic or stone used to crush, grind, and mix ingredients used in Asian cooking. A pestle is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically a flat slate use to grind chilli, coriander and pepper to make curry pastes etc.

[2] Maha Mangala Sutta or Maha Piritha -- This famous Buddhist text provides a comprehensive summary of Buddhist ethics, individual and social. The reference to ‘blessings’ in the text relates to wholesome personal pursuits identified in progression from the mundane to the ultimate spiritual goals. Mangala in a Buddhist context means lucky sign, auspicious and/or a blessing.