Sunburnt Home - an Australian-Sri Lankan novel

Chapter 3 - Home away from home:

By Sunil Govinnage

Jayadeva woke up at 9 o’clock. Lying in the bed, he realised that his body was still functioning according to the usual Sri Lankan time zone. Malini and the kids were sleeping deeply. They appeared to have already overwritten their bodies’ clock in alignment with their new home. He wondered how long it would take him to adapt.

Sri Lanka is two and half hours behind Perth time. So it’s just 6.30 in the morning in Sri Lanka! Although we have not travelled even half of the world, the body hasn’t adjusted to the time here. How long my body will take to adjust to this new country?

Jayadeva watched his family sleeping quietly and calmly, and he slowly moved over to the southern part of the room. He pulled back the curtain that kept the day’s natural light at bay. He looked down at Hay Street. Last night’s heavy shower had abated for a while, but the sky was full of black clouds, and it looked as if this strange city would endure another downpour at any minute. Jayadeva thought that the rain would continue for a couple of days at least, perhaps a month or two, or maybe more.

-- If heavy rain continues, then I won’t be able to go out and find a place to live. How can I explore this place without any help? No friends. No house to live, no way to move around. How am I going to find a job here? Will I be able to find a job? Without any income, all the life time savings we brought will not last for more than a couple of months. Then what are we going to do? Go home and start it all over again. Would friends and relatives laugh at us for returning soon? But Amma would be happy to have me back again. Malini could easily find a job as a doctor. I even might be able to get the same job at Mahaweli. So everything would be okay!

He felt as if his body was overlaid with a heavy metal which would make him immovable forever in this new place.

Jayadeva looked at the huge building with its tall roof standing impressively across the road. The hazy morning concealed the building somewhat and Jayadeva imagined them as gigantic animals who had come to prey on him and his family.

Jayadeva felt hungry. He used to have a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast of Indi- appa, or appa, and occasionally bread and butter served by servants at home. He felt cold. He thought of the last traditional meal Kiri Bath, [1] with Lunu Miris [2] and Hakuru [3] offered by his mother in his Kalutara home before leaving to Colombo airport.

What a good thing if we could have Kiribath on our first morning in Perth even without Lunu Miris and Hakuru. Well, I should have brought some red rice but Malini made a big fuss about taking rice to Australia. No one at the Customs checked whether we had brought rice or not. I should have come prepared. Well, it is too late now! What a good thing to have at least a cup of tea now?

First thing in the morning, normally, Malini would bring him a cup of tea and a glass of water on a tray brought to the door of their room by a servant.

Now all that seemed like unreal events of a faded past which could not be resurrected or recreated in another country. We can’t even dream of having servants in Australia!

Turning various feelings over in his head, Jayadeva suddenly remembered the separate area in the back of the room where food could be prepared. He moved cautiously like a cat, and not to disturb his family. He found a kettle, tea and coffee bags and small white sugar cubes on a table near the kitchenette. With some hesitation, Jayadeva filled the kettle with tap water and plugged it into the socket and waited eagerly for water to boil.

Taking a tea cup from the nearby cupboard, he wondered what to do next. He had never made a cup of tea for himself in his entire life! Everything has always been done for him by others; Mother, sisters, servants, and Malini. Even while travelling for work, he had stayed in hotels where he was served all meals. During many local and a few overseas conferences and seminars he had attended, there had always been brewed coffee and tea readily available on tables.

Now he was concerned whether to put a tea bag directly into a cup, or whether pour water into a tea pot and brew tea. He looked for a tea pot but could not find one. When he accidentally banged a cupboard door Malini woke up and saw Jayadeva attempting to make tea.

A feeling of warm affection ran through her chest like a sprinter for a moment, but her feelings quickly got frozen when she saw him gazing at the kettle unsure of doing his next action. She wondered whether it’s okay to comment on his strange domestication over night but Malini controlled her thoughts and greeted him instead.

“Good morning. I slept like a log. It’s very calm here. So are you making tea? Well done, Mr Gamage! You have adapted so quickly! So make me a cup of tea, will you? No more servants.” She said in a jovial manner. Jayadeva thought angrily,

-- Why not you make me a cup of tea? We have no servants in Australia now!

When Malini realised that Jayadeva was confused, she quickly made tea and offered him a cup quickly. Jayadeva felt as if he were a kid again, lost in an unknown road where there was no one to ask directions to find his way around.

The room service menu on the table gazed at him like a bully. Jayadeva examined it carefully. He was concerned how they were going to eat at the hotel where the prices were very expensive. Last night, the room service had cost them a lot of money; a dent in his pocket. Jayadeva thought of another option; buying take away food from somewhere. His intention was to save the foreign currency they have brought until he could find a job.

Jayadeva returned with a loaf of bread, a few ready-to-cook soup packets and a few fresh apples. By the time, he arrived Malini had already fed Asela and Sunitha.

“Dad, there are a lot of good TV programs here!” Sunitha said in Sinhala. Jayadeva patted on her shoulder affectionately.”

“I telephoned a Sri Lankan Professor at the University, and he was very nice,” Malini informed him. “He said he is busy doing some important project but said he would ask his wife to help us.”

“How do you know Sri Lankan people in Perth?

“Devika had mentioned about this professor, so I just called him. When Devika was in Perth for a while they had looked after her well. I think Devika knows him and his family through some mutual friends in Sri Lanka,” Malini explained.

“Who is this Professor? What is he doing here?”

“Professor Lankanatha Weerasuriya. He was friendly and wanted me to contact his wife. He gave their home number when I mentioned Devika’s connection.”

“Did you telephone her?”

“Yes. Her name is Amara. Mrs Amara Weerasuriya.

“Oh, this is the famous Weerasuriya family from Panadura, no? I have heard his name and read articles about his work on rice and agricultural research. I think he had worked at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines before,” Jayadeva explained his familiarity with the Sri Lankan born academic in Perth.

“So, what did Mrs Weerasuriya say?”

“She would be here soon.”

No sooner than Malini spoke those words, there was a knock on the door.

“That must be Mrs Weerasuriya!”

Jayadeva opened the door.

“Ayubowan! [1] Welcome to Perth.”

A middle aged Sri Lankan woman greeted him. She had large round eyes and a kind face. She would have been in her early to mid fifties, and a few grey was visible in her nicely groomed, untraditionally short hair. She wore a sari that went well with her light brown complexion. Mrs Weerasuriya reminded Jayadeva one of his aunts, a school principle in Aluthgama.

“Ayubowan! Enna athulata—Please come in” Jayadeva greeted and invited her.

“Oh, you have small children. Do you have any friends in Perth?” She asked.

Jayadeva shook his head.

“Why did you come to Perth without any friends or relatives then?”

“Jayadeva thought that it was a good place to make our new home!” Malini responded for Jayadeva. “We are at the edge of the Indian Ocean, aren’t we?” She giggled. “He studied maps and thought Perth was the closest place to home. My friend Devika also told me that Perth is a good place to bring up kids. Do you know her? Devika Samarasinghe. She is the person who gave Professor Weerasuriya’s telephone number.”

“Oh, Devika, she was a good girl! I thought she would stay in Perth.” Mrs Weerasuriya smiled and changed the tack.

“The Indian Ocean, our Mute Sea is a good reason to come to Perth!” Mrs Weerasuriya smiled. “Yes, it’s true, Perth is very good place to bring up kids. So, have you got a job contract here? Have you found a place to live? You have to do the AMC exam before you start practising again. You know that, no? We can help you. Our eldest son is a doctor. He graduated last year,” Mrs Weerasuriya explained.

The unknown Sri Lankan person was very friendly, but from the way she spoke, he realised that she was worried and concerned about them. There was a pause and he felt those few seconds as a long period of time.

--Have we come over without any preparation to live in Perth; a strange city that I saw only on a map?

“We also need some good Sri Lankan people in Perth. We have quite a few, but you know about Sri Lankans, no? They are not really united. All sorts of divisions! I must also tell you that there is a big anti-Asian group in Perth. Our husband is doing a lot of work and serving in several committees with the Labour Government here, though it is not his speciality. Anyway, you need not worry about those things now!”

“Yes, I also heard about the same story from Devika. I wanted to go to Sydney but Jayadeva had his own ideas! If we can’t find anything in Perth, I will go to Sydney! After all we are permanent residents now!” Malini giggled.

Their voices and laughter filled the air and Asela woke up. Confused by the new environment and the impact of the journey had on his small body, the child started crying. Allowing Malini to continue the conversation, Jayadeva approached the bed and carried the child but he started crying. Jayadeva started humming a lullaby that his mother sang when Asela used to cry in their house in Kalutara.

Magé putha honda lamayâ –Dawasa Kolmbata Yanawâ ….

My son is a good child – One day, you will visit Colombo…

In contrast, Sunitha continued to sit on the lounge chair and watched a TV program calmly. It looked as if she had already made a pact with the new place.

Jayadeva, heard the conversation from the inner room and he carried Asela on his shoulder and came back to the lounge room.

“How are you going to travel around in this city with no car? Bus services in Perth are hopeless. You have to buy a car soon. We have four cars in our family now! Where are you going to stay until you find a job? Do you have a plan to buy a place to live?”

Mrs Weerasuriya has more questions than we can answer!

“What are you having for food these days?” Mrs Weerasuriya looked at the shopping bags that were still on the table and continued, “I’ll cook some rice and curry for you. We are very busy this evening and also tomorrow. Some of our friends are coming from Brisbane. But I’ll give you a call. How long are you going to stay in this hotel?”

“Until Friday,” Jayadeva responded with a sad tone and caressed son’s head.

“I have to go, but I’ll drop in this evening with some food. Nothing fancy, alright?” Mrs Weerasuriya offered and continued,

“So, in three more days you have to move! The first thing is to find a place. Location is very important in Perth. I’ll look for a place to rent somewhere in Nedlands. That’s close to the University and our place. Nedlands is a very good suburb. Do you have a plan to buy a house, soon?”

“Not until we find jobs, Mrs Weerasuriya,” Jayadeva replied.

“I have to go, but I’ll drop in this evening with some food, okay?”

“Thank you very much Mrs Weerasuriya.”

“Take care, okay? Nothing to worry, alright! At least now you know us.”

She went and kissed Sunitha and said, “Cute long hair she got? She looks very smart. She will do well here. There is no question about that!” Mrs Weerasuriya said as she left.

“Isn’t she very kind?” Malini asked. Jayadeva nodded in agreement.

“We must also contact Sera Anderson’s friends in Perth.”

“Why not?” Malini encouraged him. “Where are they living?”

Jayadeva looked for the address given to him by an expatriate colleague who had been working with him at Mahaweli.

“A place called Dianella.”

He gave the child to Malini, carefully browsed his diary, and dialled the number.

Footnotes:

[1] Kiri Bath – Milk rice which is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice.

[2] Lunu Miris – This is prepared using sliced onions, red chilies, salt and dry (Maldive) fish. Usually small amount of lime juice is added to enhance the taste.

[3] Hakuru (Jaggary) – An unrefined hard (rock) sugar made from palm or coconut sap.

[4] Ayubowan- A Sri Lankan greeting means “wishing you a long life” and it is also said to welcome a person.

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