Sunburnt Home - an Australian-Sri Lankan novel

Chapter 4 : Meeting with foreigners!

By Sunil GOVINNAGE

"The rain started. The cruel rain fell fast without their knowledge with rigid persistence covering the world outside, but their room was warm and comfortable. Jayadeva took a deep breath and sat calmly in his comfort chair."

"Hi, this is Kirklands' residence, Linda speaking."

An Australian accent came through the telephone line and the voice reached him like fast moving light rays coming from a distant galaxy. Jayadeva tried to understand the nasal Australian accent like a keen student in a class room but who had difficulties to follow the teacher.

I'm Jayadeva Gamage from Sri Lanka... a friend of Sara Anderson! We worked together in Sri Lanka; Mahaveli when she was with us as an Australian consultant last year!" Jayadeva took an effort to communicate slowly and clearly.

The Australian woman replied. "Oh, yah. Jaya-De-Waa! Yes, we got Sara's letter. In fact, she telephoned last night from Colombo and said that you would contact us soon. How're you going?"

Jayadeva was confused by the question, but felt relieved to have another human contact in Perth.

"Where are you staying?"

Jayadeva gave her the address of the hotel.

"Oh that's close to Doug's office. He works in the Mines Department on Adelaide Terrace. Just a hop step and jump from your hotel! We'll try and drop in tonight if possible. I'm not sure of Doug's schedule this evening. We'll come just after tea around 8.30pm, but I'll give you a call before. Have a G'day," Linda concluded.

-- She is very direct and to the point, but why can't they have tea with us?

Jayadeva misunderstood the English phrase of 'coming over after tea'. In any case, he was relieved to learn that Linda and Douglas would visit them soon.

"Did you hear what she said? She said they would come over 'After Tea!' Why can't they have tea with us? We have good Sri Lankan tea, no!"

"No Jaye, "Tea" means dinner! It's more English than Australian!" Malini responded with confidence.

"How did you find all these new things even before meeting any Australians?" Jayadeva asked and continued,

"Anyway, at least now we have a few more human contacts in Perth!" He sighed in contentment.

Malini and Jayadeva made a few cheese sandwiches and ate them with a few curry puffs after their attempts to feed Sunitha. She was not interested in food. She had found a new friend, the Australian television.

As they soon realised, Australian TV had multiple channels unlike the one they had received in Kekirawa. Sunitha was exploring a new world, the countless children's programs available on Australian television.

The rain started. The cruel rain fell fast without their knowledge with rigid persistence covering the world outside, but their room was warm and comfortable. Jayadeva took a deep breath and sat calmly in his comfort chair.

Mrs Weerasuriya came in the evening with rice, parripu and a fish curry, neatly packed in plastic containers. She explained what she had packed in the containers. There was a large container with samba rice sufficient for a few days.

"I have to run quickly as we are taking our friends out for dinner. This is something simple. I also didn't know whether you eat meat.

I tried to call you but the operator said that your line was engaged. So I took a chance and cooked Albacore fish."

When Jayadeva looked at her face as he heard the words like a child who heard an unknown word for the first time.

'Albacore fish!' Mrs Weerasuriya understood him instantly and said: "Oh that is Thora Malu. Thora Malu is called either Albacore or Spanish Mackerel in Australia!"

Jayadeva soon realised that there was a long list of things that he had to learn in Australia like a child learning a new language with a new vocabulary again in a new country.

-- Name of fish may not be the only thing we have to learn! What about trees, flowers, rivers, lakes, and mountains? These are all new to me! How many new things we need to know in Australia! How many... How many...

"I have to run aney! I'll give you a call tomorrow. How are you Duwa? Putha is always sleeping, isn't he? See you Duwa," she said 'cheerio' to Sunitha who was watching TV again.

"I'll see you all tomorrow."

Jayadeva opened the containers filled with food as soon as after Mrs Weerasuriya left. The Parripu curry was still warm. He took a deep breath and kept the familiar Sri Lankan aroma in his lungs for a few seconds. The aroma and the texture of the food cooked by Mrs Weerasuriya reminded him that he was still cushioned by the familiar cuisines and his favourite food from Sri Lanka.

Mrs Weerasuriya's food reminded him of the cuisines his mother used to prepare before he got married. Malini was never a good cook. She just managed a dish or two, but the company of servants had always ensured that they had three cooked meals every day!

Jayadeva took a deep breath again, and eagerly started serving the food as if he had not eaten for days. Since they had left Thailand almost three days ago on their way to Perth, they had not eaten rice and curry.

Sunitha was not keen to eat. It looked as if she could live without food for hours and for days. However, she was still happy and settled unlike her father. The time difference had made no impact on her. Asela was sleeping calmly and quietly and there was a touch of sadness on his face.

Jayadeva washed his hands and mixed rice and curries with his fingers before Malini gave him a fork and knife to eat the Sri Lankan food.

"No, I will eat with my hands!"

Malini sat on the table and ate her rice and curry with a fork and knife while Jayadeva sat next to Sunitha on a comfortable chair and ate his food with fingers watching TV with their daughter.

"Du, don't you feel hungry?" Jayadaeva asked. Sunitha watched TV calmly unwilling to leave her new companion even to have her staple food.

They received a call from Linda who apologised and said they wouldn't be able to make it on that evening as Douglas had scheduled a long field trip early next morning. She promised to come the day after without fail. It was raining heavily outside and neither Jayadeva nor his family could know for sure whether it was the beginning of a cruel winter in their adopted home.

Jayadeva woke up at his usual time, the following morning and poured himself tea from a flask Malini had prepared the night before.

He started humming a Sri Lankan song while sipping his lukewarm tea.

Sasara wasana thuru- niwan dakina thuru..... [1]

(Until the end of the Samsara [2] until attaining the state of Nirvana [3])

In search of employment, Jayadeva went to register himself with the Commonwealth Employment Services Office on St. George's Terrace which was located a few yards behind the hotel. An officer at the CES Office interviewed Jayadeva and obtained copies of his passport. As the officer input information into the computer Jayadeva asked, "Is this a mainframe system?"

"Yes! Oh, you are a computer expert as well, not just a civil engineer from Sri Lanka. Great! Are you a member of the Australian Institute of Engineers?"

"Yes, that was a requirement for immigration. I had to pay a lot of money for my Australian membership in Sri Lankan rupees," Jayadeva responded. He handed over a letter and certificate he had received from the Institute of Engineers, Australia.

"I'll make copies of these for our files. By the way, I'm Robert Smith, Mister Ja-ya-Dee-wa," he attempted to pronounce Jayadeva's first name with difficulty. Jayadeva was amused by the way Mr Smith pronounced his family name, Gamage which sounded more like Gum-age!

"I'm also a migrant here! I'm from the UK and followed my wife here as she is from WA. Perth is a terrific place to live, except there's no snow in Christmas! Every place has its own advantages and disadvantages."

Mr Smith discussed employment related issues with Jayadeva for nearly an hour and advised him on other matters including how to open a bank account. Jayadeva asked whether they would be able to receive any allowance as unemployment benefits until he secured a job.

"You mean the Social Security Allowance? I'm not fully aware of the rules and regulations as those are determined by the Department of Social Security, but I know you can't apply for Social Security payments unless you are registered with us.

They look at applicants' assets and other factors. There's a Social Security Office on Stirling Street."

"Is it in town and how far to this place? We still don't have a car."

"It's just on the other side of Beaufort Street on the corner of Stirling and Francis Streets. You should be able to walk there," the officer assured him.

Jayadeva found the Social Security Office and obtained forms to apply for unemployment benefits and endowment payments for their two children. He was surprised to learn that they could also receive an extra thirty dollars per week as rental assistance.

--What a good country is this...so many benefits and so many support systems...how difficult for a poor man in Sri Lanka to get even a pension...Australia is a great country... Everyone is equal under the law in this great place...!

That evening Linda and Douglas Kirkland visited them and politely expressed their concerns about Jayadeva's decision to come over to Perth without good planning.

They knew of his previous job and qualifications through their mutual friend, Sera Anderson. The Kirklands had met each other at a holiday resort in Bali and had become friends with Sara who worked as a community development consultant in Sri Lanka with AusAid funding. [4]

"We have a history of visitors coming over to Australia, but to our knowledge, no one has come like you! Even Captain Cook had his fleet and supporting staff when he first arrived in Sydney!"

"Oh, we are the supporting staff now that he can't have his servants and all the workers from his office," Malini giggled while Jayadeva struggled to understand the comparison between him and Captain Cook.

Footnotes

[1] Sasara wasana thuru...This is a line from a famous Sri Lankan lyric by late Dalton Alwis.

[2] Samsara - The cycle of existence or the wheel of birth, death and re-birth, according to Buddhist teaching.

[3] Nirvana - This is a key concept in Buddhism implying that it is the state of being free from human suffering or Dukka.

[4] AusAid - The Australian government's overseas aid program.

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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.