Sunburnt Home - an Australian-Sri Lankan novel

Chapter 7 : The Christmas Star!

By Sunil GOVINNAGE

If one measures the distance in metres or yards it was indeed only a short walk to Melvista Kindergarten from their rented house in Wahroonga Road. But on that day, it took them more than twenty minutes to complete the short journey to reach the school. They had to wait a few long minutes to cross the narrow Princess Road in the morning. Huge luxury cars passed by as they didn't exist, carrying white skinned children in comfortable passenger seats. These were the children who were going to a private kindergarten next door. Though it was closer to their house, Jayadeva could not afford to pay fees as an unemployed parent.

Jayadeva thought of the kindergarten in Kekirawa where he used to drop Sunitha on weekdays in his official car driven by his driver. Malini usually drove to the district hospital where she worked in their private vehicle though she never enjoyed driving.

--These people may be rich but they don't have drivers we had in Sri Lanka!

The weather had changed again, and the sky radiated cruel sun rays. Jayadeva felt the mild morning sun rays as a lethal weapon that is capable of invading the skins of his children. When he went to a government office to collect their Medicare card last week, Jayadeva saw a pamphlet describing the dangers of sun exposure to human skins especially for children in Australia.

"We must buy sunscreen lotions!" Jayadeva murmured after a while. We must be careful about Australian sun! Perth has the highest skin cancer rates in the world. I brought a pamphlet describing a nasty illness called Mela.... Jayadeva stammered.

"Oh Melanoma; a type of skin cancer! Morning sun is okay as it provides vitamin D. The problem is continuous sun bathing for a long time." Malini explained like a good physician calmly and objectively. I have packed a few bottles of sun lotions bought from a Colombo pharmacy and it must be in one of your unopened bags. You shouldn't be worried about skin cancer as we have just stepped on this land with beautiful sunny days!

Jayadeva and Malini walked slowly having crossed the road and Melvista playground. It was a huge ground where one side has been dedicated to a cricket pitch and the other for footy games. The two grounds were separated by a small building which housed a member's lounge and private bar. They crossed the grounds and entered the Melvista Avenue and walked towards the school down the hill. There was a large house like a palace at the corner of the cross road and Melvista Avenue. A huge wall protected the house. But the front of the house facing Melvista Avenue had a strong iron fence which provided a view of a large rose beds and a gigantic door to the house. The school was located five or six hundred metres down the house.

"This is a Government schools for children under five? Why don't we have these types of kindergartens in Sri Lanka?" Jayadeva enquired. He was worried about his inability to enrol Sunitha to the nearby private kindergarten.

"There are a lot of things we don't have in Sri Lanka! We are spending a lot of money on the war." We didn't have simple dressings and medicine for patients in our hospital!" Malini responded.

They were late for an appointment with the teacher due to bad timing as it took more times for their slow walk carrying Asela in a push-cart. As they entered the kindergarten, Jayadeva saw several children in the class room reciting a popular nursery rhyme:

Baa, baa black sheep - Have you any wool

Yes sir, yes sir - Three bags full. One for my master - And one for my dame

And one for the little boy - Who lives down the lane.

As the children saw Jayadeva and his entourage, some of the curious little kids got up and looked as if they are exotic animals like the black sheep in the nursery rhyme and arriving uninvited at a carnival only meant for children.

--All these children are white Australian kids. Would Sunitha be able get friendly with them?

As the teacher saw some strangers had arrived, she opened the class door and greeted them:

"G'day, you must be Mr Gum-mage," she pronounced Jayadeva's family name in an unusual manner. I sent you a note asking you to come at 8.45. That was twenty minutes ago as I wanted to have a chat and give you application forms. Now I don't have time as I have children to look after. My teaching assistant is also away today.

I'm afraid I can't talk now, but I can give you the enrolment and health forms. Would you please come with this lovely little girl and we will enrol her tomorrow?" The teachers smiled and looked at Sunitha's long dark hair.

"You got a nice long hair for a little young lady!" Mrs Bentley, the teacher, addressed Sunitha and she smiled coyly. She touched her hair proudly in response to the teacher's remark.

Mrs Bennet opened her office and gave them enrolment forms.

"Okay then, I shall see you tomorrow and please come early at 8.45," said Mrs Bentley and quickly disappeared into the class room. However, some of the curious little kids who were watching them continued their gaze until Jayadeva and family disappeared through the tall gate in front of the school.

When they walked past the palace like house, they saw an old woman sitting in a comfort chair reading a book and there was a big orange colour cat sitting on her lap.

The following day, Jayadeva walked swiftly with Sunitha and reached Mrs Bentley's office on time. There were only two children in the kindergarten play ground and others haven't arrived.

"Oh good, you have filled all the forms correctly. As you are permanent residents no payments are required. She can attend three days per week, and we close the school sharp at 11.30am and parents must be here to pick them up on time. It's okay today, but Sue... needs to bring sun lotion and a hat as we are teaching them to be sun smart. Australia is also called the sunburnt country! I'll give her a spare hat today. Oh Dear, let's go, I'll find you a good spot in our class."

Mrs Bentley took Sunitha's hand and guided her into the class leaving behind Jayadeva behind a fence that separated Mrs Bentley's office and the class room. The children who entered the school as he walked out ran towards the class as soon as they passed the tall gate at the school perimeter.

Jayadeva was stunned for a moment when he saw Sunitha running in the open yard adjacent to the class. She ran fast happily among the white children like a black crow flying among a flock of seagulls.

Jayadeva left the school perimeter and slowly walked up the hill on Melvista Avenue towards his home. The road was busy with parents having dropped their children at the main gate of the school. As he walked past the large house, Jayadeva saw an elderly woman taking a car from the garage. There was a young boy of Sunitha's age in the passenger seat.

The sky was clear and Jayadeva felt the warm weather of the day. Thought it was just before 9'o clock in the morning, Jayadeva felt deep sun rays piercing through his dark brown skin like a sharp steel knife.

The next day when he walked with Sunitha and reached the school just before 9 o'clock, the same elderly woman who drove the car with a small white boy was at the gate saying goodbye.

'Oh you are the new parent! I saw you walking past our house yesterday. I drive my grandchild to the school as I get tired climbing up the hill though it is only a few hundred metres away. Damien mentioned about a little friendly girl with lovely dark hair in his class and she must be your daughter!" She smiled and introduced herself. 'I'm Sakeena Lampropoulos. Jayadeva immediately recognised the heavy non-Australian accent.

"I'm Jayadeva Gamage and we just arrived in Perth and we are living in Wahroonga Road. Oh you must drop by when you pass our house. Ours is the large house on the right side of the hill on Melvista," she said.

Sunitha got settled quickly with new friends at her new school and she soon became one of the favourite students of Mrs Bentley. Every year, Australian school teachers arrange a few scheduled meetings with parents. When Jayadeva received a letter inviting him and Malini to attend a "parents-teacher" meeting he was worried and agitated because in Sri Lanka, the school principals sent letters when they had a problem child at school! He was very familiar with this practice as both his parents were school teachers.

Having praised Sunitha's work and behaviour, Mrs Bentley said: "If we provide correct guidance, she'll go a long way. She has adapted very well to this new environment and now speaks almost like a native speaker."

"Yes, all that maybe good but now she is a bit reluctant to talk to us in Sinhala at home."

"Oh don't worry; Australia is an English speaking country. Who knows Sinhala here?" Mrs Bentley replied innocently.

"By the way, we have chosen a special role for her at our school Christmas function. You have to provide these items for her costumes, Mrs Bentley gave a list of items to be purchased.

*****************

Jayadeva and Malini arrived at the school early having dropped off Sunitha at 4 o'clock earlier for the final rehearsal of the Christmas play. He saw Sakeena coming over with her grandchild, Damien and he was wearing a long dress similar to dresses worn by ancient Roman kings.

The mild evening weather was pleasant and the evening sun rays still touched the earth covering all corners. As the evening begun to set, other parents arrived in their cars one by one and some had brought their picnic packs and sat on the school ground and ate various types of snacks and drank wine.

Mrs Bentley introduced the children's concert and said it's the children's depiction of the Magi's journey and how three kings had discovered the little Jesus on Christmas Day.

Damien played the role of one of the kings and his mother and grandmother Sakeena were in the audience but the father was not seen around.

A group of children who played the chorus started singing:

"A cold coming we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year

For a journey, and such a journey:

The ways deep and the weather sharp ... " [1]

And the curtain was raised and the king's entered the stage from one end and Sunitha was there in the middle with a glittering large star in her hand as the Christmas Star of Bethlehem guiding the path for the Magi's to complete their journey.

When Sunitha settled on the stage with a beautiful white dress carrying a sparkling star in her hand she look for the parents and wave at them and smiled like a bright star.

"Isn't she really beautiful," thought Jayadeva, and he saw Malini's face lightning up next to him. Asela was sleeping calmly on her lap.

After the concert, the rest of the parents escorted their children in the comforts of their luxury cars and Jayadeva pushed the cart with Asela. Malini held the hand of Sunitha who was walking happily and still carrying her glittering Christmas star. She walked swiftly towards the top of the Melvista hills with Malini leaving behind Jayadeva who followed them slowly.

When a few Children who were travelling in cars saw Sunitha walking, opened the windows of the cars and shouted.

"Hi Sue, have a good Christmas. You are the Christmas star!"

Jayadeva looked up and search the sky looking for the Southern Cross [2] but only a thin crescent moon was floating directionless in the sky.

Footnote

[1] The lines are from T.S. Eliot's Journey of the Magi.

[2] The Southern Cross is a group of bright stars visible in the night sky in the southern hemisphere.

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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.