The Gentleman's Game?

In Sri Lanka, cricket is a passion that borders on religion. And I don't just mean that as a comparison.

The day of a match, productivity at workplaces hits a slump, and school kids smuggle in little radio's to keep up with the scores. That cup-wielding beggar on the street pavement can serve as a reliable enough source to fill in an uninformed passer-by on who just got whom out. We buy the team jerseys just to wear when we're at home watching the game, hoping our supportive vibes will somehow radiate through the TV and onto the players.

All this, just for a test match.

So you can just imagine the hype involved in a proper one-day, let alone the World Cup.  

You should watch my mum. No-one who sees her on a day-to-day basis would figure that this woman can transform into a rowdy fanatic at the click of a button. Dad's the more sober sort..but if a wicket goes down in our favour, the fan in him will an oh-so-dramatic 'yes!'

The team players are revered all over the country, via billboards and adverts that that have absolutely no relevance to the sport. We can recognize their wives from the stands, and their cars on the streets; sort of like what football is to the rest of the world.

In fact there's a match taking place as I type. Those fortunate enough to have access to cable can bask in the luxury of pressing their faces onto their flatscreens. But my poor deprived (yet dedicated) soul will have to settle for reading the play-by-play commentary online.

It's dangerous, this addiction we possess, but as a county that's been through so much for far too long, this is the tape that holds the broken pieces together. And our heroes in blue, save us in more ways than they'll ever know.

Cheers.

Exam Mania!

Walking to a friend's place the other day I couldn't help but stop and read what some kid had finger-written on the dirty windshield of an abandoned car:

"IGCSE: New Horror Movie"

Not only was it hilarious, but the fact that this 16-17 year old had abandoned the more popular "CLEAN ME" in deference to this slogan, was an obvious reflection of his/her brewing frustration. This was probably the closest thing to vengeance the poor kid could muster.

I remember sitting for my boards (I realize I sound senile, but i'll take that risk); the sleepless nights, the caffeine dependency, and probably the one stage in our life where the girls looked terrible and the boys couldn't care less.

The atmosphere in the examination hall was ominous to say the least. Literal pin-drop silence where you could hear the person at the far end of the auditorium erasing a portion of an unsatisfactory diagram, or a calculation gone wrong. The ticking clock on the wall was your arch-nemesis, and the invigilator it's closest cohort.

But on the day it was all over, we celebrated with whatever energy we could summon; the majority of us calling it an early night so as to catch up on months of lost sleep.

Looking back, I think I speak for everyone when I wish I would've taken it easier. Sure, the results are crucial to shaping our future (blah, blah..), but it's not that life-and-death situation we allow ourselves to believe. The fact that in actuality there are kids who take their own lives over one measly point, is just not funny.

I'm not some presidential hopeful, or brilliant sportsperson to be asked what message I'd like to send out..but I'll say it anyway. 

Work hard...but get some sleep!

Cheers.

 

Glow's over folks!

"You don't live here do you?" inquired a just-acquainted acquaintance only a day after I had landed in Sri Lanka.                                                                                                                                     

"How on earth did you figure that?"                                                                                                  

"Coz' you've got that glow..that i'm-on-holiday radiance. The rest of us here have this i've-got-to-get-back-to-work-tomorrow dullness that makes it so easy to single your sort out."

I thought the concept highly amusing..amusing enough to ponder the thought long after my meeting with afore-mentioned personality was over. The very notion of me beaming a  supreme radiance as soon as my flight grounded, and diminishing into a drab demeanor towards the latter fraction of my holiday was a curious phenomenon indeed..curious but plausible.

So when I hit the streets of Colombo I made it a point to make this a personal experiment; single-out the holiday-goers from the residents. I'm not quite sure I was entirely successful. My judgement may have been hindered by what people wore rather than how they glowed.

But now that i'm back, and my 'period of leisure' officially over..I think I can actually feel the sheen leave my face. Maybe that's what was responsible for that tingly sensation I experienced when my flight landed on Arabian sands (technically tarmac, but i'm entitled to poetic license)..or that could've just been my mild aerophobia acting up again. Either way, call me a believer.

Heading back from vacation is a real bummer..and the very thought of getting back to routine is enough to make you want to scream into a pillow. But that's just it isn't it..that's the way the brownie crumbles.

Cheers.