I know this blog has been inactive for sometime now, but this note is to say that after the recent disaster in SL (more than 25,000 people perished) I'll stop this indefinitely. I have written quite a bit on Colombo, offline and hopefully will publish them after the re-building effort of Sri Lanka is stabilized (colombo escaped with minimum damage though .. lucky city)
Let your prayers and thoughts be with the millions affected.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Monday, October 11, 2004
Frankie goes to town .. (or so it seems)
Right ... time for first ‘real’ entry in this blog. Real? Well, I should think so ‘cos this is as close to the ‘real’ as you’re gonna get to Colombo and especially me ... unless you’re gonna come down here and experience it first hand.
Oh … by the way this is not a narrative about the city. Rather, it’s an account of the city’s little and not so little influences on me and how I’m shaped by the city and city by me … as if!
For a person who love a bit of idiosyncratic rumblings and have a mind that can wander far and in between and have the patience to discover the true soul of another being, Colombo is the right kind of place to be. It’s ancient and it’s new. It’s beautiful and it’s horrid. It’s rich and it’s poor. And it’s all of this packed in to an area the size of Manhattan. But however small it is … you’ll never find an end to its charms and vices, all the dark and beautiful secrets that lie around the next corner.
Enough about that already … or I’m gonna loose the suspense here. Let’s start our journey right here, right now, with this conversation:
Boy: H..Hi …. I***?
She: Yes, Who is this? (Rather too quick for the boys liking)
Boy: Umm…I ... I
She: How did you get this number?
Boy: (wincing) Well, umm ... from a friend. You know him? R**** from A*** ??
She: Who??
Boy: He said you know him ... well you must know...
She: Ok anyways … so what?
Boy: Well, I… umm I wanted to know whether you … uh, will be at At*******?
She: Did who ever, who gave you this number told you that?
Boy: Huh? Uh, Yeah …
She: Hmm…maybe I am. What do you want?
Boy: Will you be there today?
She: Yes.
Boy: (evidently flustered) Oh … ah...ok. Hmm… what about Sunday?
She: No. Not Sunday.
Boy: (with relief) Not Sunday??
She: No.
(pause)
She: Sunday, I’m going home.
Boy: Monday?
She: Monday of course. From the morning.
Boy: Will I be able to meet you if I …uh I uh …come on Monday?
She: Hmm…
Boy: At what time?
She: Anytime. Umm… give me a call before you come.
Boy: Ok .. to where?
She: Well, I’m always at …
Boy: At******* ?
She: Yes.
Boy: Ok I***, I’ll call you on Monday then …
She: Ok.
Boy: Oh .. uhh… I*** ummmm….I ah, can I know ..the umm ..the price at At******?
She: It’s 1000 for me and 600 for the hotel. 1600 altogether.
Boy: Oh ...(almost says ‘great!!’) ok ..I’ll call you ..
She: …On Monday then.
Boy: Yeah ..umm bye I***.
She: Bye.
Oh … by the way this is not a narrative about the city. Rather, it’s an account of the city’s little and not so little influences on me and how I’m shaped by the city and city by me … as if!
For a person who love a bit of idiosyncratic rumblings and have a mind that can wander far and in between and have the patience to discover the true soul of another being, Colombo is the right kind of place to be. It’s ancient and it’s new. It’s beautiful and it’s horrid. It’s rich and it’s poor. And it’s all of this packed in to an area the size of Manhattan. But however small it is … you’ll never find an end to its charms and vices, all the dark and beautiful secrets that lie around the next corner.
Enough about that already … or I’m gonna loose the suspense here. Let’s start our journey right here, right now, with this conversation:
Boy: H..Hi …. I***?
She: Yes, Who is this? (Rather too quick for the boys liking)
Boy: Umm…I ... I
She: How did you get this number?
Boy: (wincing) Well, umm ... from a friend. You know him? R**** from A*** ??
She: Who??
Boy: He said you know him ... well you must know...
She: Ok anyways … so what?
Boy: Well, I… umm I wanted to know whether you … uh, will be at At*******?
She: Did who ever, who gave you this number told you that?
Boy: Huh? Uh, Yeah …
She: Hmm…maybe I am. What do you want?
Boy: Will you be there today?
She: Yes.
Boy: (evidently flustered) Oh … ah...ok. Hmm… what about Sunday?
She: No. Not Sunday.
Boy: (with relief) Not Sunday??
She: No.
(pause)
She: Sunday, I’m going home.
Boy: Monday?
She: Monday of course. From the morning.
Boy: Will I be able to meet you if I …uh I uh …come on Monday?
She: Hmm…
Boy: At what time?
She: Anytime. Umm… give me a call before you come.
Boy: Ok .. to where?
She: Well, I’m always at …
Boy: At******* ?
She: Yes.
Boy: Ok I***, I’ll call you on Monday then …
She: Ok.
Boy: Oh .. uhh… I*** ummmm….I ah, can I know ..the umm ..the price at At******?
She: It’s 1000 for me and 600 for the hotel. 1600 altogether.
Boy: Oh ...(almost says ‘great!!’) ok ..I’ll call you ..
She: …On Monday then.
Boy: Yeah ..umm bye I***.
She: Bye.
Hi, ..So it all started .....
Welcome to Colombo days, a chronicle of the life, love and lust of a city .. and more specifically a city boy. This boy, err ... youth is 24 years old at the time of these incidents. He's young, vigorous and is poking his nose in to places where it really doesn't belong. He's spirited but easily let down, kind but selfish ... a ball of paradoxes - rolled in to one. He's in love and is out of it .. but he's always in heat and that's a fact. Some may say he's smart but others vehemently disagree. But if there's anything they all agree on ... is that his story is worth reading, even if it's just for his sake .. but no ... really, it's worth it .. 'cos he's witty if not funny, realistic if not real and agreeable if not cool. But above all .... he's me...
Ok, now that you know it .. let us get on with this rantings and musings of a city ... as well as a boy .. ok a guy, if you so prefer. But some of you may not have heard of this city - Colombo and may have a hard time grasping some of the stuff ranted out in these pages. So as a primer I'd suggest you look up the capital of the island nation Sri Lanka - a paradise (lost?) which has recently become more famous for its separatist war and suicide bombers. Nonetheless - it's an agreeable country and Colombo is an agreeable city ... and of course ..this guy is an agreeable guy.
If you need more info in Sri Lanka look it up on google but if you need to understand the real Colombo I'm talking of, find a copy of the book 'Colombo (a novel)' by Carl Muller (on Penguin) and digest it. It's heavily dated (1980'ish) but still relevant to this blog in some aspects. You can get it from Amazon (used as well as new)
I'll stop my first post here ... as with most starts, this is pretty dull. But with my city's help I might be able to pick up the pace .. soon.
Till then ... Ta!
Ok, now that you know it .. let us get on with this rantings and musings of a city ... as well as a boy .. ok a guy, if you so prefer. But some of you may not have heard of this city - Colombo and may have a hard time grasping some of the stuff ranted out in these pages. So as a primer I'd suggest you look up the capital of the island nation Sri Lanka - a paradise (lost?) which has recently become more famous for its separatist war and suicide bombers. Nonetheless - it's an agreeable country and Colombo is an agreeable city ... and of course ..this guy is an agreeable guy.
If you need more info in Sri Lanka look it up on google but if you need to understand the real Colombo I'm talking of, find a copy of the book 'Colombo (a novel)' by Carl Muller (on Penguin) and digest it. It's heavily dated (1980'ish) but still relevant to this blog in some aspects. You can get it from Amazon (used as well as new)
I'll stop my first post here ... as with most starts, this is pretty dull. But with my city's help I might be able to pick up the pace .. soon.
Till then ... Ta!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)