X: What is your name?
"Vaibhav"
X: What?
"Web..huv' (w-bh-av)"
X: [Looks perplexed, would not even try to pronounce & not remember it anyways)]
"That's ok! You can call me VK."
X: Muslim?
"no.."
X: Your name sounds like.
"(genuinely surprised, the first time). Born in a Hindu family."
X: Are you Tamil?
"‘Illay’...(No - the only Tamil word I know), from North India, near Delhi- Rajasthan, the deserts in the west bordering Pakistan."
X & I: Talk about either of the three: women in India(Aishwarya Rai / Bipasha Basu genre) [Read: not women issues]; Cricket or Hindi Movies. Well, that’s pretty much the usual ‘Get to Know You’ conversation.
He / She has already made impressions about you (religion + country) and would not really ask questions about your journey, emotions or aspirations. This is not how you get to know people conventionally.
I failingly try and steer the conversation to issues of upcoming elections, ethnic conflict or economic progress & sometimes succeed with a limited few (usually in office).
Sri Lanka goes for Presidential elections on Nov. 17, election pundits / journalists say that swing votes from Tamil dominated North shall define the outcome of the elections and of the future peace process. A few Tamilians I have talked to are of the view that current Prime Minister Mahinda cannot be trusted with peace and should not win the presidential race. However he holds strong support in the masses, especially in Buddhist - Sinhalese, (the first candidate from South Sri Lanka for President). His strongest opposition – Ranil Wickramasinghe, not very popular with masses (allegedly his speeches can put crowds to sleep), but hails from a pro economic reform party & ‘promises’ to change constitution making SL a federal state, sharing governance / power with the Tamils & thus bringing peace.
Since elections are coming soon, there is a flurry of sops & promises handed out each day, past scandals are surfacing suddenly, secret information (discovery of oil off shore of Colombo) being shared with public & businessmen a la George Soros way are running their own information / awakening campaign to educate the voters.
All in all, a view into democratic-constitutionally-run-international-agency-monitored-‘this-time-life-changing’-national-elections (the best of governance) like anywhere else.
I am happy I don’t need a GTKY with this one.
End of Reconciliation III.
More on news from SriLanka at: www.lbo.lk
