When in Sri Lanka: listen to local music, skip Colombo, go to Galle and enjoy the laidback lifestyle
Sidharth Monga27-Jul-2010July 11
Colombo. First thing about the city is the heat just outside the airport. Catch the city on one of those still, stifling days. Don’t like the number of buildings – offices, hotels, restaurants, shopping complexes – blocking the sea breeze on Galle Road. Down the coast, past Galle Face, is the beautiful town of Galle. Open from all sides. Will get there only next week. Can’t be soon enough.July 12
Football World Cup final night. My third big final outside India, following the two Wimbledons before this year’s one. Delirious man jumps into pool as soon as Iniesta scores in the dying minutes. Reaction in Sri Lanka nothing in comparison with former coach Jose Camacho’s while doing live commentary. On the BBC, a man in Spain says the win will let them forget the economic crisis and depression therewith for the next six months. Think sport shouldn’t mean so much.July 13
Colts Cricket Club in Havelock Town. One of many first-class venues in Colombo. Quaint little ground, trees all around. Big red Ferrari saunters in. Out comes Aravinda de Silva, dressed as if going to work in a bank. Loves his fast cars. Doesn’t like talking about them. Wild side duly wrapped up.Read of Jennifer Abegoonewardene. Asked in the UK to cancel flight booking to Cyprus because name is too long.July 14
Tour game, second day. Dilhara Fernando is fielding at a three-fourths midwicket. Kids come into the field to take autographs. Obliges. Nearly gets a mate no-balled. Inhabitants of No-ball Junction would approve.Yuvraj Singh plays a beauty to rescue the Indians from 80 for 4. Uses his feet against spin. Is picking Mendis’ googlies. Is hitting cleanly. Launches the ball twice onto the road. Has to fight cramps in a two-and-a-half hour innings. A test of physical conditioning and strength will be this tour.July 15
Hatton National Bank has the best ATM of all time. Of all time. Doesn’t give money until the card is taken back. Not even I can forget my card in the machine now.Run into Tommy Simsek, the Sri Lanka physio, who sprints onto the ground whenever needed, at the Sinhalese Sports Cub. Is walking peacefully. Shouldn’t be allowed to. The gall.
Wait for a local band, presumably baila, to play at our table in a restaurant. Band hijacked on its way by Indian tourists, who make them play Bollywood music. Why come all the way to Sri Lanka to make a local band play Indian music?
July 16
Get a five-rupee coin as part of some loose change. Specially minted for the 1999 World Cup for the defending champions. Trophy looks good, a relief from all the gaudy ones cricket somehow has to suffer. Wonder if a similar coin will be minted for 2015. Sri Lanka definitely have the side to do it, especially with more than a few games at home.July 17
Galle. Peaceful. Wild mangoes, lychees with thorny skins. Old-style hotel, one of the few buildings to have survived the tsunami despite being next to the sea. Laidback waiters, simple rooms, no TV or intercom. Gentle, sometimes choppy, sound of the sea through the day. Not the place to be working in. Sit in the balcony and enjoy the sea.July 18
Galle is full of Murali. Banners, posters, cutouts, countdown to 800 wickets, the works. Sad that all pictures of Murali have sponsor logos on them. Can do better for farewell to the greatest cricketer of the country.Rain has the first word, reducing the first day of the first Test to 68 overs. Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara grind India with centuries.July 19
Rain. Torrential. No play. Free lunch and tea. India don’t turn up at the ground until late afternoon. They have to hurry when the sun comes out. Perhaps surprised by the good work done by ground staff; there is a chance play might start. More showers as soon as they arrive. Can’t be blamed. The team hotel is 40km from the ground. Unfair on players from both sides.July 20
Wait for a local band, presumably , to play at our table in a restaurant. Band hijacked on its way by Indian tourists, who make them play Bollywood music. Why come all the way to Sri Lanka to make a local band play Indian music?Indian music popular in Sri Lanka. They don’t know the meaning but they know the words. And tunes and notes.July 21
Murali and Malinga produce special efforts to kept hopes of a result alive. The pitch hardly matters to either man on this day. Reminded of Waqar with those irresistible yorkers and swing either way.Upasena’s auto-rickshaw has messages written in Dutch. In gratitude to a Dutch lady who helped him repair the vehicle after the tsunami. He remembers the nights after the tragedy, the fear of the sea coming into their houses.The view from the Galle-Colombo train•ESPNcricinfo LtdJuly 22
Perfect finish for Murali. Takes a wicket with his last ball in Tests, like Richard Hadlee, to set up a famous Test win. President of the country shortens lunch because he has to shake hands with every player. The ICC’s CEO also exploits the occasion to have a press conference. The man himself is unaffected. Is thankful he is through all this, relieved. Wonder how the next morning will feel.July 23
Time to pack up and leave Galle. For big-city hotel with room service, TV and laundry bags. A day in the life.Ignore advice from both locals and Indians and take a train to Colombo. Best decision of the tour so far. Start at 7.30am. Indian Ocean on one side, villages on other. Air conditioner not required. Lets you into so many lives for fleeting moments: children getting ready for school in one house, women putting clothes out to dry in another; an old man reading a newspaper, young men getting ready to climb coconut trees.July 24
Meet Ajantha Mendis’ coach from Army Sports Club, Saman Hervavitharana, in Colombo. Studious-looking man. Doesn’t know how Mendis developed the carrom ball, just marvels. Says Mendis shouldn’t rush through his run-up, and should get closer to the stumps when delivering. Will be watching how Mendis does in the Test.
