DIARY OF A VAGABOND
Colombo, 28th October 2008: Today I had a day long meeting at Hotel Cinnamon Grand. Had taken all three meals at the hote,l the food was quiet good there. Except pork, all of the food was halal and quiet tasty. I reached home at 9:30 PM.
I was quiet tired so went to bed early around 10:30 PM or so. We just went into the bed and the light was gone. Oh God, do we have load-shedding problem in Colombo as well? I asked Faiza to open the windows and see whether the whole area is out of light or not. She told me that there is a complete black-out. Suddenly, there is a huge blast nearby and we heard lots of gun shots. There were too many red flares and search lights on the sky. It looked like that there is an air strike on Colombo as I have seen the similar videos of US air strikes on Baghdad. The vehicles that were on the road were stopped and were asked to turn-off their lights. It was a great lightening show but at the same time it was terrifying experience for us as well. I asked Faiza to remain calm and recite whatever she had remembered. I tried calling few people but the phone line was jammed. At last, Yousuf bhai answered the call and he asked us to remain calm and not to leave the apartment. He told us that he is near the Colombo airport and the Sri Lankan fighter jets are now up in the air.
Later on, in the morning we came to know that the Tamil Tigers attacked on some oil depo with light air-crafts. These air-crafts are able to fly at very low height and therefore, they cannot be traced in the radar. Anyways, there wasn’t any serious casualty but the planes were able to escape as well.
On yesterday’s event, I just thought that sometimes, bad decisions made by the leaders made nations suffer for a long time. This beautiful island is suffering with the same as both groups are now burning in the fire of revenge and no one is ready to cool it off.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Colombo Diary
DIARY OF A VAGABOND
Colombo Day 1: Our flight was an hour late and we took-off at 2:00 AM and landed in Colombo 6:45 AM via brief stopover at Mumbai. As we were landing on the Colombo airport the only thing we could see is trees and water. There was a heavy rainfall two or three days ago so its impact could be easily seen. My company had already sent a car so it took us almost an hour to reach our apartment. I was so tired that I could not remember what passed by during this one hour drive. I just woke up when the driver was parking the car in the building’s garage. I thought I have been taken to a hotel as the building’s (Ascon Towers) entrance was just like that. There was a huge hexagonal lobby, the apartment buildings forms a hexagon. Prasantha, Writer’s consultant was there to welcome us. We went into a capsule and went straight away to the 9th floor where our apartment is.
The apartment is a 3 bedroom with a lounge and kitchen. Be
droom has a master bed with a wooden cupboard and a dressing table with an attached bathroom. Another bedroom is just at right while the third bedroom with a single bed is at the other end of the lounge. Bathroom is a bit small where there is square glass based section for taking bath. This is the common practice throughout Sri Lanka as they used to have separated glass based sections for bath so that the rest of the bathroom remains dry. The whole apartment is recently painted with white colour. The bedroom windows and the lounge’s lobby are west open so the cool breeze circulates the whole apartment, so we don’t need to use AC although it is there in every room. The apartment is situated at the busy Dr. Danister De Silve Mawatha road and the hustling and the bustling noise of Colombo can be heard anytime specially if you open the windows.
Prasantha showed us the apartment but actually there was no light at that time. Moreover, the kitchen was absent with any basic cooking utensils. Only the pair of plates and spoons was present. I asked Prasantha how am I going to make breakfast as I was really hungry at that moment. He also has no answer but he said that the apartment owner is coming in half an hour and he must be able to answer all of my queries. He took us down at the first floor in the shop to buy some necessary breakfast material. In the meantime the owner of apartment arrived Mr. A. K. Rizvi. It was the pleasant surprise to know that he was a Sri Lankan muslim. I told him that I would be unable to cook anything as the kitchen is absent with basic utilities and my shipment will take atleast three t o four days to arrive.
He said he ll arrange the lunch for us and he also invited us at the dinner at his home and from
there Faiza could pick the cooking stuff that we require. I was quiet amazed by her generosity and was really thankful to him as well. Meanwhile I called my Sri Lankan colleague and asked her to send me a car so that I can buy some necessary stuff but I got a cold response from her that since the office is closed on weekends so she ll not be able to help us until Monday. Here again Rizvi came like an angel. He first sent breakfast (daal, roti and fish curry) and tea through his worker and than he asked me whether I need to go to buy any food item like beef or chicken and other home stuff.
So he took us first to the muslim beef market where we bought beef and chicken. He introduced us to the local shop-owners and asked them to facilitate us anytime we go there. Than he took us to the super-market in his Land Cruiser. There we came to know that our landlord is not an ordinary man as he owns the garments factory and his the big exporter of Sri Lankan garment. He has purchased this apartment along with few other apartments and a 500 square yard newly constructed home that he rented out. He is also the general secretary of Moors (Muslims) Sports Club.
He left us there at Richard Peires Super Market and told us that he will pick us after half an hour. The market is just like Naheed in Karachi with all the items of need at one place. But the price of every item was quiet high than what we used to pay in Pakistan. Faiza had a great shock while looking at the prices of any item. He said that since Rizvi is a rich man, he would have no problem in buying the stuff from the expensive market but I had a fair idea that the grocery would be at the same rate even in the open market. So the first shopping where we bought only the basic stuff cost us nearly 10,000 Sri Lankan Rs. SLR J. The basic stuff includes:
Basmati Rice: 167 Rs. Per kg
Flour: 100 rs kg.
Small Lux: 32 rs.
Apple juice: 298 rs a litre.
Garam masalas and some plastic items.
After the shopping, he took us to the KFC shop to have lunch which is also a bit expensive. Most of the food restaurants have Halal food here as Muslims here are quiet wealthy and they have good spendable income.
A brief rest in the evening and the Rizvi was again there to take us for the dinner. We first went to the Prasantha’s house. The house is artistically constructed with the granite stairs at the entrance. A small balcony with numerous articrafts hanging on the walls that leads us to a lounge. The lounge flooring was done by a granite with black granite on its borders. Windows and doors are of expensive wood with the small garden at the back of the lounge. We spent a good time there talking about food, politics local traditions etc. Prasantha was a nice fellow and he and his wife ll be sending us to Maldives. I have asked them to search for any reasonable and cost effective tour operator. We had a tea over there and than we left for Rizvi’s house.
He first took us to the newly constructed house which he rented out to a Pakistani family. The house is situated at the posh area of Colombo and its about 2200 square feet with a garden and the garage on the front. Most of the flooring is of expensive granite and marble tiles where as the wooden work was being done of the most expensive teak wood. He told us that he had a purchase a teak tree and all the wood has been obtained from that tree. He spent nearly 275 lacs on its construction with the similar amount to purchase the land.
After than, he took us to the his nearby house where we had a dinner of spring hoppers with chicken and potato curry. It was so tasty and has a south Indian taste as his forefathers and wife were also from there. Spring hoppers are like namkeen sawayyan that is taken with a curry just like we took roti. Faiza collected the necessary cooking stuff from her wife’s kitchen that we ll be using until we get our shipment.
He told me that his brother has the garment factory at Ratnapura (the famous gem mining site in Sri Lanka) and he ll be taking us along with his family on the holidays. He also promised to help me with the up-coming qurbani.
So this is what I need to tell you about our first day in Sri Lanka. I am thankful to Allah that he helped us by sending such a nice people who had taken care of us just like we are their family members. Both Rizvi and Prsantha are very good in nature although they belong to higher status but they are quiet simple in nature.
This is Sunday 2:40 here while I sign-off as Rizvi had just just arrived with a lunch and the invitation of Zikr (Darse Quran) mehfil at his parent’s house after Asr. Please keep remember in your prayers.
Best Regards,
Umair Ahmed Shaikh
Colombo Day 1: Our flight was an hour late and we took-off at 2:00 AM and landed in Colombo 6:45 AM via brief stopover at Mumbai. As we were landing on the Colombo airport the only thing we could see is trees and water. There was a heavy rainfall two or three days ago so its impact could be easily seen. My company had already sent a car so it took us almost an hour to reach our apartment. I was so tired that I could not remember what passed by during this one hour drive. I just woke up when the driver was parking the car in the building’s garage. I thought I have been taken to a hotel as the building’s (Ascon Towers) entrance was just like that. There was a huge hexagonal lobby, the apartment buildings forms a hexagon. Prasantha, Writer’s consultant was there to welcome us. We went into a capsule and went straight away to the 9th floor where our apartment is.
The apartment is a 3 bedroom with a lounge and kitchen. Be
droom has a master bed with a wooden cupboard and a dressing table with an attached bathroom. Another bedroom is just at right while the third bedroom with a single bed is at the other end of the lounge. Bathroom is a bit small where there is square glass based section for taking bath. This is the common practice throughout Sri Lanka as they used to have separated glass based sections for bath so that the rest of the bathroom remains dry. The whole apartment is recently painted with white colour. The bedroom windows and the lounge’s lobby are west open so the cool breeze circulates the whole apartment, so we don’t need to use AC although it is there in every room. The apartment is situated at the busy Dr. Danister De Silve Mawatha road and the hustling and the bustling noise of Colombo can be heard anytime specially if you open the windows.Prasantha showed us the apartment but actually there was no light at that time. Moreover, the kitchen was absent with any basic cooking utensils. Only the pair of plates and spoons was present. I asked Prasantha how am I going to make breakfast as I was really hungry at that moment. He also has no answer but he said that the apartment owner is coming in half an hour and he must be able to answer all of my queries. He took us down at the first floor in the shop to buy some necessary breakfast material. In the meantime the owner of apartment arrived Mr. A. K. Rizvi. It was the pleasant surprise to know that he was a Sri Lankan muslim. I told him that I would be unable to cook anything as the kitchen is absent with basic utilities and my shipment will take atleast three t o four days to arrive.
He said he ll arrange the lunch for us and he also invited us at the dinner at his home and from
there Faiza could pick the cooking stuff that we require. I was quiet amazed by her generosity and was really thankful to him as well. Meanwhile I called my Sri Lankan colleague and asked her to send me a car so that I can buy some necessary stuff but I got a cold response from her that since the office is closed on weekends so she ll not be able to help us until Monday. Here again Rizvi came like an angel. He first sent breakfast (daal, roti and fish curry) and tea through his worker and than he asked me whether I need to go to buy any food item like beef or chicken and other home stuff.So he took us first to the muslim beef market where we bought beef and chicken. He introduced us to the local shop-owners and asked them to facilitate us anytime we go there. Than he took us to the super-market in his Land Cruiser. There we came to know that our landlord is not an ordinary man as he owns the garments factory and his the big exporter of Sri Lankan garment. He has purchased this apartment along with few other apartments and a 500 square yard newly constructed home that he rented out. He is also the general secretary of Moors (Muslims) Sports Club.
He left us there at Richard Peires Super Market and told us that he will pick us after half an hour. The market is just like Naheed in Karachi with all the items of need at one place. But the price of every item was quiet high than what we used to pay in Pakistan. Faiza had a great shock while looking at the prices of any item. He said that since Rizvi is a rich man, he would have no problem in buying the stuff from the expensive market but I had a fair idea that the grocery would be at the same rate even in the open market. So the first shopping where we bought only the basic stuff cost us nearly 10,000 Sri Lankan Rs. SLR J. The basic stuff includes:
Basmati Rice: 167 Rs. Per kg
Flour: 100 rs kg.
Small Lux: 32 rs.
Apple juice: 298 rs a litre.
Garam masalas and some plastic items.
After the shopping, he took us to the KFC shop to have lunch which is also a bit expensive. Most of the food restaurants have Halal food here as Muslims here are quiet wealthy and they have good spendable income.
A brief rest in the evening and the Rizvi was again there to take us for the dinner. We first went to the Prasantha’s house. The house is artistically constructed with the granite stairs at the entrance. A small balcony with numerous articrafts hanging on the walls that leads us to a lounge. The lounge flooring was done by a granite with black granite on its borders. Windows and doors are of expensive wood with the small garden at the back of the lounge. We spent a good time there talking about food, politics local traditions etc. Prasantha was a nice fellow and he and his wife ll be sending us to Maldives. I have asked them to search for any reasonable and cost effective tour operator. We had a tea over there and than we left for Rizvi’s house.
He first took us to the newly constructed house which he rented out to a Pakistani family. The house is situated at the posh area of Colombo and its about 2200 square feet with a garden and the garage on the front. Most of the flooring is of expensive granite and marble tiles where as the wooden work was being done of the most expensive teak wood. He told us that he had a purchase a teak tree and all the wood has been obtained from that tree. He spent nearly 275 lacs on its construction with the similar amount to purchase the land.
After than, he took us to the his nearby house where we had a dinner of spring hoppers with chicken and potato curry. It was so tasty and has a south Indian taste as his forefathers and wife were also from there. Spring hoppers are like namkeen sawayyan that is taken with a curry just like we took roti. Faiza collected the necessary cooking stuff from her wife’s kitchen that we ll be using until we get our shipment.
He told me that his brother has the garment factory at Ratnapura (the famous gem mining site in Sri Lanka) and he ll be taking us along with his family on the holidays. He also promised to help me with the up-coming qurbani.
So this is what I need to tell you about our first day in Sri Lanka. I am thankful to Allah that he helped us by sending such a nice people who had taken care of us just like we are their family members. Both Rizvi and Prsantha are very good in nature although they belong to higher status but they are quiet simple in nature.
This is Sunday 2:40 here while I sign-off as Rizvi had just just arrived with a lunch and the invitation of Zikr (Darse Quran) mehfil at his parent’s house after Asr. Please keep remember in your prayers.
Best Regards,
Umair Ahmed Shaikh
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