Tuesday, 9 June 2015

Life of Silibiris 2


 

Young Silibiris was exhausted .
 Haramanis had made Mannokka, Pol sambol and Wavumaalu for his family dinner
 Silibiris wolfed the meal
 Soon fell asleep on a mat on the floor next to his mother and sisters
 Haramanis slept on the Laali bed outside

Silibiris woke up in the middle of the night
Frightened by the sounds of the Wanni night
He thought he could hear elephants near by
There were no doors, instead a rolled up goniya hung from the front door
 Windows had just sticks for bars
 Who knows what could be crawling around them
 Snakes? Scorpions? Divi makuluwas? Those large centepeeds?
 What on earth are they doing in this hot dry place with no neighbours within a hoot
He snuggled up closer to his mother and eventually fell asleep again
Young Silibiris had survived the night


 The morning was strangely cool
 He got up, lifted his sarong and put one end over his head like a hood
 He crept  outside and surveyed his surroundings
 Huge Kohombo tree in the front yard with some monkeys curiously looking on
He could see a Kadulla by a narrow dirt track going somewhere
Their hut house was in the middle of a cleared patch of land surrounded by the scrub and tall trees

 Haramanis was already busy digging the ground with a mammoty
 Siriyalatha was helping to water a row of wambotu plants with a pot on her hip
The sisters still sleeping inside
He felt the urge to explore the neighbourhood
 He realized the parents had not seen him standing in the midula

Silibiris  slowly jumped over the kadulla and quietly slipped out of parents sight
Walked in the direction they came from yesterday, arriving at the Ambarawa  Tank bund
The scenery took his breath away
Golden sun shimmering on the vast lake with water as far as he could see
Lotus flowers blossomed everywhere
A lone woman rowing a boat picking lotus flowers
A man waist high in the lake throwing a fishing net
Idyllic body of water surrounded by the harsh dry land and a jungle full of wild animals
School children went by making fun of the new comer
 A teacher wearing National Dress stopped by and asked him his name, where he lived. The master admonished Silibiris to report to school without delay and moved on.
 A bullock cart came trundling by with sacks of flour, and other provisions heading towards a village shop
Silibiris lost track of time
Only to be dragged away by his ear some time later   by Siriyalatha who was panicking and came looking for her irresponsible son.
Silibiris resolved to explore some more the next day.

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