Life of Silibiris 21

Silibiris entered the sandstone building surrounded by massive pillars with a cavernous interior full of officious looking people sitting behind desks under rotating clattering ceiling fans.

Silibiris had seen the same officious looking gentlemen when they occasionally visited his father in Ambarawa to check the progress of settlers. He realised he is now in the very same building they had come from.

He asked directions to the personnel department which he eventually found on the first floor. He approached a man sitting behind a desk busily reading Ceylon Daily News. Silibiris knew that the man was well aware he was standing there waiting to draw the officer’s attention. Yet, the man continued reading the newspaper.

Silibiris cleared the throat, Ambarawa style.

“S..sa.. Sir”

“Sirrr”

“Mey….. mey, ah.. a very good morning to you sir”

The man slowly put the newspaper down on the desk and looked looking over the lenses of the reading glasses at the intruder.

“ What…what do you want?” he growled.

Silibiris bent in two, handed over the appointment letter to the gruff old fellow who barely glanced at it and dismissed Silibiris to wait on the bench until the arrival of the relevant official.

Silibiris went over to the bench sat next to another young man sitting patiently. , he too was waiting for the same personnel officer. From the corner of his eyes, Silibiris scrutinised the dark tall man. He noticed the  two ash stripes and a dot on his forehead. The man smiled immediately and greeted Silibiris.

“Kalai vanakkam”

“Nīṅkaḷ paṇiyāḷar atikāri kāttirukkiṟārkaḷ?. Va va…. uṭkārntu uṭkārntu”

Silibiris did not have a clue what the man said but he gave a big grin and nodded his head.

“Eṉ peyar Sivapalan uḷḷatu. Uṅkaḷ peyar eṉṉa”.

Silibiris gave a big grin, pulled out his trump card for all occasions and said, “Yes….Yes..”

“Appa…. Kolomba hari rasnei” Silibiris said to the man in return.

The man looked puzzled.

The man pointed to himself and said “my name Sivapalan….what you name?”

“Aaa.. name no? My name is Silibiris. I come from Ambarawa”

“Nan Yalppanam……Jaffna… Jaffna.”

“Ho…Jaffna …..very very far….eheth rasneda kolomba wage”

“Yāḻppāṇattil veku tūram. Nāṉ nēṟṟu rayil mūlam vantatu”

Silibiris shook his head from side to side smiling as if he understood what Sivapalan said in Tamil.

A light bulb pinged in his head.

“Do you speak Engris”

“Ah… yinglish yes yes I speak Yinglish”

Finally, they found common ground. They got into an animated conversation in Sinhala, Tamil, English and sign language.

That was the beginning of a friendship which remained until a fateful day in July 1983.