Long and Winding Road

Love,

Here I am again, at your door. It's as almost as if I've never left. No matter where I go I always end up here no matter how hard I try. It's like all roads lead to Rome, all rivers fall to the sea, all the birds fly south and  my heart always comes back to you.

We've had our ups, we've had our downs, we had a great great run. So many memories, good and bad. So much happy and so much sad. Every moment spent flying sparks at each other, on the flipside, had a moment of quiet bliss, nestled in loving arms. We were together on that long and winding road so long. For every curve and bend, there would always be that long stretch of straight and narrow, where I'd watch the sun shine through your hair and all would be right with the world as we laughed and exploded in happiness hurtling down that road of life with the cool wind strong in our faces.

But I always took the back roads, so many bends and twists and turns, so hard to keep straight, so hard to keep upright, when what I should have given you was the cosy smooth sail you came for. You didn;t sign up for  that. You didn't ride with me for the whiplash, and the crash. That's when you left. That's when I went on alone.

And I did go on. I tried. But with noone to guide me along, I got lost so many times. Trudging on through darkness and fog, and through the rain and the storms. But I kept going. I kept going on because no matter where I was, this life, this long winding road I'm on, it always comes back to you. I always come back to you. Because its always been you and you are always where my life will lead to.

So please, don't keep me waiting here. Lead me to your door.

---

For the Indie Ink Writing Challenge this week, Sheree challenged me with "The 'Long and Winding Road' by the Beatles is the inspiration for your story." and I challenged Major Bedhead with "the dog's meow".

This really didn't come out like I hoped it would. I got a major dose of writer's block on the prompt. Ultimately i just started typing, with no filters, almost on the end of the deadline and this is what came out of it.

අනේ ටයි මාමේ..

80, 90 ගණන් වල ඉපදිලා හැදිච්ච වැඩිච්ච් එකෙක් ඉන්නවනං ඒ කාලේ තිබුණ පට්ට කාටූන් ටික අමතක කරන්න බෑ. අමතක වෙන්නෙ කොහොමද? ඒ කාලේ කන්න බොන්න අමතක වුණත් රුපවාහිනී චැනල් එකේ දොස්තර හොඳහිත යන වෙලාව නං ඔලුවේ ගලේ කෙටුව වගේ තියෙනව. දොස්තර වගේද පිස්සු පූසා, ඇයි හා හා හරි හාවා, ගලිවර්ගේ සුවිසැරිය? 

ඒ කාටුන් ටික. එත් කාටුන් විතරද අපි කට ඇරන් බලං හිටියෙ? මතක නැද්ද රොබින් හුඩ්, කුංෆු, ඔෂින්, පුංචි ඉත්තෑවා, සුරඟන කතා කරළිය, පිනෝකියෝ, හිම කුමරිය, ජැක් සහ මායා බෝංචි වැල, සුරූපී විරූපී, ඇලඩින් සහ පුදුම පහන, හසරැළි රසාර, පුංචි ඇත් පැටියා, ලන්ඩනයේ අතරමංව, මනුතාපය, මොන්තක්‍රිස්තෝ සිටුවරයා, යවෙස්ලූ මිනිසා?

මේ එකක්වත් මෙහෙ ඒවා නෙමෙයි. එත් අපිට එවයේ අංශු මාත්‍රයක වෙනසක් නොදැනෙන්න අපි දන්න අඳුරන සිංහලට හැරෙව්වේ නොදන්නා කව්රුත් නැති, කව්රුත් ආදරය කලේ ටයි මාම, හෙවත් ටයිටස් තොටවත්ත මහතා.

පිටරට භාෂාවක් අපිට තේරෙන විදියට හරවන එක ලේසි වැඩක් නෙමෙයි. එක පට්ට අමාරු වැඩක්. වචනෙන් වචනේ පෙරලලා හරියන්නේ නෑ නේ. ඒ ඒ භාෂාවලට ආවේනික උපමා, ඉඟි, පිරුළු, කොච්චර තියෙනවද? එකනේ අලුත් භාෂාවක් ඉගෙන ගන්න ඔච්චර අමාරු. එත් ටයි මාම එක කළා විතරක් නෙමෙයි, එක කලේ ශබ්දකෝෂේ  තියෙන ගාම්භීර වචන නොදා අපි හැමදාම කතාකරන වචන දාල. ඒ වෙන මොනවත් නෙමෙයි, හැකියාව හැකියාව. වැඩිය ඕනෙ නෑ, දිය රකුස් ගේ ගෝලය චෞ චෞ මතකද? පිස්සු පුසගේ ටෝක්? 

ටයි මාමා පස්සට වැඩසටහන් නිෂ්පාදනයෙන් අයින් වුනේ මොකද කියලනම් මම දන්නේ නෑ. ඇත්තටම අපි හැමෝටම අදටත් වැඩිය පාඩු  වුනේ ඇත්තටම අන්න එදා. ටයි මාමාගේ වැඩවලට ලඟටවත් එන්න පුළුවන් වුනේ මගෙ  හිතේ හැටියට සුර පප්පට විතරයි. එත් ඒ මොනවත් ඒ පරණ වැඩසටහන් අහලකින් වත් තියන්න පුලුවන්ද?

දැන් ඉතින් ටයි මාමත් නැති වුණා. රටට සුවිසල් සිනා කන්දරාවක් ගෙනත් දුන්න ඒ උත්තමයට තමන් කරපු වැඩ ගැන සතුටු වෙන්න මිනිස්සු වචනෙන් හරි සංග්‍රහ කරන්න ඇති කියල මම ප්‍රාර්ථනා කරනවා. දැන් ඉතින් ආයි දවසක පිස්සු පුසා හරි, හා හා හරි හාවා හරි, ටයි මාමාගෙ නම ගහපු වැඩසටහනක් පෙන්නන කොට (බයවෙන්න එපා, අනිවා ආයි පෙන්නනවා. ඒවා කල්ප කාලාන්තරෙකට වලංගුයි, අවලංගු නෑ. ඒවාට ගහන්න බෑ, ගහන්න ඒවා හදලත් නෑ, හදන්න මිනිස්සුත් නෑ.) ඒ මනුස්සය මතක් කරලා තුං සිත පහදවල, හිත සන්තෝසෙන්, පිං වත් දෙමු.

"ටයි මාමේ" ඔබට නිවන් සුව!!!

"Pecha Kucha" .... said what now? / "පෙචා කුචා"...මොකැයි කිව්වේ?

picture shamelessly ripped off from their Facebook page / ලැජ්ජ නැතුව මුණුපොතෙන් ඉස්සුවා 

I missed the first Pecha Kucha. Primarily because I had no idea what in blue blazes it really was. The first event was, to my memory, in the middle of a sudden flurry of semi-famous DJ events with weird names from Europe, the Med.. maybe Narnia? In the end I missed out on what must have been a truly unique event of creative ideas and their creators. That's what this is apparently. A meeting of minds, a show of ideas.

As taken from their site;

Pecha Kucha Colombo is an informal and fun gathering where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, and thoughts in the Pecha Kucha 20×20 format.
Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds, where 20 images are shown, each for 20 seconds.

With Pecha Kucha now happening in over 400 cities around the world we have discovered that most cities, not just in Colombo, have virtually no public spaces where people can show and share their work in relaxed way.

The atmosphere at the event is urban, chic, and chilled out with the warehouse space filled with relaxing benches, a beer Stand and a ‘Kade’ themed food stall. The focal point is the large screen where the presentations are made and what finally brings this evening together is the exposure of undiscovered creativity from all industries: arts, fashion, photography, and design.

Pecha Kucha Colombo is a non -profit initiative and all proceeds of each of the four events will be donated to a specifically selected charity.

Unlike the famous TED events, Pecha Kucha is a bottom-up event, where its not the proven experts in a field but the ones low on the totem pole, the ones that have a great idea but rarelyt recieve a platform to express it, that do the talking. Which is something to be appreciated I think. Not to mention the abbreviated 20x20 format keeping things alive and not boring.

So if you're in the area, which is to say you should make sure that you're in the area, check it out.

Volume 2 will take place on the 23rd of October 2011 at the Warehouse Project in Maradana. Tickets are priced at only Rs. 100 and will be available at the gate.

ඉතින් ඔන්න විස්තර ටිකත් තියෙනව. ගිහින් බලන්න මොකද්ද මේ වෙන්නේ කියල.අලුත්, නිර්මානාත්මක හැකියාවන්, අදහස් තියෙන අයට තැනක් තියා නොතැනක් වත් නැහැයි කියන කාලෙක, තමන්ගේ අදහස්, එකම රෑනේ කුරුල්ලෝ සෙට් එකකටම කියල දාන්න, හොඳ කස්ටියක් හම්බවෙන්න, මෙන්න කියාපු තැනක්. ස්ලයිඩ් එකකට තත්පර 20 ගානේ, ස්ලයිඩ් විස්සකින් කතාව කියන්න පුලුවන්නං යන්න, ගිහිං කියන්න.

"පෙචා කුචා" කියන්නේ ජපන් භාෂාවෙන් අල්ලාප සල්ලාපෙටලු. අපි ඉතින් අල්ලාප සල්ලපෙට ගියොත් පෙචා නෙමෙයි පච නේ කියවන්නේ. බලං ගියාම උන් දියුණු වෙන එක අහන්න දෙයක්යැ.

For more details, facebook, twitter, youtube and on how you can present your ideas, go here / වැඩි විස්තර ටිකක්, මුණුපොත, ට්විටර් , යුටියුබ් බලන්න, තමන්ගේ අදහස් ප්‍රකාශ කරන්න පුළුවන් කොහොමද කියල දැනගන්න, යන්න ඕනෙ මෙන්න මෙතනට;

pechakuchacolombo.com

facebook.com/PechaKuchaColombo

twitter.com/pechakuchacmb

youtube.com/user/pechakuchacmb

p.s. Aamina has some nice pics of the first event as well. see them here

His Last Case

The dinner party was not at all going as planned. When the doorbell rang that last time, there was a mixed sense of relief and dread; the master detective had arrived. The Captain hastily moved to greet his new best friend. Their small town had been rocked to the core by the sudden brutal murder of Lord Wittlemeyer of Wittlemeyer manor, one of their few residents of note. With lands and properties as far as the eye could see from the gates of his manor and a fortune in the bank rumored to be just as vast, the Lords baffling murder created a scandal no lesser in size to his fortune. But as chance would have it, their little corner of nowhere turned out to be the new retirement of Le Monsieur Pierre; the world's greatest detective. With his razor sharp intellect and vast experience behind him, he and the local law enforcement were confident that they could unravel the mystery of who stabbed him in the jugular with an ice pick.

"Are they all here?" Pierre inquired as he approached.

"Yes. They all came" He replied. "There's no possibility of any of them ignoring your invitation Pierre. After all, the only thing that's been on anyone's mind is if you're going to solve this."

"Oh my dear Captain, but I will, of course. The murderer he is here tonight!"

"What! One of THEM!? Impossible."

"Ah dear Captain, when will you understand? The darkness, it is in all of us. A pretty face or a good upbringing can only hide what is beneath. What is there, is there. Tonight, we shall see!" And with this sweeping declaration he glided away to the sitting room where upon his request, a motley assortment of guests were assembled at my home tonight.

---

"Now that we all have dined on the good Captain's excellent victuals, I believe it is time for some unpleasantness" Pierre began. We were all assembled in the drawing room for coffee and Pierre was just starting to say something.

"This case has been quite interesting. From the very beginning several things have made things difficult for me. In fact I confess that I may have made a few missteps myself. But now it is clear to me, yes. I now know how to bring about a resolution to this unfortunate situation. I would like to begin by stating that the killer is in this very room!"

The gasps of shock reverberated around people in the room, as open mouths slowly gave way to sly glances of  suspicion. The young heir to the fortune stood and addressed the detective with anger and authority.

"I say Sir, I resent this unfounded accusation! What proof have you? None of us in this room had any cause to harm my dear father, as well everyone knows."

"Ah but do they?" exclaimed the detective. "Are all of you who you say you are? You all thought you were so clever, but I know all! I asked you all to confide in me, to explain all that is necessary, but you did not. Therefore I have to resort to this situation.  I know everything. I know all of you had motive. I know of the gambling addictions and debts, I know of the secret romances, I know of blackmail, abuse and of last will and testaments and what they contain. I know it all!."

The silence in the room was a tangible as any physical object. The tension was mounting and expressions of everyone in the room suggested that Pierre had managed to unearth something on us all. I was at a loss to how he did it myself and my lack of a poker face wasn't helping my cause.

"But, " Pierre began once more, " I offer a window of opportunity to the one responsible. One chance. I will rest on my knowledge for tonight. I shall wait till tomorrow afternoon to inform the law of my findings. You have till that time to take measures into your own hands and see that justice is done. You have till tomorrow!"

---

"How did you know??" I demanded of Pierre. We were sitting down in my study for a late tea. The detective had left with the others but he had forgotten his pocketbook. One thing led to another and here we were. Me in my usual armchair with a cuppa while he paced about the room restlessly.

"That you were the beneficiary in the new will where the young Wittlemeyer wouldn't recieve a cent? My dear Captain it's hardly surprising considering how well you took care of him lately. You were a true friend and second son to him."

"But you still suspect me I gather. Money IS the root of all evil."  I replied sarcastically and I still did not believe he really knew who the killer was. "I must be really tired today. Feeling sleepy already, I am."

"On the contrary, " Pierre replied. "I never suspected you. Also contrary to your skepticism I DO know who the killer is."

"Really? Who is it then? " I replied rubbing my eyes as sleep seemingly attempted to take me then and there.

"It is I,"  Pierre replied. " I killed Lord Wittlemeyer."

"You? Impossible" I replied. "Why would you? You hardly knew the man."

"Oh we knew each other better than you know dear Captain. If this investigation were to press further such circumstances would undoubtedly be revealed. He forced my hand. I had no choice but to employ such a brutal method. It was so distasteful."

"But.. but.. you've been... been...... part of... investigation..."  I slurred and stuttered.

"How better to know how close the police were to discovering the truth. It was also the perfect way to find someone else to take the blame. I'm so sorry my dear Captain. ' he said, with a most mournful look upon his face.

"S.. s.. someone.. else... blame... ?? " Then it suddenly became clear to me. "The tea... you .. y ...poison.. how.... why... m... me??" I stammered.

"Sleight of hand is a valuable skill in my trade dear friend, it wasn't that difficult to slip something in. And I do wish it hadn't been you, but you and you alone could dispute an alibi I produced when eventually I would be questioned, in addition when I discovered you even had a possible motive.... it was really two birds with one stone."

"You... never. get...... "

"Everyone saw me leave. Noone saw me come back. When they find you they'll find a most convincing suicide note detailing how and why you did it. I've seen your writing enough times to make one of my own"

It was almost impossible to keep my eyes open. It required all my strength and I could feel it slowly sapping away as an immense desire to fall asleep overwhelmed me. 

"Tell... me ... why.. " I blurted out with my last ounce of strength. "Why kill Wittlemeyer... you owe.. me.. that.. much."

He looked at me with sad eyes, and in a fleeting moment I saw the facade fall and a true sense of remorse overcome him. 

"You're right Captain, I do owe you that much." he sighed. "The reason is that I....."

.........................

THE END

For the Indie Ink Writing Challenge this week, Karla V challenged me with "The dinner party was not at all going as planned. When the doorbell rang that last time, there was a mixed sense of relief and dread" and I challenged Mark G. with "the doctor, the sailor, the clown and the tailor...".

අපිට මල් කඩන්න පුරුදු කලේ කවද?

මේක නම් පරණ සීන් එකක්. ඊමේල් එකකින් ආපු හින්ද මතක් වුණා, ඒ හින්ද නිකන් ඉන්නවට බ්ලොගේ දාන්න හිතුන. මේ පොත නං මම හෝඩියේ ඉන්නකොට තිබ්බ එකක් හැබැයි ඒ කාලෙම ගිය විෂය නිර්දේශ සංශෝධනවල හැටියට මේක ඉස්කෝලෙන් විසිවෙලා හුඟක් කල් වෙන්න ඇති කියල හිතනවා. මතක් වෙන්නත් එක්ක කියල දැම්මෙ.

ඉස්කෝලේ  ගිය කාලේ නං අපරාදේ කියන්න බෑ, වැඩි කතා ඕනෙ නෑ, පට්ටම සිරා කාලේ. මතක් වෙන කොටත් සන්තෝසයි, දුකයි.

අපිට මල් කඩන්න පුරුදු කලේ කවද?

For those of you challenged in the nuances of Sinhala I offer the following AFAIK explanation. Please feel free to educate everyone in the comments if you know better.

As accurately mentioned here; 

"Mal Kadanawa (මල් කඩනවා) - To engage in flirtious chit-chat with member(s) of opposite sex." 

I'm not sure of the etymology of the above slang myself. I've heard various origin stories, one being it came about from a movie where a girl was playing the "He loves me, he loves me not" game. I personally favoured the idea that it came from the abundance of movie scenes where a communal picking of flowers for religious offerings is a convenient opportunity for such a conversation (something I found is not entirely untrue), making the two synonymous with each other.

One other is the page photographed above which is from the standard school textbook for Sinhala for either Grade 1,2 or 3 from some time ago, where a little boy and a little girl are underneath a Sal tree. The dialogue reads; 

Amara, Nayana [boy, girl] are underneath the Sal tree.
[Amara;] Look there, that Sal flower is beautiful. Shall I pick it?

I do miss school days.. a lot. (It's not like I was one of the "popular kids", which incidentally is somewhat an alien concept around here.) Best fun I had in my life ever.