Jul 28 2016.
views 1275Us Sri Lankans seem to have no filter, sometimes. We say what comes to mind, other party be damned. Afterall, honesty is the best policy noh?
If you get chatting, you will definitely get a taste of the holy trinity of the Sri Lankan conversation starter pack: Weight, skin colour and weather; not necessarily in that order. To the outsider (and even us locals), these comments may come across and nosy and rude. Especially taking into consideration that we sometimes have the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, but mostly, we are truly the most caring and helpful beings (with not much of a filter) you will ever come across.
So if you’re Sri Lankan, have lived in Sri Lanka, or have met a Sri Lankan in any part of the world (because you can take the person outta Sri Lanka, but you can never take the Sri Lankan outta the person) you’ve either made such statements or have been at the receiving end.
Disclaimer: We are not trying to generalize, but are instead taking a lighthearted look into local typicalities.
Weight
Myyyyyy, you have put on quite a bit noh?
Weight. An enduring favourite topics among us Sri Lankans. It’s how we break the ice and say hello. We may complain about ours or, more often than not, comment on yours; either way you can bet we will bring it up at some point in the conversation.
Skin Colour
You need to start staying out of the sun, child! You used to be soo fair!
For us Lankans, fair, it turns out, is lovely. Dark - doesn’t matter that as inhabitants of a tropical country we are more tan or brown skinned - is not. Some of us will freak out, mourn the previously fair skinned person and then go on to offer up some uncalled for advice to lighten skin.
Age
For some reason, we love asking people how old they are. Okay we know the reason - it's because we're secretly comparing ourselves with you. We contemplate the many vagaries of life as we size you up, wondering if you're actually lying about your age. Are you legal yet? Which leads to...
Marriage
So you must be married now noh?
God forbid you're 21, female and not married, we will feel sorry for you, speculate as to why you're still single (“maybe if you use some Fair & Lovely…”) and if you happen use education as an excuse, we will talk some sense into you. “No man wants an overeducated girl. It will bruise his ego”. Yes, because this is still the 1900’s. If you responded yes to the question, affirming your marital status, we will then ask you about...
Kids
Do you have kids? How many? Boy or girl? If girl - you better start preparing for and collecting items for the dowry asap!; if boy - then you are set, he will take care of you!
Married but no kids yet - we’ll remind you that your biological clock is ticking.
1 Comments
Az says:
Jul 29, 2016 at 11:46 amHate to disagree yaar. its a fun read, but im a muslim and brought up from a contemporary background u could say. yet, i notice that nowadays people are so liberal and open minded. Yet, in a general sense, I agree with what u say too. I guess all these things people say are simply reflective of how self-centered and egotistical they are, than the fact of 'if they are immigrants or close. Lovely btw, and i just came across this randomly. :) keep it up. Id love to grab a cup of coffee with such an insightful lady. (and yeah I have a thing for writers). If u r cool with making a new friend, then drop me a mail. Lets catch up :)) and good luck, ur blogs nice too. Keep it up!!!