Sri Lankan Aesthetics

You know how some people are just elegant and beautiful, in a very natural way, endowed with a sense of grace in everything they do?

Now imagine a whole country peopled with many individuals with just such an aesthetic, and you have Sri Lanka.

I have visited this little island many times since 1996 when I married my very own sarong-clad Sri Lankan, and I have never ceased to be amazed by the simple ways in which Sri Lankans add touches of elegance to their everyday lives.

Take, for example, this table setting at a roadside café on the road from Bandarawela in the hill country to Colombo, the capitol. Here’s the context – you’re driving down a twisty narrow 2-lane “highway” behind smog-spewing trucks, buses commandeered by maniacs and suicidal three-wheelers. You’re starving, tired and have breathed in enough carbon monoxide to darken at least one lobe of your lungs. You spot a sign for a restaurant up ahead and stop, not expecting too much and hoping with all your might that the bathrooms are clean. And here’s what greets you as the smiling waiter leads you to your table…

There were cotton tablecloths, for heaven’s sake! And that sweet little clay pot with a plant – just darling! Nothing fancy, no expensive Noritake place settings, no high-falutin’ glass/candle/whatever centerpieces.

This was the banister on the balcony overlooking the forest at that same cafe. Again, simplicity and nature at work – jute rope wrapped around the metal rails, and sturdy branches entwined just so. (And yes, the bathrooms were spotless, had soap AND toilet paper, which is a huge bonus as anyone who has traveled to Asia could tell you).

Roadside fruit stands are a mainstay in Sri Lanka, and the best fruit is often available at these simple farm-to-market businesses. On one trip to a wildlife santuary, we passed a town where most of the fruit stands were made out of stained and varnished branches built into gazebo-like structures, complete with doorways and window openings.

To my dear spousal unit's dismay, this is DEFINITELY going to be imitated in some fashion around our veggie-bed in our backyard when we get home.

My father-in-law is a swinging single 70-something year old, and he has this elegant wood sculpture on a window sill at his bachelor pad. (I’m hoping our names are on this item, in his will).

We visited an orphanage during our stay in Colombo, and again, I was struck by how people take pride in the beauty of their surrounding. We're not talking immaculately manicured hedges cut in perfect symmetry ala the palatial gardens of Europe here. No, this is something else much simpler and more pure in its understated loveliness.

The nuns had created an outdoor sanctuary and meditation garden beside the creche for infants and expectant mothers, complete with benches, pathways, a lotus pond and scented plants (think jasmine and frangipani - mmm dreamy!)

One of my sisters-in-law is a rare creature on the Colombo scene - she actually cooks for her family on occasion (everyone here seems to have fabulous cooks, as evidenced by my ever-widening girth). She had us drop in one evening for dinner - her 6 year old had helped her fix spaghetti for his American cousin. Here's what the table looked like:

I'm just hoping for some of this aesthetic to rub-off on me during our stay on this lovely island...and if not, I hope our daughters have inherited some in their genetic make-up. So far, the older one's penchant for all things Star Wars and her devotion to battleships have sublimated any such instinct from emerging, but a mum can still hope...

Bandarawela

Upcountry refuge from the heat, luscious tea estates, beautiful people ... This is what we encountered during our visit to Bandarawela in south central Sri Lanka's hill country, where my father-in-law often seeks refuge from the hustle and bustle of Colombo at a cozy, century-old cottage in the forest.



The land is hilly and gorgeous - with more shades of green than I could have imagined.

We drove by rolling tea estates perched precariously on hillsides, and had the opportunity to visit a working tea factory.

This tractor outside the factory reminded me of the Waltons on TV from way back yonder (remember “Good night, John boy” anyone?).

Once the tea sacks are moved to the top floor, the processing begins with the fresh leaves spread out on drying shelves spanning the length of the factory.

One floor down, the dried leaves are ground into various textured grades using different methods.

Tea quality is apparently a combination of blending different types of tea leaves as well as the texture of the ground tea.

My cousin Ann Marie captured this shot of a tea worker who graciously paused for the photograph.

Adios tea country, and greetings, a whole new appreciation for a good cuppa.

Casa de Lawrence: Serendipitous island living

I adore visiting my in-laws in Sri Lanka. They're wonderful, fun, and so very gracious. And the food is wondrous, from simple curd (naked, no-frills yoghurt) to complex pastries and curries. I am going to be so HUGE by the time we leave here....

While here, we're residing at Casa de Lawrence, the home of my husband's adorable sister #1 of 2, her lovely hubby and their yummy little triplets. This is what I gaze upon in the garden while sipping my morning tea -

The guest bathroom has a fabulous feature I have seen in none other. My clever brother-in-law had granite tiles installed into the concrete, and voila! Non-slip surface plus a pedicure spa like no other! This stuff is amazing - I want to take a couple of the tiles back with me to re-do our shower in Arizona. The spousal unit, however, is not in agreement, muttering something about carting 40 pounds of granite in suitcases across the Pacific. Little does he know the humiliation of taking my cracked heels for a pedicure back home - the pedicure lady actually calls her colleagues to check out how awful my heels are. No, I do not speak Vietnamese, but I'm SURE that's what they're commenting on in horror. Some things don't need translating.

Shopping in Colombo is gratifying because the currency exchange is easy to figure out - 'tis 100:1. Hence the logic in the name of this store:
More updates on our travels in Serendip (ancient name for Sri Lanka) to come.

Curry leaf

The curry leaf plant is treasured in the Indian/Sri Lankan community, especially in the U.S. because, as far as I know, it's not a plant that grows from seed. This plant is propagated from "babies" that grow from the mother plant's root system. The immigrant Indian/Sri Lankan community has adopted out these babies through the years and across the country....and who knows, perhaps all the plants around today came from one mother plant that may have surreptitiously traveled here across the oceans!!

It's also fairly temperamental with cold weather - all my relatives in colder states have their curry leaf plants in large pots that are moved indoors once fall settles in, and they are tended to with great care although they aren't the most attractive of plants. Indian food is just not the same without fresh curry leaves, so this is a prized commodity in the South Asian kitchen.

My father brought me one such baby from a relative's home in Houston years ago and that little 4-inch plant smuggled across state lines has become a little tree, no doubt much thanks to my parents careful care in its early years, as well as good advice from my sister-in-law Sheena to "prune it to a stump" to encourage growth. Thank goodness for sunny AZ because this little lady thrives in the sunshine and she has birthed many babies that have been gifted to other homes.

Grandpa Jack's Meadow

Before we moved to our current home, we lived on a quiet street with lovely neighbors, including Nana Kathy, Grandpa Ed, and their puppy Carrie right next door, Grandpa Jack and Nana Sue a few doors down, and the Plunketts nearby.

Jack and Sue always had the most wonderful flowers in their front yard - roses, irises and violas, and every spring, an amazing display of Arizona wildflowers. They were also experienced garage-sale pros, and we still have an adorable old-fashioned wooden baby cradle that they gave to Rekha as a gift when she was a toddler.

The year we moved to our current home, Jack gave me a baggie of wildflower seeds for our new yard, which is still in the same neighborhood. Sadly, Jack passed away suddenly shortly after that, which was a great loss to many.

However, we have since had a living memorial to Grandpa Jack emerge in our front yard for the past few years, getting more exuberant with each season...reminding us of what a cheerful, lovely person he was, and how his generosity continues to bring beauty to our world.

Sprouts?

I have bunches of these little guys sprouting around rocky patches of dirt in my backyard, and they look like bean sprouts (or taugeh, as we call them in Malaysia). If so, how did they get there? Has my veggie-fussy daughter been hiding her veggies after meals under the pretext of eating them, and then thrown them in the backyard?


My husband has many a tale of veggie sabotage from his youth, and you know what they say about them apples and the tree from whence they came....

Mary Mary quite contrary...

...how does your garden grow?

With poetry

"The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the bird for mirth.
You are nearer God's heart in a garden,
Than anywhere else on earth"
Author Unknown

and strawberries

and freesias all in a row

The Monastery

So, this post has nothing to do with my little patch of backyard dirt, but it does involve lovely gardens...

We took a little field trip last Friday to visit St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence AZ. This place is truly an oasis in the desert.

We had to wear long skirts and cover our heads with scarves. As we had just watched a stage production of Fiddler on the Roof last week, Rekha was inspired to sing Matchmaker Matchmaker repeatedly.

Beautiful woodwork and brickwork was everywhere.

Jean, our very Catholic friend who inspired this trip, was surprised to learn that both Rekha and I have been baptized in the Mar Thoma orthodox church, which meant that we could participate in the services offered at the monastery as well as partake of the luncheon in the presence of the monks...non-Orthodox folk have to wait in the Narthex and can only eat after the monks have left. What can I say, it's Tradition!



Rekha's Jacobite Ammachi in Malaysia would have been so proud to see this!

All in all, 'twas a lovely day trip to a lovely place....

Trees

We had four trees planted a few weeks ago, to join our blessed orange and lemon beauties that came with our home. My dear observant spousal unit was kept in the dark, to see if he would notice the 6-ft or so additions.

He did not.

In his defense, I will say that he's mostly in the backyard to pull out the trashcan, which he does after sundown usually...

Nevertheless, we are now proud parents of a plum tree with lovely white flowers, a pink-flowering peach, an Arizona Sweet orange and a Mexican lime ( for all those caipirinhas and Coronas).

Now all we have to do is wait patiently a few years for fruit to come forth...

Footnote: The source of the Swiss chard in my flower bed has been revealed to be none other than Farmer Bobby, who confessed to prank-planting them when he was putting in the veggie garden. Can't complain.

Harvest!

March 2010
We have been enjoying spinach, cilantro, parsley, collard greens, Swiss chard and strawberries for a few weeks now. A little disappointed in the strawberries, I must admit - I was expecting sugary sweet morsels, but they're just kinda okay. And one of the early ones had the weirdest looking pointy worms in it...ick!

However, with all the rains we've had (yes, it has rained in Arizona!) everything is blooming, and there are honey bees everywhere! I think they like the lavender the best.

If someone had told me last fall that I would fall in love with Swiss chard, I doubt I would have even known what it was. However, I am now a devotee of this luscious, obscenely vibrant leafy green that mysteriously started growing in my flower bed last fall.

I've put it in soups, replaced it with lettuce in sandwiches, and stir fried it naked. Yummy and good for you. Who knew!

March 14 2010
We had our first carrot today, sweet and strangely spicy. I think they're related to radishes, therefore just a few degrees separated from wasabi (and Kevin Bacon?). Might need to wait longer to pull the others out. Our 8-year old, now wants to have "wascally wabbits" (she's a recent Bugs Bunny fan) in our yard...

Apparently collards get bitter once they bolt, so I decided to harvest them all. Here's what we got from 3 plants, plus some lemons, parsley and a handful of strawberries:

That same 8-year old then proceeded to help with the tedious task of de-spining the collards for cooking. We found two caterpillars as we were cleaning the leaves, and we put them back on the remaining plants. There's enough to share...and who knows what those caterpillars may turn into.

Collards ready to be julienned and cooked. Thank goodness for our dear friend Jean who suggested adding a splash of sugar to cut the bitterness (worked like magic) and freezing some of them fresh in baggies (nothing like good cooking tips from the South) ...or I'd still be cooking collard greens, hours later.

Instead of finally posting SOMETHING on this blog.