SAYC: a journey, a memory, a lesson, a family

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I wanted to go to the 1st South Asian Youth Conference [SAYC] for several reasons. The foremost reason being my friend Ritu from India, who shared the programme with me, was applying for the same. The secondary reasons were to network with fellow South Asians, and then of course to relax. Little did I expect the programme to be so tightly packed with a variety of sessions that were physically challenging as well as mentally stimulating. 

The lead up to the Conference was very chaotic. It had its ups and downs, but in the end there were six Sri Lankans who confirmed to participate. 

I remember the journey only too well. Sitting at the Katunayake Airport talking to Chathu  till we had to board the plane as if we were in either one's living room, walking around the Bangalore Airport as if it was home and we had not made plans to move out, getting on the shuttle bus that seemed like it was never going to reach its final destination, being dropped off in the middle of the road [literally] with no clue as to which side to go to, finally getting in to an auto that had no clue where we wanted to go and the auto driver asking us for directions [truly India you see], and then Chathu and I enjoying the view and nearly missing IIM-B because the auto walla [driver] had no clue where he was taking us. To have thought that was the end of our confusions was a big mistake. We, in our hearts of hearts thought now that we were safely inside the campus premises, things were going to be all right. However, it was not the case. Pulling our luggage out of the auto, we were met by Vaibhav, who directed us to the hostel block for registrations. This hostel block proved hard to find. Make that impossible. Trudging heavy luggage with us, ascending and descending countless flights of stairs to no gain was a heart breaker. It was in this state of lost-ness did we come upon Brijesh, who was equally lost. Little did I know that later on, we were going to be members of the same family! 

26th May 2011-Times of India, Bangalore

After all the stress due to work, I was only too keen on having the best of times while at SAYC. However, I was put to test. I particularly remember one incident which occurred close to our arrival. A lady from The Times of India was interviewing participants from each of the SAARC countries, and I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to her. She asked me what brought me here and what I thought the youth could do to unify the region. I answered her without a beat. I said culture is the means to unify the region, as there are many cultural similarities in our region. Be it song and dance, the food or the dresses, one will see unique yet some similarities throughout. Incidentally, this was a topic Ritu and I had covered before and one of the reasons that I wanted to be at the Conference. This brief interview flicked a light in me. I realised that I had come here for a reason after all; and that reason was not to chill. 

From then on, I made a conscious effort to listen and absorb as much as I could on not only the topic I was interested in, but also on other topics. I could not lie to myself or the others. I have not done much on environmental issues; therefore the topics covered with regard to them were sometime alien to me. However, I was able to pitch in, thanks to having many friends who are environmentalist, both here in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the world. 

I started to analyse what I really wanted to do. I started to question where my interests lie and what I was truly passionate about. It occurred to me that I was interested in many things. Be it the rights of humans or that of animals, governance issues in the country or cultural identity issues. I realized over the years, I have exposed myself to various burning issues; as a result, I was truly keen on them all. It made me tell myself, that I need to prioritise. That I need to walk a path, that one day, when I look back, I will have enjoyed, remembered and most importantly, not have regretted.

Of those participating at SAYC, I was not towards the younger end of the spectrum. I suppose I can safely say, I was in the middle; neither old nor the young. When interacting with some of the participants, some as young as 18 years of age, I realized the passion they had in what they were doing, and the early age at which they had started what they had. I was awe struck. In particular I have Kaushal from Nepal to thank. At a mere 18 years of age, he was striving to make his voice heard. He was keen on a number of different issues. Be it education, Buddhism or the environment. I remember sitting next to him during a session, and he randomly told me that the youth were not consulted when making their country’s constitution and that the constitution is yet to be passed, no matter how much it was pushed for by the people. At eighteen, I remember I was only interested in getting through to university, and I sat cramming my books to get the grades. I guess I feel life was wasted in a way. So much achieved by some at such a young age, made me wonder where I was heading.

I also realized that age is not a barrier, should you choose to walk a path you are absolutely sure about. It will not be a barrier, unless you let it! I was amazed by the number of youth that were gathered who were keen on becoming entrepreneurs. The only entrepreneur thought that crossed my mind was to set up my own PR Company, but then I realized my wings will have to be really strong should I choose to fly so high. Talking to some, I gathered that it is not important to work for someone for the sake of it, or to get the pay. If you love what you do and it is unconventional, it is all right to go solo and make what you love happen. For example, Manish had started to teach methods of organic farming to farmers in Bihar, India with his friend Shashank. It is not the usual job one would hear about, but if he did not attempt to break the barrier, who would have? Then there was Shreyaz, who was so passionate about becoming an entrepreneur, he would question each and every resource person that came, in an attempt to find answers to the burning questions he had, to take him on his journey. There were more, too many to named individually. I know I was not able to talk to each and everyone on a broad scale but I was truly dumbfounded.

My interest during the entire stay was looking at the cultural factor. True, it had me up at all odd hours of the night, talking and getting to know others, but I would not take back a single moment of it. As a result, I had the wonderful opportunity to make beautiful friendships with Bhutanis, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis; three countries I did not have a single friend from. However, thanks to the SAYC, I am now regionally connected. I am honoured to say that I have good friends from all eight South Asian countries, yes, even Sri Lanka.

My Family: SAMBHAV
pic courtesy of Puran Rasaily from Bhutan

During the Conference, I was reminded again that the Indians and Pakistanis maybe divided by a border line, but their cultures and language go beyond these superficial boundaries. In my “family” when the Indians would suddenly break in to Hindi and passionately talk about something, I did feel left out, but it was amazing to see the Nepali pitching in and then in turn translating to the Bhutani. It was then that I got to know that Nepalese and Bhutanese were mutually intelligible just like Hindi [India] and Urdu [Pakistan] are. Afghans too have no problem interacting with the Indians and Pakistanis. [All three languages have Persian roots.] It then got me thinking about the other South Asian countries. I realized that Sinhala [one of the official languages of Sri Lanka] cannot be understood by any of the nations, but we had the upper hand in understanding Hindi, due to the Sanskrit roots in the two languages. Tamil [the other official language in Sri Lanka] was understood by those present from Tamilnadu, but that was all. Dhivehi [Maldives] had the same problem. Since it was derived from Sinhala centuries ago, there were similar words, which I was able to understand. However, the crux of the language was lost to me. The Bangladeshis were understood by the Bengalis from India. Therefore, it struck me that this region which is home to many burning tensions, can solve its problems if the youth marched forward and made things happen. As for us youth, we do not see the political barriers. I am confident if youth headed the talks between India and Pakistan, there would not be any issue there today.

I realized that in music and dance we find commonalities. The Sri Lankan delegation sang Sasanda Sasanda during the cultural night and without understanding the song or knowing the meaning, our friends [we have become too close to say otherwise] started dancing around us. It opened my eyes! We were talking about a cart wheel which was turning on the road on its journey and here that was depicted by the circle that was formed.

I could go on and on, but I think it is sufficiant to say that if we put our minor differences apart and look at the similarities and strive to work together united, we, South Asia can stand so strong that we can be a power unknown till now. Here is wishing that this will one day come true. Moreover here is my promise that I will, in my little way, help to make this happen!