A Blurred 2011

The year went by in a blur,
Didn't see the beginning, middle or the end. 
Days went by with a moment's flutter
To see we round the year's bend.


I seemed to have driven at 100km/h
Because I don't seem to remember the spaces whizzing by.
But there were moments I stopped and climbed to the top of the tower
Because the clouds I could see with my eye.


The perfume of love was sprayed throughout
And I felt the sun's rays as I flew about.
Care for cheap perfume, I did not
Because I was walking, showing my way out. 

Their Story

It's not my story to tell. However, I have been privy to this for a few years now. I was shocked to say the least, when I got to know her story, their story. 

The story's my friend's, her family's. To any outsider, even myself, they would fit in to the neatly worded "happy family" category. Or so the exterior did seem. But the insides of this happy family were crumbling. 

It was the usual story of abuse towards the wife. The husband or my friend's father would have one too many to drink at home and would find sorry excuses to beat his wife. He would leave her with bad bruises after thrashing her around the house, screaming at her, throwing things at her if not her. 

If only he stopped at that. He used to take his intoxicated anger on his children as well; pulling them by their hair, throwing them against the walls etc. My friend used to go through the worst of fits, with being flung down stairs and smashed against cupboards on top of the other abuse. 

Even a call to a friend during an episode like this is life threatening. The father would come looking for her, even if she were to lock herself in the room. Her physical bruises weren't that visible but her mother wasn't that lucky. 

What I found intriguing about this was that, their's is an educated family. Both parents are in  respectable professions, and it really made me wonder why a man of with his background would do something like this to his loved ones and also why a lady of her nature would endure this.  

However, this doesn't end like most of the other stories where the victims don't stand up. My friend took the courage to stand up to her father and made him sign a 'letter' when he was sober, stating that he will seek counselling and that he won't hurt his family again. This was before she was to go to the police and make a complaint and there after go to the Child Protection Authority. It was a tough decision for her and I respected her [and still do] very much. It was heart breaking for me to see her go through this and not be there during the worst of a series of situations and only help her sitting at a pc thousands of miles away in a different land. Unfortunately, the 'letter' didn't work, but she used another technique in the form of non-violent communication which has thus far worked for her, with her father's responses to her changing. 

It has been a year now, and to this day I haven't heard her complain about his behaviour. So I guess, one can get lucky if they stand up and oppose or express their feelings. 


This was originally written for the Beyond Borders blog. The post can be found here.

Your Message to the World Contest

Not in the wildest of dreams would I have thought that waking up this morning, I'd be the recipient of a wonderful e-mail announcing that my entry to the Your Message to the World Contest had indeed won me the first place!


I was jubilant to say the least and bounced all the way to work! =) I must say that this wouldn't have been possible for all my lovely friends who encouraged me and supported me throughout the contest with their 'likes' via Facebook and comments.


This is the first contest of this nature that I entered, and I must thank Saurabh for informing me of this contest! :)  

Beyond Borders: On the look out for ideas in Galle

In the run up to the 2012 Galle Literary Festival in which Beyond Borders will be participating in  two sessions, we decided to run down to Galle to gather some ideas for our dramas. 

We didn't get up early in the morning, as is customary when going our of Colombo, to catch a bus. Rather we decided to go a little late and well late we did become. However, we managed to have a lovely bus ride to Galle, chilled, well rested and ready for action! 

We spoke to youth residing both within the Galle Fort and outside, and were enlightened to a variety of issues that were unique to that area. 

The youth we spoke to, between the ages of 16 and 20, mostly felt that their parents were not giving them the freedom they sought. This was the key issue, resonating the discussion throughout the time we spent in discussion with them. This when questioned, boiled down to external problems like the Western influence within the Fort. According to the children, the parents felt that they were unable to give too much freedom to their children because they might run astray. We realised the locals were experiencing a certain reverse culture clash. The group we spoke to felt that their parents were not like the 'cool' Colombo folk who gave their children ample freedom to engage in youth activities and social work. However, most of the youth were rational, citing the pros and cons of their parents' reasoning, but they wished that they had less restrictions on socialising. 

Another problem that arose was on the topic of education. Like youth from most other places, the youth from Galle too felt that the education system does not allow them the best of opportunities to showcase their talents. They felt the current education system only made them 'bookish' and did not allow them the chance to engage in the sporting activities they are otherwise good at. We found that this is the same story everywhere. When the child comes to higher levels of education in school the parents want their children to prioritise on their education, keeping all other extra-curricular activities at bay. 

Of course, the guys felt that they couldn't talk to the girls and that they were shy; but that was besides the point during the interactive session we had with these energetic youth. 

The Galle Literary Festival will be held from the 18th to the 22nd of January 2012 and beyond Borders will be performing on the 20th and 21st of January.  


This was originally written for the Beyond Borders blog. The original post can be found here. 

Fuji Maru Marking the Global Youth

It is ­once again the time for the youth of Sri Lanka to be excited about the Ship for Youth Programme! This annual event is organized by the Government of Japan and takes place onboard a ship- M/S Fuji Maru. Year 2012 will mark the 24^th edition of this prestigious global youth programme.

Purpose of the programme

The purpose of the Ship for World Youth (SWY) program is to broaden the global view of the Japanese youths, to promote mutual understanding and friendship between Japanese and foreign youths as well as to cultivate the spirit of international cooperation and the competence to practice it. Furthermore this international programme is aimed at fostering the youth with the capability of showing leadership in various areas in the international society.

One of the important characteristics of this programme is that it aims at establishing networks and promotes joint activities among youth from around the world through providing, as the concrete and practical opportunity, the cohabitation and the joint activity on the board of the "Ship for World Youth". The life onboard the ship is the epitome of international society with the youth being exposed to a wide variety of cultures and ideas. It is a window to a multicultural way of life.

Approximately 300 youth from Japan and from various areas of the world live together onboard the ship and engage in various multilateral exchange activities such as studying and discussing common issues from a global viewpoint whilst visiting the countries at which the Ship berths.

History of the Programme

Going in to a little bit of history, this international youth exchange program of the Cabinet Office of Japan originally started in 1959 when it was implemented under the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Mission Program” which the then Prime Minister Kishi had proposed personally in order to commemorate the marriage of H.M. the Emperor, who was at that time the Crown Prince.

In 1967, the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” started as one of the projects to commemorate the Centennial of the Meiji Restoration. Both the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Mission Program” and the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” gave a great dreams and hope to the youth of Japan since the Government would take the initiative to send the youth overseas at a time when it was still very difficult for them to go aboard on their own.

Due to the recent expansion of the international role of Japan and the remarkable advancement in internationalisation in various fields all over the world, the improvement of the contents of international youth exchange programs of the Cabinet Office has been found necessary in order to cope with such a changing social environment. Firstly, therefore, in 1988 the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” was reorganized and upgraded to the “Ship for World Youth Program”. The main objective of the former program was changed, so that the exchange between Japanese and foreign youth became one of the current main activities. The contents also became more academic through the introduction of activities such as discussions and seminars.

Even though SWY has academic contents in its schedule, it does not limit itself to pure academics. The programme as a whole is knowledge gaining and the participating youth (PYs) are able to gain information about their peers and their countries in a variety of different activities such as group discussions, games, volunteer activities and of course, during their free time! The more subject oriented course discussions provide the participating youth with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge with regard to subject oriented matters, for example the United Nations, the environment, Corporate Social Responsibility, multiculturalism etc.

The Ship for World Youth programme is definitely a life changing experience that leaves you wanting to return to the programme again and again! 


The link to the published article can be found here.