Analogikal

“Ok I will see you”

These words came on my screen. I was quite disappointed. I expected more from him. This message was from my AirBnB host, whom I also considered a friend. However, it had been three years since the last time I had met him. It was alright for him to not remember me nor have any affection towards me. It was my fault that I expected more from him. There was a lack of emotion and a lack of excitement. This past year I have spend in trying to get rid of this perceived celebrity status I carried about myself. However, I expected more from Rasika. Well, I would just have to deal with my disappointment. My trip to Sri Lanka was fast approaching and staying with Rasika would be the start to my trip. It seemed less exciting now.

I wasn’t very eager about staying at Rasika’s place any more. I was quite excited about meeting him after three years. I had placed a larger than proportionate importance to my interaction with him and his family three years ago. Evidently, he didnt feel the same way. 

The flight to Colombo was quite eventless and upon landing I called up Rasika as instructed. He answered the call with the old familiar smile and warmth. Could I have conjured up an inexistent sense of indifference from him? He reached on time to pick me up. With the characteristic smile I so very fondly remembered and the “Hi Ramees!!” it was back to three years ago. It all came rushing back to me in a flash. How uncomfortable he had been with English in the past. His words could not have conveyed the affection his smile and his bald head did. You see, camaraderie and adoration is seldom expressed in words. 

It might come across as strange and needy for me to be seeking validation and affection from my AirBnB host. Well, here’s the thing; the last time I travelled to Sri Lanka, I was trying to escape the shadow of a personal tragedy. The warmth and hospitality I felt at Rasika’s place was one of the reasons that made me fall in love with this country and all the people whom I met throughout my last visit here; Lankan and otherwise. In the past three years my values and objectives have changed quite a bit. To sit with Rasika and reconnect felt natural. It felt real. 

Very rarely do I make a connection with someone, especially in the first go. I wasn’t ready to let go of this connection I shared with Rasika. We spoke about his kid growing up and both of us growing old in the last three years. For one thing, we were both bald now. The rest of the journey, we spoke about growing a beard and how patience is the key to growing a full beard. He had taken to organic farming and was trying to be as self-sustained as possible. Tourism isn’t the same as it used to be and competition meant he got a smaller piece of the smaller pie. 

Meeting someone as nice and pure as Rasika validates my decision of quitting a nine-to-five desk job and doing whatever I feel like doing. I chose to stay an extra few hours the next morning skipping the initally intended train and spending the morning in Rasika’s garden. We continued to speak about the kind of work we do and how it has to bring satisfaction. If ever you need to see someone in ‘Flow’ as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi all you need to do is watch Rasika toil away in his garden. He fed me some papaya and cream bun with a very apologetic tone as he could not arrange more for me. Little did he know how much he had filled my heart and mind with what he had unknowingly done.

Sorry folks. There is no analogy here. I just had to pen this down as I am grateful to amazing people like Rasika in my life. I make it a point to meet one of them every now and then. Just being around them makes things brighter. In the past I have sought them out to liven things every now and then in between a monotonous routine. Even when life is going good, it never hurts to make it slightly brighter.