(This Article is kind of a chapter 2 of the previous article, and if you have just arrived here, you might want to read “Born Restless — On Wanderlust, Ancestry, and a Dream Called India” beforehand.) People say, “If you can’t take India, try Sri Lanka.” That sentence used to sound like a compromise to …
Between 1991 and 1994, I traveled to Sri Lanka three times. When you travel solo, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll meet locals. On my second trip, I somehow found myself promoted to the role of prospective son-in-law. Caught in the Rain—and the Family Web One day, as I was taking a walk, I got caught …
In September 1991, I embarked on a journey that would mark my first trip to a far-off destination and symbolize a new chapter in my life. At 22 years old, I was ready to explore the world beyond the confines of my familiar surroundings, a world that had just begun to open up after the …
Sri Lanka in September 1991. The country is marked by civil war in the north of the island, at the southern tip near India. The nation is struggling with Tamil separatists who want to declare the north of the island independent. In the area where I stayed, you notice nothing except a few military roadblocks …