When in Colombo, she misses Ganjing and Lucknow’s ‘chat’
She can speak Sinhalese and Hindi with equal fluency, loves the city of nawabs and wants to marry a Lucknowite.
Meet Subhashini De Silva. This announcer with Radio Ceylon of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation thinks Sri Lankans and Indians make a great couple.
Her love for the city grew as she spent over two years learning Indian classical music here.
Subhashini was back in Lucknow on Monday with a 30-strong delegation of journalists from Sri Lanka attending the 68th annual meeting of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists at Visvesvaraya auditorium here. Describing Lucknowites as one of the most cultured people across the globe, she said she was fond of the city’s food too.
What was it about Lucknow that she missed in Colombo? Pat came the reply: Ganjing during the evenings, the ‘chat’ of Hazratganj, chikan kurtas and sarees.
One of the most popular announcers of Sri Lanka, she observed, “The city has changed a lot when I completed Visharad in 1998, the city was not that developed. But it is still
DESCRIBING LUCKNOWITES AS ONE OF THE MOST CULTURED PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE, SHE SAID SHE WAS FOND OF THE CITY’S FOOD TOO.
nice to see the ‘pehle aap’ culture alive.”
“I think India is a second home for every Sri Lankan and, for me, Lucknow holds a special place in my heart because I spent two and half years at a hostel of Bhatkhande,” she gushed.
Asked about the India-Sri Lanka relationship, she said, “There are many Indian businessmen in Colombo. Some of them have married Sri Lankan girls and settled down there.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the talking point among all the Sri Lankan delegates who came to attend the conclave. Subhashini said along with Modi Subrmanian Swamy could win elections in any part of Sri lanka. Karulu Koojana Kariyakarawana, a journalist with the Sunday Observer and executive committee member of the Sri Lankan Press Association, said he was eager to visit Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushi Nagar and Varanasi. Most of his countrymen wished to visit these places once in their lives, he added.
He said this was his sixth visit to India and he had experienced greater closeness among the people of the two countries every time.
MS Ameen Hussain of the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka, said his two sons and daughter were fond of India.
“Most Sri Lankans like to study in Indian universities and Lucknow is their favourite place when it comes to learning classical music,” he said.
Jayasri Munasinghe, deputy news editor with The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd, said many Indians worked for Sri Lankan newspapers. Similarly, many journalists of the island nation wanted to work in India because “it’s a vast country in which to learn”, Jayasri added.