My Biography- Part one -My Adulthood!
I was born in 1957 in Srilanka where I grew -up under severe financial background.My father was a teacher by profession,so did the mother! Someone might think because both were employed I could have had a better life.No! It did not happened that way as I expected!! My father had also got a plot of paddy field in which he harvested paddy for our family consumption.However the marital relationship between my parents was not always in good shape.My father used to take toddy( a locally brewed alcohol obtained from Palmyra h tree)and hit my mother often!!I was helpless at that time to give protection to my mother.I was very small at that time,I also had two brothers and two sisters !!Even though the income was sufficient to look-after the family,my father always quarreled with my mother and the whole village knew this sordid affair between my parents! For the villagers,it was a niece scene but for us it was terrible nightmare! More or less he tortured my mother for not bringing dowry from my maternal grandpa's family! My maternal grandpa was a cigar roller and was not rich & he never had a substantial income for his survival! He used to live in an adjoining thatched roofed hut with my grandma.
When I was studying in the fourth standard in a nearby village school, my father always brought servant girls and boys for domestic help!
I was the eldest in the family and grew-up under theses circumstances.My father did not even allow me to play with other children who lived close-by to our house.My father hated all who lived nearby!! Somehow I managed to study and entered a College for my secondary level.I went to the city close-by for this purpose.
I got lesser marks in all subjects and became uninterested in studies!In the meantime my father's torture to my mother had increased to an unproportionate level.After some time ,I sat for the university entrance examination for the third time and entered the University! University entrance was the way-out for me to leave my family surroundings at that time. I entered the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa in 1979. I could not be selected to do Engineering because of the lower marks!However We had an aptitude test at the University to be selected to the course of architecture.The University of Moratuwa was located in the outskirts of Colombo.I went to the University to register myself and had to face the so-called "ragging" by the Sinhalese & Tamil senior students!
I had no idea about where I should take an accommodation! while I was going on the street with worries, fortunately I met one of my College mate,Thabendran! He said that he was doing a National Diploma in Technology at the said University and was willing to accommodate me in his boarding place!Because of him finding an accommodation was not a problem for me and I could be able to stay with him during my first year at the University!! My friend insisted to take meals also from this boarding place to avoid unnecessary traveling to the city center for meals at nights. I used to take breakfast & lunch at the University canteen because it was cheap!When my friend who gave me accommodation was in the final year and I was in the first academic year doing architecture! Because of the fear of ragging I refused to attend the classes but my friend told me not to be afraid and said that he would protect me from evil acts of the seniors.
As soon as my friend & I entered the main gate of the campus some seniors ran towards us and demanded my name and the faculty ! Some side-lined my friend and & forcibly took me with them to a dark corner of the ground floor class room!!
The seniors brought several other students with them to the dark corner where I already stood!!
They have threatened us with bodily harm if we did not obey their orders ! One man came in front of me and demanded to act like a girl & sing a song with filthy words! Because of fear I composed a song on my own and sang with acting! Suddenly another man came and asked whether I had a girl friend!
When I looked-up, I saw all freshers were made naked and seniors were having their own fun with them! After dark befell, all of us were taken to another boarding place where we were asked to chop the firewood for senior's cooking .The freshers who refused were given severe punishments for two to three weeks.Because I complied with their orders,they released me from their captivity after two days & the person who ragged me became as my friend!Sometimes he taught me the lessons and cleared my doubts!
In cases of fresher girls the senior girl students did the ragging!But on a certain occasion I found that all girls were hoarded in a room and were asked to bent under the tables and chairs. Some perverts rubbed the nickers of the girls by their hands and the girls were silent as they could not resist! It was an indecent scene and I did not expect that from the Sinhalese guys at the university!
Even though I had few friends,I scored more marks in my second academic year at the university and became the batch top!! I managed to pass the entire degree course in four years!
After my passing-out I tried to a work as an Architect ( Trainee) in the city of Colombo, but failed due to the reason that all the architectural firms expected very fine drawings ! I was an average student with no specific talents! Due to the failure to find a job ,I became very vulnerable and was jobless for six years.Since I came from a rural family I had no influential persons in the city of Colombo to help me!!I stayed in the vicinity of the campus paying a nominal amount as room rent! Since I was the eldest in the family, I did not know what to do!
Even though I passed my architecture degree at the age of twenty-five,I was not lucky-enough to find a work as an architect (Trainee) until I reach the age of twenty-eight!I wished to study further and applied for the Oslo school of architecture,Norway in 1984.I was selected for the course in architecture! However due to financial constrains I did not go to Oslo, Norway to study the said postgraduate course!!
In the mean time my University mates tried their luck by applying for over-seas employment. I also wanted to join with them.I found an agency in the city which promised me to send Germany!I did not have enough money for the said traveling.However I managed to get fifteen thousand rupees, which was only enough for the upward journey at that time!
When I was studying in the fourth standard in a nearby village school, my father always brought servant girls and boys for domestic help!
I was the eldest in the family and grew-up under theses circumstances.My father did not even allow me to play with other children who lived close-by to our house.My father hated all who lived nearby!! Somehow I managed to study and entered a College for my secondary level.I went to the city close-by for this purpose.
I got lesser marks in all subjects and became uninterested in studies!In the meantime my father's torture to my mother had increased to an unproportionate level.After some time ,I sat for the university entrance examination for the third time and entered the University! University entrance was the way-out for me to leave my family surroundings at that time. I entered the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa in 1979. I could not be selected to do Engineering because of the lower marks!However We had an aptitude test at the University to be selected to the course of architecture.The University of Moratuwa was located in the outskirts of Colombo.I went to the University to register myself and had to face the so-called "ragging" by the Sinhalese & Tamil senior students!
I had no idea about where I should take an accommodation! while I was going on the street with worries, fortunately I met one of my College mate,Thabendran! He said that he was doing a National Diploma in Technology at the said University and was willing to accommodate me in his boarding place!Because of him finding an accommodation was not a problem for me and I could be able to stay with him during my first year at the University!! My friend insisted to take meals also from this boarding place to avoid unnecessary traveling to the city center for meals at nights. I used to take breakfast & lunch at the University canteen because it was cheap!When my friend who gave me accommodation was in the final year and I was in the first academic year doing architecture! Because of the fear of ragging I refused to attend the classes but my friend told me not to be afraid and said that he would protect me from evil acts of the seniors.
As soon as my friend & I entered the main gate of the campus some seniors ran towards us and demanded my name and the faculty ! Some side-lined my friend and & forcibly took me with them to a dark corner of the ground floor class room!!
The seniors brought several other students with them to the dark corner where I already stood!!
They have threatened us with bodily harm if we did not obey their orders ! One man came in front of me and demanded to act like a girl & sing a song with filthy words! Because of fear I composed a song on my own and sang with acting! Suddenly another man came and asked whether I had a girl friend!
When I looked-up, I saw all freshers were made naked and seniors were having their own fun with them! After dark befell, all of us were taken to another boarding place where we were asked to chop the firewood for senior's cooking .The freshers who refused were given severe punishments for two to three weeks.Because I complied with their orders,they released me from their captivity after two days & the person who ragged me became as my friend!Sometimes he taught me the lessons and cleared my doubts!
In cases of fresher girls the senior girl students did the ragging!But on a certain occasion I found that all girls were hoarded in a room and were asked to bent under the tables and chairs. Some perverts rubbed the nickers of the girls by their hands and the girls were silent as they could not resist! It was an indecent scene and I did not expect that from the Sinhalese guys at the university!
Even though I had few friends,I scored more marks in my second academic year at the university and became the batch top!! I managed to pass the entire degree course in four years!
After my passing-out I tried to a work as an Architect ( Trainee) in the city of Colombo, but failed due to the reason that all the architectural firms expected very fine drawings ! I was an average student with no specific talents! Due to the failure to find a job ,I became very vulnerable and was jobless for six years.Since I came from a rural family I had no influential persons in the city of Colombo to help me!!I stayed in the vicinity of the campus paying a nominal amount as room rent! Since I was the eldest in the family, I did not know what to do!
Even though I passed my architecture degree at the age of twenty-five,I was not lucky-enough to find a work as an architect (Trainee) until I reach the age of twenty-eight!I wished to study further and applied for the Oslo school of architecture,Norway in 1984.I was selected for the course in architecture! However due to financial constrains I did not go to Oslo, Norway to study the said postgraduate course!!
In the mean time my University mates tried their luck by applying for over-seas employment. I also wanted to join with them.I found an agency in the city which promised me to send Germany!I did not have enough money for the said traveling.However I managed to get fifteen thousand rupees, which was only enough for the upward journey at that time!
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