She clung to her mother's hand as she waited with her at the bus stand. She was tired and hungry after school and the schoolbag weighed heavily on her shoulders. The bus came at last and they scrambled in. Her mother sighed when they reached home because it meant that she had to prepare dinner. She couldn't help her mother as she had to sit down to her homework.
She was very sensitive and her heart went out to her hard-working parents as they struggled to manage on her father's salary as a Government Servant. At the same time, her father would tell her old stories of his family and of how Sri Lanka obtained Independence. He worked in the Survey Department and had tramped the jungle and the city mapping out the island. She felt inspired by her pioneering father and by her mother who sometimes sang songs like "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag"as she went about doing the housework.
The years went by and she passed her exams and went to university. She dreamed of becoming a graduate, getting a good job and providing some comforts for the family, especially for her mother in her old age. But there were strikes at the university and in desperation she took a part-time job.
Earning her own money opened up a new world for her. First, she bought a new handbag for her mother with plenty of space for an umbrella to protect her from the rain. She started a savings account and walked when she could to save the bus fare.
After eight years, she passed her final exam and became a graduate. It was not easy to get a good job. Finally she decided to work as a teacher because she could help her old mother with the household chores during the holidays. She also wanted to pass on her knowledge and inspire her young students.
It was at a party that she met and fell in love with a wealthy businessman. They found that they shared many interests and both had dreams although they were different. His parents were divorced and he dreamt of living with a wife who loved him and of raising a happy family. She shared his dream but she also wanted to improve the lot of the majority of people in Sri Lanka.
They had a small wedding and both continued working after marriage. She enjoyed travelling by car and having a home with a few luxuries. She was also able to provide comforts for her aged parents. The couple were thrilled when she became pregnant and they decided to share the work of washing nappies and breaking rest with the baby.
It was when she was pregnant with her second child that her husband came home unexpectedly with the news that his business had crashed and he could not pay the bank loan. He cried on her shoulder saying that now he could not fulfil his dream for his family.
Having grown up to become used to poverty, she was not as shattered as he thought she would be. She shared with him memories of how her parents struggled, sang, told stories and brought her up.
You could probably see her at the bus stand with her marketing bag, waiting with her two children as her mother had done before her. She is not ashamed to be poor and to be identified with the majority of Sri Lankans as she scrimps and saves while singing and telling stories to give her husband and children ideals to live by.
Money you can have today and lose it all tomorrow but you and I can have a happy life in sunny Sri Lanka even if we have only one meal a day.
