Skip to main content

Oh the 15th

October 15th brings back many memories from the past. 

I remember a mom from wanni the north of Sri Lanka who was super excited to have her caesarian section on a 15 th. 

When I asked her why she requested it to fall on 15th I heard the weirdest reason I've ever heard.

"Doctor, we believe in birth number luck...6 is a good number for a girl, she will be pretty, fair and have a nice comfortable family life too, you see, When you add 1 and 5 it's number 6" she said.

" Aha... I'm 2 and 4, so I'm a number 6 too." I said. 

"Your face says it all doctor." 

I burst into a laugh in my mind of course, while examining her, for this was something ridiculous to hear. 

"Will you do my c section...the child will be fairer then" 

"Oh it doesn't work like that Amma, fairness isn't contagious. Let's wish for good health, bravery and strength. I hope your daughter will grow up to become an independent, strong woman, and most of all a good citizen" 

Even though she nodded to all this, the next day in the operating theatre, she said it aloud when we showed her the baby while her belly was still open.

" Oh, she is fair just like this doctor" she was explaining the number jinx to the anesthetist seated near her head at the operating bed.

"Good that you are a lady... Imagine if she made such a statement to a male doctor," He joked.

Then some other day I told this to my Tamil friend and she explained about the number thingy. I was a six according to this belief. 

"But did you know that I was not at all pretty or lady-like at all when I was a teenager...even now I wouldn't believe that I am in that beauty category. I have had a very challenging life with many struggles. I was never a lady like stereotype but always a rebel in my journey. I guess this number thing has its own outliers and perks." 

Every 15th I remember her as she never stopped making that statement about her baby and the lady doctor who Assisted in her caesarian section. She often visited our ward whenever she came for her baby's clinics and always prayed for my happiness. 

I remembered her today as it was a day like today (October 15th) when a woman wished for her daughter to have lighter/ fair skin probably because of societal misconceptions of the ideal female stereotypes. Dark skin tone due to melonin which is a protective factor in the skin which actually protects us from harmful rays of the sun. It should be considered a blessing as it  protects those live right under the sun. But the face cream commercials gain their customer base by giving them a lighter or fairer skin.

And I remember one such lady, who has a rebellious but a calmer and a humane heart ! Happy birthday Kasuwo… Kasuni Thewarapperuma ! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Thanamalwila to Europe

My 2 cents on Thanamalvila Kollek - තණමල්විල කොල්ලෙක් From Thanamalwila to Europe Having heard about this momentous heart stopper drama from many friends, I started watching the missed episodes from youtube and soon became a fan of it. The story line a friend summed up in a few words made me wonder how it can be of any interest as it was about a timid guy from a village called Thanamalwila who ends up in europe. I, myself who had studied and worked in Europe for a considerable time, have met several youth from rural villages of south and north. They all carried a story of their struggles on the path to find comfort in a European country. That struggle was never easy. The word "thanamalvila" at once, brings up its popularity for a plant which everyone knew about but never spoke out in the open. "Thanamalwila kollek" which "happened" for real on television, have made a huge impact on this and silently created a mark for the society to remember th...
1 comment
Read more

She is my kind of a super hero !

She is my kind of superhero! It was somewhere in 2001 when I first met her for real. But before that, I only saw and knew her from her books. She was one of the prominent writers who filled the children's world when there were no television or digital facilities.  Her stories took me on splendid journeys since I was a child, and I am sure she is one of those key creators who planted the creative seed in me. Even though I used to draw, I never studied art as a subject. However, I used to draw on paper and even on the walls of my house. Anurudh Ekanayake, a relative having seen my paintings, urged me to go to a national art gallery with his mom, a painter there. Since then, I have gone to the national art gallery every Saturday to learn to draw.   Even though I was physically there among the other artists who drew various kinds of historical art, my mind always wandered to the kids’ section where all the kids flock around this tiny lady, Sybil Wettasingha, who would narr...
2 comments
Read more

From North with love ... here's to a start !

M y chest throbbed with immense pain while watching the movie” Ira handa yata,” Under the sun and moon. This movie reflected the 30 years of war that ruined the lives of millions in this country, and I felt it deeply as I was a victim of it since I was born and until I finished my medical degree. The tears of the living dead and the cries of the innocent had been reflected sharply throughout the film as I witnessed most of it myself during the time I served in an immediate post war area. The theme it carried not only bears a clear history of the war but also the humanity and its relativity towards the nation. It takes a lot of courage and kindness to look at one another with love and compassion even when one has lost almost everything he owned. “It’s so good that it all ended doctor” every single person I met, told me, that their lives are so much better, the children are safe and they’ve returned “home”. It was not all sunny and bright! Every day I come across hundre...
Post a Comment
Read more