Generation gap
I just had a very pleasant chat with the oldest member of our staff. Mr. P is involved in the administration where I work and is one of the nicest ppl i work with. Unfortunately i don’t get to interact much with him bc he’s not involved in the research stuff so we only say hi bye when we pass one another on the corridor. Anyway today i had to go meet him to sort out some reimbursement stuff which would have taken 2 mins but we had a 30mins chat! He started by asking me about my plans for the next few months and he was very happy that i’m doing a masters and went on to tell me that its good to be prepared for any eventuality given our countries present situation. I felt the pain in his voice as he said this bc he’s obviously someone with a great love for Sri Lanka. And he felt that this was the time to give vent to his feelings and gave me one of the best history lessons about Sri Lankan irrigation and agriculture, about his days in Pollonnaruwa battling mosquitoes and tank flies and how he and his friends had fun despite the lack of electricity and all the pleasures we enjoy today. Apparently they would bathe in the Parakrama Samudraya and then relax in the cool evening breeze sitting on the rock next to the massive Parakramabahu statues. Now if anyone knows the exact place i’m referring to they’d understand how appealing this sounds. Often i wish i lived in a more outdoorsy area, without all the buildings, pollution, cars and noise. But at the same time i love colombo, i love going out and enjoy the limited entertainment our city offers.
Mr. P was by now in nostalgic mode, after all these years he’s still amazed at the brilliance of 12th C Sri Lankan engineers. He actually drew a map on the back of an envelope showing me how the different tributaries have been created in order to provide irrigation for the settlements in the area! And then told me a story of how he and his friends got lost in Wasgamuwa forest!
More than anything else what made our chat so pleasant was his enthusiasm, very few ppl these days are so keen to just talk to somebody. Not that i’m an exception, i hate small talk and go to great legnths to avoid it. It’s different with ppl from that generation. Another time that i had a fascinating conversation was with an 83 year old WW II veteran in england.
I was travelling by coach and i never talk to ppl on the coach usually but that time i sat next to William Kentish and we had a 1.5 hour long chat about WWII (he was in the navy and was involved in the battle of the Bismark!!), his days at cambridge, religion, his wife and kids and so much more. I still remember the first thing he said to me, “You’re young, you’re lucky.” I think our generation discounts the value of conversation, we always have something to do, somewhere to be and so we hardly have time to just talk to someone. People like Mr. Kentish and mr. p probably miss that part of what they used to have back in the day, and greatly value any chance they get now.
I always get along well with old ppl bc they’re willing to talk if you’re willing to listen. We can learn so much from our grandparents generation, particularly those who are not too cynical. Unfortunately quite a few of them are cynical and only ever complain, but i’d certainly recommend just listening to an elderly person, just to hear what they have to say, there’s not much to lose other than time, and hey if they can spare some i’m sure we can!
