This post is mostly to highlight all the incredible people who stepped up to my hour of need (and at times showed more enthusiasm than I did!) and how this random social event sent me on a nostalgic trip doing things out of norm to rediscover my roots.
The announcement of the party set in motion several missions:
- Find a traditional dress and get dressed in it!
- Prepare a Sri Lankan food item
- Prepare a 2-minute speech about the country
- As the day's Table Topics Master, prepare 10 topics in line with the theme
The dress
In a state of panic, I turned to my Fashion Advisor (aka. the Sister) for help. She found a good-hearted Aunt who went out of her way to donate one of her daughter's office saris and get it altered to my measurements. This blue sari travelled from the Aunt's place to my parents' place.
My mother felt that the sari wasn't traditional enough for the occasion and although I was of a similar opinion, I didn't want to object after all the trouble the Aunt took (she even sent me a hand-drawn guide on how to wear a sari). In the events that followed, my mother combed the streets of Kandy town to find me a very traditional batik sari to be worn in the "Kandyan" style. This red and black batik sari then traveled to Singapore, along with matching jewelry (some of which were heirlooms handed down from my grandmother to my mother) through the dad of one of my housemates. The Aunt's blue sari also made its way to Singapore and I've made a note to put it to good use at another opportunity.
The goods traveled a long way in time and distance to grace this event!
Dressing up in a traditional sari is quite a challenge for anyone who rarely wears it. Long ago, a sari involved wrapping oneself in several hundred metres of cloth kept in place by a million safety pins (and that's a mild exaggeration), but now there is also the convenient option of something called a "ready-made" sari for dummies which involves the minimum amount of cloth required and far fewer safety pins. My housemate stuck to her word and stayed back home on her weekend to help me dress up. For this, I was immensely grateful.
Many good compliments were received regarding the dress, including this one from my closest classmates from high school
The food item
I'm not the best cook in the family and I'm not even a sweet-tooth. About 2 weeks in advance, I asked my mother for the simplest recipe she can think of. So she gave me a couple of recipes which she though would suit my level of skill and experience in making a traditional sweets (which was near-zero!).
I did a trial run of something called "naran kavum" which is basically a sugary grated coconut ball coated and deep fried in a batter of rice flour (yes, it is actually very simple to make in theory). A very willing colleague accompanied me to Little India to find cardamoms and coconut for this recipe as well as a traveling bag for me to take home.
It wasn't a great success - the coconut mixture took over half hour to set, which shouldn't be the case. It refused to bind properly into balls. When I looked at the packet of wheat flour in our cupboard (which my mother told was a good trick to help with binding), it was inhabited by a tiny nation of grain weevils. Although I was tempted to use a bit of that flour, I didn't and instead, poured some "kithul treacle" as damage control. The end product looked authentic but barely passed in terms of taste and it was way too sugary for my tastes!
Shu's certified weavil-free "naran kavum"
As I was expressing my anxieties to Katy Kat over repeating the same recipe for the party, she very kindly offered to bake a Sri Lankan "Love Cake" for me. I jumped on the offer in a flash before this chef could change her mind! After what I assume was a long Skype-guided tutorial session on her mom's perfected recipe, Katy Kat had her second (and successful) attempt at baking a Love Cake! Goodness knows what trouble she went through to find the ingredients and bake this delicious crunchy/ nutty/ aromatic cake. She tells me I was fortunate that she accidentally found crunchy melon strips in Singapore for this recipe which we previously assumed was found only in Sri Lanka!
It all turned well. Everyone, including the party guests enjoyed the cake!
(Photo courtesy of Katy Kat)
Shu also made this tag well in advance, but no one at the party had the same idea so I didn't use it at the party
The Event
(photos courtesy of a member who I'll call DB)
The party was a great success. We had guests consisting of 9 nationalities from all around the world; Singapore, Mauritius, India, China, Sri Lanka, England, Hong Kong, Cameroon and Malaysia. They were dressed in their national costumes and for dinner we feasted on a huge spread of mostly home-made international cuisine. It was a fun night of chatting, eating, getting to know more about each other's culture through food, stories and playing games. Not once did I look at a clock like I usually do at social events.
With all energy spent on preparations and rushing straight from work, I completely missed out on preparing a decent 2-minute speech and so I declined the offer to present it during the party. I however volunteered for the role of Table Topics Master since I quite enjoy preparing topics for this session of the Toastmasters tradition.
I was also voted "Best Dressed", an award that I jointly shared with Mrs Cameroon.
Making a celebratory toast with Sprite!
(photos courtesy of a member who I'll call DB)
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