“What is the best part of your life that you remember?”asked Navin.

“I remember going to school and meeting up with friends.  Mummy still has pictures of my first schooldays!”replied Jacintha.

“Well, those are nice memories.  Did you have friends from different communities; Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers?”asked Navin.

“Of course.  We never discussed backgrounds and simply called each other by the first name!”recalled Jacintha, adding, “I think that my best friend’s Mum had a “pottu” or tilak on her forehead and now I know that she must have been a Tamil.  But at that time, nothing mattered.  We just had fun in school.”

“You are lucky.  In some schools, the Sinhalese were separated from the Tamils and Muslims and the language was also different.  In your school, it must have been the “Link Language” which is English that was used.”commented Pravin.

“I think so.  But I also remember that you could speak in your mother tongue and the teacher would translate without making an issue of it.”remarked Jacintha.

“SO the children mixed freely and bonds were quickly formed without separating boys and girls or Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers.  We even had a little Ethnic Chinese little girl in our class!”she added.

“I think that the present Minister of Education also spoke of mixed communities in schools and I feel that it is a good thing. Even girls and boys should be mixed so they don’t look for differences but simply get along.”said Pravin, adding, “Did your parents keep in touch with your first schoolfriends?”

“Not all but some.  I think they realized the importance of keeping in touch with different ethnic groups even in a small way!”said Jacintha.

Let’s recall happy memories especially of different ethnic groups.

By Sirohmi