Sri Lanka Dil Se!

Colombo/Bentota Travel Diary (September 30 -October 03, 2018) Wearing a Sri Lankan cricket jersey, he served dinner at the popular seafood restaurant adjacent to the world famous Bentota Beach like a true gentleman. As he fielded queries on the menu with ease, it was cricket that he wanted to discuss with his Indian guests. The fact that Sri Lanka have had a truly forgettable Asia Cup outing and that India had yet again won the Cup, his Indian guests were reluctant to engage much on the game beyond the typical ‘you win some you lose some’ pitch. But the waiter would not budge. His commentary persisted: There was lament in the abject Sri Lankan surrender but hope lay in learning from India. “We need players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.” The Indian guest responded recounting many Sri Lankan cricket greats who had made a name for themselves and were universally loved in India. As the conversation veered around ordering another edition of choice sea food, he popped up the name of M S Dhoni. Dhoni, who hit a last ball six to beat Sri Lanka in 2011 World Cup finals, emerged as the all-time favorite. The reason was not hard to seek: Leadership. The message was loud and clear: Sri Lanka needs a leader like him to get its glory back in the cricket field.nbsp;Probably, what he left unsaid, was what if Dhoni (having retired from Test Cricket and not a certainty for the next year’s World Cup) mentored young bright Sri Lankan talent? Cricket, of course, is a predominant sentiment that binds sports lovers in India and the world. But relations between two countries have a much wider canvas encompassing some good, bad and ugly emotions. The ever growing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka has added a new perspective putting India on the defensive in matters of geopolitics.nbsp; For a section of politicians, India represents the proverbial big brother who has to be ever kept at bay. If you flip through the local media, there is a sense that Indians are out there to usurp all local jobs. Addressing media on October 1, Pivithura Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila alleged that there was proliferation of Indian workers in the country in view of the visa on arrival facility. He charged that this posed a threat to the local talent in view of relatively lower wages accepted by Indian workers.nbsp;nbsp; In contrast, you won’t find China meriting same coverage as India for the right or wrong reasons. The Chinese angle though is implicit. From tourism to infrastructure to ports to anything to do with economy, Chinese view is engaging island citizens from all walks of life. Chinese tourist buses dot the capital city as also Bentota beach habitat. There are no official estimates on split between Indian and Chinese tourists. But, according to Jimi, an experienced tour operator at Bentota, the Chinese numbers have been growing over the years while India’s numbers are by and large stagnant.nbsp; Sri Lanka offers Indian tourists visa on arrival. The local tourism industry has reason to feel happy with the Chinese coming over in large numbers. This in view of Chinese spending being qualitatively better than the average spending by Indian tourists. But money apart, it is Indians who enjoy a pride place in the hearts of Sri Lankans. There is common ground for a conversation given the legacy in the relationship. A personal anecdote illustrates this enduring trend profusely. On way from Colombo to Bentota, the Uber driver (K Devid Hashan) bonded over music, cricket and mobile phone features in halting English. And as the journey ended, he had talked about his desire to visit India (we have not reciprocated visa on arrival facility). In the excitement of the new found friendship over shared aspirations and shared economy, we forgot two pieces of luggage in the Uber dickey. A few phone calls made, David was back at Taj Bentota hotel with the missing luggage and a profuse apology. Truth be told, it was as much our fault as his that we forgot to take out all the pieces of the luggage. David refused to charge extra for the additional trip and simply drove off with a smile asking us to cross check if everything was in place from the missing luggage. The episode illustrates the professionalism of the Sri Lankan workforce but most importantly it showcases the deep people to people connect between citizens of the two countries. The Indian connect is deep rooted and it is time to leverage with it under a strategic plan. Despite the Chinese entry, hotels stayed at in Colombo and Bentota didn’t air any Chinese channel. The Indian presence on the small screen is predominant and make you think you are watching TV at home. Similarly, the road side scene is Indian in nature. From cars to trucks to three wheelers, there is an Indian perspective. Some cars bore Maruti Suzuki signage while as several others simply had Suzuki but the make was obvious. There, of course is a significant Suzuki import of cars (especially Wagon R – different from the Indian model) in Sri Lanka. But you would obviously cross a Leyland truck or an Indian made three-wheeler (incidentally choice of colours for three wheelers is brilliant and the name is typically Sri Lankan – Tuk Tuk).nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;Forced on the back foot by China’s money power, India might yet be able to stay a dominant force in the island nation if it plays to its strengths. China has lent a fresh 2 billion yuan ($294 million) to Sri Lanka to be utilized for any project. China is conquering distance (nearly 5,000 km between Colombo and Beijing) with money by financing large-scale infrastructure and development projects in the island nation. India too is competing for investment but obviously can’t match the scale. India is to invest $40 million to upgrade the Kankesanthurai Port in northern Sri Lanka into a commercial port, and has extended financial assistance from the Export Import bank. Sri Lankan reportedly received aid of $974 million for the Hambantota port project from China, which has already invested $146 million for port development work. India, however, has to bring about a paradigm shift in its strategic intent. It has to be the emotional anchor to a nation being pampered for attention by its immediate and distant neighbor.nbsp;The strategic formulae on offer revolves around 5 Cs: Classroom, Cricket, Cinema, Creativity amp; Convergencenbsp;nbsp;nbsp; India’s influence is under dragon threat it is imperative that well established people to people ties are qualitatively expanded. To leverage the classroom faculty, India has to invest excessively in Sri Lankan youth and use its mushrooming media to showcase its talent. At the level of engaging with top academic talent, India must provide for collaboration at its top engineering and management institutes (IITs amp; IIMs). India must discreetly tap into Sri Lankan cricket management to loan out one of its greats to harness local talent (Virendra Sehwag, V Laxsman, L Shivaramakrishnan, Zaheer Khan, among probable). And if Dhoni fully quits the game ahead of World Cup, he is the best brand ambassador. Cinema led by music is a great reason to bring people of two countries together: import and export of local musical talent is a given amp; Bollywood impact has to be leveraged to motivate local talent to perform at a bigger arena. Creativity has to be the hallmark of the strategy where bilateral talent creates festivals in the domain of literature, music sports and arts. Finally, convergence is a big draw given the common Buddhist legacy. India must quickly explore exchange of ideas at the highest level on mainstreaming Buddha and his teachings across the Asia Pacific region. If what Pethum (Uber driver on our return to Colombo from Bentota) did is any indication, then for sure the people to people relationship between Sri Lanka and India has an unrivalled heartbeat. He could barely speak a word of English but thoroughly enjoyed Hindi music played via Bluetooth on his audio system (Maachis, Dil Chatha Hain, etc). We were more than happy to heed his request for a transfer (music) on his freshly bought mobile phone. Transfer done, his eyes lit up! Pethum’s excitement over the Indian component in his Chinese phone was the big takeaway from a short tour to a place that rightly boasts of scenic locales and people who love to engage with India.nbsp; Pic Courtesy - Prakriti Khar Ayush Khar