05/12/2025
There was a time in old Ceylon when people didn’t need weather apps, satellites, or emergency broadcasts to know what the sky was planning. They listened instead to the soft, urgent cries of Wahi Lihiniyo announcing evening rain, to the thick morning mist that warned of an unforgiving afternoon sun, to the strangely generous fruiting seasons that whispered of storms brewing far beyond our horizon. Nature spoke in small, precise languages, and our elders understood every syllable. They’d stack grain, dry fruits, tie bundles of firewood - not out of fear, but out of respect. A quiet pact with the island that raised them.
Last week, as Cyclone Ditwah tore through us and left heartbreak in its wake, that old wisdom feels painfully relevant again. Our thoughts are with every family affected, every life shaken, every home damaged. May you find safety, strength, and steadiness in the days ahead. And maybe, just maybe . . . this is our reminder to listen again - to the birds, the winds, the trees and most importantly to the old Ceylon ways that once helped us prepare for what’s coming. We owe it to this island, and to each other, to regain that wisdom so future storms find us ready, not blindsided.