Facing Maha

As the day of take off appears at winking distance, I feel a sense of apprehension and am going in circles, packing unpacking, listing de-listing... there seems to be two piles of the same and after over packing, I have under packed.

It goes on.

On cue, I am unsure of what I will discover, stories that will be told, treks & paths, dots & connections that might disappear as fast as they appear. What exactly I am trying to do and what I want to say at the end of it all, remains ambiguous.

I have a sense of Migrancy myself, and such a word should exist., in the way I am still seeking my own space to rest, both literally & metaphorically. 

My attempts of assimilation, be one with my surroundings, as I keep moving from place to place making 'home', trying to find 'home', is not far off either.

Will I be comforting and accommodating enough for strangers to evoke fellow feelings of acceptance and sharing? Will I in turn be offered the same to be left alone or to take root in some form, some where? 

From tomorrow, I attempt to follow the rain. Wind, seeds & spores. Where the fertile soil shifted. 

I trail people who abandoned their cities and followed their kings for safety. Took their kings to safety.

I rub elbows side by side with women who travelled far & found ready markets for their labour, skills and bodies.

I follow  people who were told to go plant the arid lands green and drive their stake and claim.

I seek out seekers, the foolish and the wide eyed who happened upon this land, and found home.

I sit with the stayed behind and the left behind.

None of this may happen and everything just might.

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Studio Residency Award 2020 - Pro Helvetia - Swiss Council for Art & Culture

Due to C19, I have taken the option of Home Country Residencial Grant for 3 months.

Layla Gonaduwa 

2020

(Photo - Following a waterfall at Knuckles)