Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated in the Indian Ocean right below India and belongs to the South Asian region. Its inhabitants are known as Sri Lankans. Sri Lankans are comprised of several ethnicities; Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Muslims, Sri Lankan Tamils, Burghers, Moors, Parsis, Bharathas, Malays, Kaffirs, Indigenous Veddhas and several more minorities.
Sri Lankans are generally a laid-back people; they like their leisure and doing things at their own times and may seem downright idle to a person who’re not used to their nature. Sri Lankans enjoy their holidays with a passion – a fact only exemplified by Sri Lanka being the one of the countries with a most number of National Holidays (A staggering 26 Holidays a year). Sri Lankans as a habit are not punctual – being 5-10 minutes late is the general norm, and ‘impolite’ only starts after 20 minutes or half an hour.
Their many holidays are spent idling at home with a cup of fine Ceylon
tea, visiting closer friends or relatives for a leisure chat or by all means playing their favourite sport. Sri Lanka's national sport is Volley Ball; but it is seldom played except on beaches and school tournaments. It is the Unofficial National sport of Sri Lanka that is closest to its people- CRICKET. A typical Sunday or a national holiday in Sri Lanka is marked with innumerable cricket pitches scattered all over lonely roads, grounds and fields. The biggest pastime of the Sri Lankan population, after playing cricket, is watching the Sri Lankan National Team playing cricket. It is common for businesses to shut down when very big matches are televised. This was the case in 1996 when the Sri Lankan team beat Australia in the finals to win the Cricket World Cup. The whole country shut down as though there were a curfew imposed upon the whole island.
Sri Lankans like their food spicy and served hot. Though the nation nurses an unbeatable fondness for bread (for breakfast and dinner), it is considered just plain ‘wrong’ if you don’t have rice and curry for lunch. Lankans have an insatiable appetite for Kottu (Kottu, or Kottu Roti is a Sri Lankan dish, made from a Lankan roti called "Godhamba Roti" and Vegetables, Egg, and/or Meat, and various spices); Sri Lankans are so fond of Kottu that the sound of making Kottu (Distinct sound of metal on metal when Kottu blades chopping roti, meat, and vegetable on a heated metal sheet) is
music to their ears regardless of how noisy it is. Other Sri Lankan favourites are Hoppers (Egg or plain), Cheese Roti, Parata, Milk-rice etc. The traditional Muslim dessert Vatalappan is an all-time favourite while Wadai, Poori and Thosai are the most popular Tamil delicacies. There are several modern inventions dear to a majority of Lankan hearts such as Seeni Sambol with bread (Breakfast/Dinner), Pol-sambol with bread (all-time popular breakfast), Chillie-paste mixed with Marmite©, Pol-sambol with a dash of Marmite© (Lankans are exceedingly fond of Marmite©). The all –time favourite Lankan drink is
Ginger-Beer while they’re also passionate about
Tea- Plain/with milk or Ginger tea (Tea boiled with a dash of
Ginger), Iced Milo©, Lemonade, Lime Juice and Iced Coffee. A very popular alcoholic drink is Toddy or Arrack, both made from palm tree sap. Sri Lankans also take delight in Chocolate – a Sri Lankan who knows his fellow Lankan relatives and friends would not dare to return from a trip abroad (whether it be business or leisure) without several generous kilos of Chocolate.
Sri Lankan fashions are a mixture of popular culture tides from the western world and a closer source-Indian Bollywood culture while a sub-culture of fashions inspired by traditional Sri Lankan ethnic-wear also exists; a style slowly yet effectively catching up among Lankan youth is Sri Lankan ethnic-wear mixed with fashions of the international pop-culture (Ex; 2000-2003: Short/long Cotton Tunics/Kurths tops with denim jeans, 2002-2004: Ethnic shawls with plain T-shirts and Jeans/skirts, 2004-2009: Traditional ethnic jewelry worn with T-shirts, jeans, skirts etc., ).
The dominant
music tide in the Lankan youth culture is usually a mixture of the current world-pop-culture with a clever twist of Lankan falvour (Ex; as of 2001-2009 Hip hop
music has been a great influence in the local
music culture while sub-cultures like Alt. Rock, Heavy Metal, Sri Lankan Classical also exist). Portuguese Colonialism also had a considerable impact on local
music and instruments while African slaves called kaffrinha, and their dance
music was called Baila had a great and lasting impact on the island’s
music; Sri Lankans enjoy good Baila
music with a passion to this day. Traditional Sri Lankan
music includes the hypnotic Kandyan drums - drumming was and is very much a part and parcel of
music in both Buddhist and Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. The Signature Sri Lankan drum beats are often mixed with modern beats in present
music.
Sri Lankans overall are laid-back, friendly and great lovers of spicy food, good drinks and Cricket.
