What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka Podcast
Oct 19, 2026 · 25 min · 11 segments
What choices might Sri Lanka make to fortify its heart? And what choices were made long ago?
David SwarbrickHost
Lovely as it is, the Declaration of the Rights of Man cannot legislate for everything, especially for those two things most travellers fear in the jungle, leeches and mosquitoes.
Scientists tell us that if you are pregnant, if you wear dark clothes, drink alcohol, have type zero blood or steer towards the XXL section of the clothing shop, you are much more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes.
Like stinger surface-to-air missiles, they seek out those with especially high body temperatures, their tiny, fearfully precise sensory pores on the lookout for any passer-by who is sweating more.
None of this should really surprise us, for we are mere slaves to what lies in front of us.
Our brains process a face in a hundred milliseconds, our nose picks up on every scent and pheromone, and our ears instantly take in what the pitch of a voice tells us about another person.
And if the signs are good, we can look forward to a nice bit of oxytoxy, that joyful release of oxytocin when you look at a friend, lover, or better still, your dog, full in the eyes.
Later, perhaps, a few more nuanced factors shape attraction or non-attraction.
Do you share values, background, or interests? Is who you see kind and responsive? Can they make you laugh? But not so long ago in Sri Lanka, all this paled by comparison with alternative methodologies.
The bank account, the bloodline, and the views of family members were what decided the niceties of mutual attraction, with a little recruitment help from the odd classified advertisement.
Parents are looking for a suitable groom, reads one recently spotted in a local newspaper, for only daughter, 45 years old, 5 foot 3, fair, divorced after a short marriage and no children.
It was horoscopes, matchmakers, and astrologers that people consulted, not their hearts.
Family members and close friends were interrogated, and a list of possibilities drawn up with their past history, education level, and job prospects carefully assessed.
Cross-cousins and distant relatives were most favoured to preserve caste and status.
An awkward full-family first meeting usually followed, and once things were rolling, it was hard for anyone involved to pull out.
By then, anyway, negotiations over dowries and living arrangements were in full swing.
Lovely as it is, the Declaration of the Rights of Man cannot legislate for everything, especially for those two things most travellers fear in the jungle, leeches and mosquitoes.
Scientists tell us that if you are pregnant, if you wear dark clothes, drink alcohol, have type zero blood or steer towards the XXL section of the clothing shop, you are much more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes.
Like stinger surface-to-air missiles, they seek out those with especially high body temperatures, their tiny, fearfully precise sensory pores on the lookout for any passer-by who is sweating more.
None of this should really surprise us, for we are mere slaves to what lies in front of us.
Our brains process a face in a hundred milliseconds, our nose picks up on every scent and pheromone, and our ears instantly take in what the pitch of a voice tells us about another person.
And if the signs are good, we can look forward to a nice bit of oxytoxy, that joyful release of oxytocin when you look at a friend, lover, or better still, your dog, full in the eyes.
Later, perhaps, a few more nuanced factors shape attraction or non-attraction.
Do you share values, background, or interests? Is who you see kind and responsive? Can they make you laugh? But not so long ago in Sri Lanka, all this paled by comparison with alternative methodologies.
The bank account, the bloodline, and the views of family members were what decided the niceties of mutual attraction, with a little recruitment help from the odd classified advertisement.
Parents are looking for a suitable groom, reads one recently spotted in a local newspaper, for only daughter, 45 years old, 5 foot 3, fair, divorced after a short marriage and no children.
It was horoscopes, matchmakers, and astrologers that people consulted, not their hearts.
Family members and close friends were interrogated, and a list of possibilities drawn up with their past history, education level, and job prospects carefully assessed.
Cross-cousins and distant relatives were most favoured to preserve caste and status.
An awkward full-family first meeting usually followed, and once things were rolling, it was hard for anyone involved to pull out.
By then, anyway, negotiations over dowries and living arrangements were in full swing.
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