About

a random photo of me from Flickr
Indi Samarajiva (CV)
indi@indi.ca

indi.ca
kottu.org
LIRNEasia

Location: Sri Lanka

This is always out of date

My name is Indrajit Samarajiva. My Montreal friends call me Indi. My parents and people in Ohio call me Jit. People in Sri Lanka call me both, but I think I prefer Indi.

I was born in Vancouver in 1982, while my parents were in Grad School there. My family is Sri Lankan. My dad Rohan (who I call Tha Tha) and mom, Sujata (Amma), grew up in Sri Lanka. They worked really hard and got into University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser, and I got born with a Canadian passport.

We moved to Sri Lanka when I was 3. We lived with my Achi for a while, I forgot English and learned Sinhalese, ate some fruit, stepped on the dog’s tail. When I was 5 me (and me two new sisters, one in Amma’s tummy) moved to the USA – Columbus, Ohio. Thatha taught Communications at Ohio State University and Amma worked in the Chemistry Department for a while, then for the Ohio Board of Regents. I forgot Sinhalese and learned English again.

I grew up in a typical US suburb. Rich, white, and boring. but good schools and safe. As soon as I got the hell out of high school I came to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec – which is my favorite city ever. I still love America, especially the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. And the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Boston Red Sox (for Merit).

I graduated from McGill with a degree in Cognitive Science. I’ve studied Psych, Linguistics, Education, Philosophy, and Computer Science. In my last year I learned about DNA and Brains. I also worked full-time for the McGill Faculty of Education (and took breaks for class). I guess I’d describe that job as Office Geek.

I live in my Colombo. I can be contacted via indi@indi.ca

Daily »

Recent Comments


The English Speaking Elite:
  • Mahinda: This is sort of a forum, isn't it? What I mean is that Indi posts something, everyone has a quick read, then starts using this space to air their own views and spread their own message or start their own little (quite often completely unrelated) arguments or whatever... Its got an organic quality, which I think is quite nice......
  • The way of the Dodo: I think we should take some of this stuff and create a forum. That allows for better discussion and more mature dialog. What do you guys think...
  • Mahinda: Just curious... Didn't mean to offend....
Much More Mahinda:
  • Mahinda: Lousy, uninteresting comeback with only mild entertainment value. Where's the wit? Where's the logic/justification to the comment? I'm disappointed in you......
  • David Blacker: Mahinda, I doubt you'd make a good bench press, never mind a press sec....
  • Mahinda: Machang Blacker! Where have you been??! Were you busy washing your hair or something? Oh sorry - you don't have hair, no? So why the offensive attitude? Don't you think I'd make a good press sec? ;)...
The Final Cross:
  • Mahinda: Flyovers, if effectively used, are an excellent method of improving the flow of traffic and congestion. Since you guys don't think the ones that have been built work terribly well towards that objective, lets just blame Mahinda and the Government for this and move on :) Ok. That was just a little joke, but on a serious note, I think development should be well thought out and also implemented in the most cost effective manner. Which...
  • Anon: To add to what Dodo say, before the fly-over there was stop-go traffic at the Dehiwala junction. After the flyover there is a continuous, but slow flow of traffic. Although I use that road only rarely in my limited experience the length of the queue and the time taken to travel is no better after the flyover, and may be slightly worse. Moving the bus stand would be an improvement at Dehiwala, think Nugegoda is somewhat more...
  • Anon: Thanks Shammi, there was a very good interview in the Nation a few years back that opened my eyes to him. Think he did a fair job at the port and according to reports did not take a large "grant" that was in the offing. Agree with Dodo that Mangala's chances of getting elected at the moment look pretty slip....

Recent Posts


Much More Mahinda: Mahinda has got a two thirds majority in Parliament and is using it to extend his term. This is not because he was necessarily so powerful, it was more because the opposition was so weak. Mahinda told Ranil that he was going for an Executive Prime Ministership, invited Ranil to Temple Trees, gave him a new car, visited Ranil’s mother in hospital. Then he turned around and stole two Tamil MPs (got them to cross). Ranil was like ‘harumph’ and went back to meet Mahinda again. Then Mahinda patted him on the back and stole eight Muslim MPs, enough for the two thirds. Now he’s tabled a revocation of term limits for President and a President who also goes to Parliament. One could say this is all Ranil’s fault, but it’s also the fault of people like Sajith for not having the courage to wrench the opposition leadership away.
The Final Cross: Today the SLMC will probably cross to the government side, giving Mahinda more than a two thirds majority. This is the final crumbling of Ranil’s coalition which began in 2001, hastened in 2004 when he didn’t fight President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and now almost completed since he has not fought President Mahinda Rajapaksa. With the last two Presidents he’s tried to negotiate and they’ve simply picked his pockets of his MPs. Now the UNP’s fall is almost complete, but Ranil will probably stay there until there’s no party left. Today the greatest impediment to democracy is not Mahinda but Ranil. The MPs he’s lost over the years now comprise the better part of Mahinda’s government – G.L. Peiris, Bandula Gunawardena, Keheliya Rambukwella, S.B. Dissanayake, etc. Most party leaders would step down to prevent such an implosion, but Ranil hasn’t. So now it looks like Mahinda will get enough to change the Constitution entirely.
The Story Of Mosquitoes: mosquito exhibitAh, the mosquito. Bane of my existence. Like Twilight, they both drink blood and annoy. Only female mosquitos bite, and they are basically molesting us, using our blood to trigger their ovaries. Grossly, they need something called a blood meal in order to produce eggs. Males, by contrast, sip flowers and stuff and then buzz around in big orgy parties for the females to fly into and mate. The female mosquito can take in three times her weight in blood, as you may have noticed from slapping them and getting a handful of your own blood. The horrid creatures sense body heat, breathing and sweat, making it difficult to get away. More dangerously, mosquitoes also spread dengue, malaria and killer blood diseases which hit places like Sri Lanka basically every time it rains. I hate the mosquito, but it was still interesting to read this Slate article on their story. Unlike some others that recommend mosquito genocide, this one recommends a modified co-existence. I think I still prefer killing them all.
Twitter Meetup Today, #TweetUpSL: Sri Lanka is having its first Twitter Meetup today (the 26th) at Coco Veranda on Ward Place at 5 o’clock. Sri Lanka is full of firsts which are insipid (SPEED’s first bottled water ‘for kids’, for example) but this one is somewhat worthwhile. Twitter is a online short messaging service which I now use as my primary news source. I follow a few people that I consider interesting and they post interesting news links and ideas. This gives me a diversity and specificity of fodder, and I also share some. Twitter also has other uses, one of which is starting, promoting and executing a meetup.
The English Speaking Elite: I am part of a dwindling and slightly pathetic race called the English Speaking Elite, or the Esé. Despite filling out Sinhala Buddhist on every police report (they ask), I cannot really speak Sinhala. If I’m under arrest it somehow comes back to me, but for casual inquiries I can’t. The Esé were once the dominant group in Sri Lanka (or Ceylon) or, more properly, the head niggers in charge. We were the government, we were the cops, we were the businessmen, we were the Ministers and we were the Minister’s sons. Now we’re not. Despite being an Esé myself, I think this is most certainly a good thing.