There has always existed, at all ages and in all societies, the clash between urban sophistication and rural manners and attitudes. What is truly shocking in contemporary Sri Lanka, however, is the degree of pastorality in society - not in the villages but in Colombo itself.
It is in this cosmopolitan beehive that you can meet the true rustics. While many in the villagers aspire to (openly or in secret) to some degree of urban sophistication, Colombo citizens aspire to become villagers. More often than not, they actually are.
By this, I don't mean people like those characters in the Martin Wickremasinghe novels, villagers who have made good in the big city, who are nostalgic about the simple routines of their erstwhile pastoral lives. I mean here second or third generation city dwellers, people who have spilt enough shampoo and deodorants on themselves to fill the Kalaweva tank many times over. These are the types who now profess a true love for the village, its ways, its clean air and its organically-cooked food.
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