Haircut & Cathedral

When Larry told our tuk tuk driver he wanted a haircut, Indika said he knew just the place. Not only that, he knew the name of a “special Sri Lanka man style hair for you.”

Indika took us to a Hindi salon and spent a good two minutes describing the haircut to the barber. The place smelled of nag champa incense and after shave, and the radio was tuned to a Hindi music station. I was surprised to see that the barber was barefoot.

Once Larry settled into the barber chair, Indika asked if I wanted to see his church, by which he meant St. Anthony’s Cathedral. I said sure, so off we went.

Along the way, we passed shops selling flowers and holy statues for Hindus and Christians alike. I should have taken photos of the shelves featuring Krishna next to Jesus, and so forth, but Indika’s brisk pace didn’t give me the chance.

A week or so after our first visit to Colombo, a suicide bomber attacked St. Anthony’s Cathedral during Easter Sunday Mass.

These days, the church has a metal detector and guards who check everyone who enters. Indika was eager to show me the shrine for this event and explain that he was on his way to church when the explosion happened. How terrible and scary!

Beyond that, I don’t quite know why it says “Priest Victim” over a case containing what looks to be the body of an uncorrupted saint beside something that reminds me of the Shroud of Turin.
More for the research file!

I enjoyed the koi ponds and little aquariums with fish throughout the cathedral and its grounds. This is a nod to St. Anthony, who is said to have preached to the fish and is the patron saint of fishermen.

By the time we returned to the barbershop, Larry’s haircut was nearly complete. The man even gave him a vigorous head and neck massage. All that for $5 US!Read more