King Sasanka – Sri Lankan Writer & Retired Aviation Professional.

This matrimonial advertisement appeared in one of the weekend newspapers today.  Quote: Father seeks a graduate daughter,​employed in the public sector or having permanent employment,​ pretty,​ slim, ​born in Kandy or Colombo districts areas,​only for his government employee (in the public sector),​ graduate son, ​born in 1984. Female university lecturers preferred, ​should not be from Galle or Matara districts. Reply with all details.  Unquote. I could not believe my eyes seeing it and thinking that such people do exist in this century still. One may argue that it is his or their choice. Yes, I agree that it was his or their choice but choices, as this made with prejudices, are going to harm society more, if allows to propagate openly and or discreetly. Such people belong to the Stone age and not to the Digital era. I feel sorry for the unlucky woman going into that household if they are really lucky to find one.

  I have been watching Sirasa Lakshapathi seasons, off and on for some years now. Something I have noticed was that majority of the participants was well prepared when it comes to knowledge within our shores. Be its local history, literature, traditions etc, they were well versed. But throw something beyond our shores at them and the majority of them were very shaky.  Sometimes, some have managed to come up with the correct answer but they were not based on solid knowledge but merely guessing it.   Last week, a very young schoolgirl appeared on the show and she has taken the attention of the country by her mastery of many subjects and charm but as I said, it was sad to see how she fumbled at the question involving Adolf Hitler’s life. She was trying to arrive at the correct answer by intelligently deducting unlikely possibilities out but in real life matters sometimes this method does not work right. I see one possible reason as to why many fail at this stumbling bl...

 Just to say thank you for reading. Not a bad readership. Please check out my Youtube Channel  King Sasa's Exploits  too. Thank you again.

I thought an update is in order after my post  Join the FIRE Movement appeared on LinkedIn a few weeks back. A few who are in my network and not total strangers contacted me after reading that, some seeking help and others to share their Feel Not So Good experiences with me. All of them are either already retired or soon reaching that milestone. There is very little help that can be extended to them other than lend an ear to them as they all have passed that threshold of starting the saving ritual a long time ago. One advice I gave them all was to encourage their children to be savvier when it comes to saving for rainy days. The moment the word Frugal being used, many think that it in some way imply being tightfisted and or stingy. Frugal means spending wisely on things that you need and not on things you want. With the present lower interest rates on borrowing, the opportunities are aplenty and your opportunities are only as limited as your imaginations. Subscribe t...

 Approaching retirement age was something I was looking forward to for many years ahead. As I felt, it came faster than I expected because I really had a good time performing my tasks day in and day out. However, after being in the so-called Rat Race for four decades or so, getting adjusted to the new lifestyle will be somewhat hard thing initially for most, unless if you have not prepared yourself both mentally as well as physically to face the new challenges. Retirement means No more schedules to meet neither the current weather is no longer an issue after that and because of that one is left with so much freedom and more time for indulgence. I had no issues getting into the new Retired lifestyle and I did it like a duck into the water. I had a few good habits cultivated in me long before this Retirement saga begins. Reading is one of them and the rest too fit well into the extra available pace without any qualm. Initially, most of my spare time was funnelled to ini...

Before the Tragedy Strikes   Desperate cries Pacing back and forth Seeking attention and help. Cries and eyes turned to plead Hoping the help is at hand  That someone with miraculous powers  Has finally arrived. Like most of us I am as helpless as anyone else Or more and broken too In front of the death. Thought the death means An end of another chapter A fresh start to begin In another cycle once more. Philosophical thought is Futile Especially to a grieving mother.   All she wants now is  Her precious gift back It’s a trick that no one can Perform. Subscribe to  King Sasa's Exploits  for more.

Social Media are awash these days with this new trend called FIRE (acronym for Financial Independence Retire Early) movement in many parts of the northern hemisphere. The first part is a real gem, even if you have decided to ignore the second part and go the whole nine yards and retire at the right legal (stipulated) age. Financial independence is something that can only be achieved with patience and discipline than knowing all the theories of investing etc. The theories will not take you anywhere but patience and discipline will. The best way to have the financial discipline is to first identify; 1. From where the money comes, 2. Where it goes. Let’s assume that you land on your first job in the city, just after your high school at the age of 18. This employment will pay X amount every month as your remuneration, Now, the source of income is known and how much amount would be is no secret too. Let’s get into the second part now of identifying where it would finally end up. To de...