Hasitha Adhikariarachchi was on her way to work by train (in Sydney, Australia) when the girl next to her in a Woolworth's uniform fell on to the floor. She had brown skin like her and familiar features; she was of South Asian origin. In Hasitha’s eyes, she was Sri Lankan.
She was not breathing and not responding. Passengers of the train were asked to move to another train, which they did. That girl must be an International student studying in Sydney. Hasitha has heard so much about the struggles of Sri Lankan students here, working in supermarkets and doing cleaning jobs.
Hasitha prayed for that stranger. While Hasitha was at work, she kept refreshing news websites. There was no news of that girl which made Hasitha believe she must have got well by then. The image of the girl in Woolworth's uniform lying on the floor and not breathing continued to disturb Hasitha and she ended up writing a poem titled ‘Breathing’ in her mother tongue Sinhalese. She submitted the same poem to NSW Multilingual Poetry Slam 2017 and registered herself to perform at the event.
It was the first time Hasitha performed at a poetry slam, and she won first place. There was a special element in her performance which was a mimicry of breathing in and out which won the admiration of the audience. Since that victory, Hasitha had been featured in several literary events in Sydney and even got opportunities to do paid performances. In 2019 she became the volunteering literary curator of SAFAL Fest (South Asian Film, Arts and Literature festival) sponsored by the City of Ryde and Macquarie University, where she organized South Asian Poetry Slam and panel discussions that brought together more than twenty writers and journalists of South Asian origin.
Pankaj Upadhayay, an independent filmmaker based in Sydney, created a spectacular poetry video out of Hasitha’s winning poem which you can watch on PenPalPoetry YouTube channel.
Here is the English translation of the poem that won the Multilingual Poetry Slam:
When you came along, I was focusing on my breath
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
Breathe with me
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
Fragile, vulnerable,
What will happen to you and me,
if the breath that goes in does not come out?
Breathe, mindfully,
Breathe with me,
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
Do you feel your breath going in and out of your nostrils?
Do you feel your chest rising and falling?
Softness, and then restlessness
Do you feel that?
Determination, uncertainty,
I do feel
As I accept my breathing as it is,
Do you accept your life?
If the breath that goes out now is the last,
what will happen to you and me?
Breathe with me,
Synchronize with my breath,
Mindfully,
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
Do you see the colors of our breath?
Mine is sky blue
Yours is blood red
Do you feel the limitlessness of the sky in my breath?
Do you feel that freedom?
All I feel in your breath,
is nothing but a warm rush
Breathe with me,
As you like,
In your own rhythm,
Yet mindfully,
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
Do you feel that,
every moment we live is nothing but a breath?
If this is your last breath,
do you know that you and I will never meet again?
We are so much dependent on our breath,
do you see how helpless we are?
Fragile, vulnerable
Softness, restlessness
Determination, uncertainty
Sky blue, blood-red
Limitlessness, freedom,
A warm rush
Breathe with me,
As you like,
In your own rhythm,
One last time
(mimicry of breathing in-and-out)
