Chapter 16, Summer 2021
In a Past Life: Neel Welandagoda Katherine Bertone In a Past Life features aspects of the lives of library staff before they joined the library world. Library Specialist Neel Welandagoda has made a lot of people—both staff and patrons—feel welcome at the library over the past two decades. I would love to know just how many have been warmed by his remarkable smile; I estimate the number to be in the hundreds of thousands. When I started at BPL in 2006, Neel was here, smiling that wonderful smile, and making me feel that he was glad I had arrived. Neel has filled the seemingly natural role of welcomer for a long time now. But, of course, it hasn’t always been this way: in his “past life,” Neel knew what it was to be a newcomer, too. And February 4, 1998—the day Neel landed stateside from his native Sri Lanka—was not the first time.
Neel W. during his college years in India, temporarily giving his 100-watt smile a bit of a rest. Photo courtesy of Neel Welandagoda
About a decade before that, Neel became a newcomer student, venturing to India to study at the University of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram. (After three successful years, he earned his BA in English Literature, World History, and Sanskrit Language.) During his post-college years, he had the chance to become the newcomer as traveler, visiting Singapore and Malaysia for several weeks. And then there was his time in Australia as newcomer on assignment. In the 1990s, Neel was recruited for his language skills and experience as an instructor to work within a Sri Lankan community in Australia. He taught the Sinhalese language and history to children who were growing up speaking English as their first language. This was Neel’s first time in the “western world” and, as he recalls, he certainly felt some culture shock. The food was different and he had to become adept at preparing his own meals. The English was different; he was used to accents influenced primarily by British English. The space was different. “Living in Australia made me feel isolated at times due to [the] enormity of the land and sparce population compared to the crowded living in Sri Lanka. But I felt I could breathe better,” remembers Neel. After a few months of settling in, he found plenty to appreciate: dry weather and cooler winter seasons; fluffy koalas; the country’s friendly, open-minded people; and the satisfaction of growing more independent in this new place. But none of those was the best thing. The best thing was what Australia didn’t have: monster cockroaches. Neel discovered with delight that, while the Land Down Under is home to some insignificant varieties, it is apparently not home to the disgusting beasts he had grown up with. “Cockroaches are my worst nightmare,” he confesses. 33
