Sri Lanka's distinguished singer/songwriter, Nimal Mendis who is based in the UK explains why he wrote his Christmas hit, 'Cold Cold Night,' now recorded by the Sri Lankan star Gresha Schuilling:
Cold Cold Night
( what inspired me to write Cold Cold Night
by Nimal Mendis )
Christmas Eve, and it was about 8pm in Sri Lanka. My
sister and I had to get a gift for a little nephew
who we were visiting the next day. We had parked our
car opposite the Bambalapitiya flats. I was in the
car while my sister went into the one shop that was
still opened where we could get the gift we wanted.
The others were all little “Kade’s” .
There was a young woman with a child silhouetted by
the side of the doorway. She did not beg but just
stood there. She was obviously poor, a “down and out”.
I remember even the dress she wore, a raggedy sort of
lightblue . Her face was beautiful, especially the
eyes which seem to shine in the dark.The child seemed
to be new born. As I watched her, many people went
into the shop, many people passed her by. All ladened
with gifts, the silver and gold glistened. None
glanced at her, no one paused and gave her any alms.It
was Christmas Eve.
I thought my sister was taking her time. I had no
money in my pockets. If I had I would have gone and
given the woman everything I had. I was waiting till
my sister came back. The image filled me with great
sadness. It was as if the Lord was showing me
something. Was it like this on the road to Bethlehem ?
Just before my sister came out, I saw a young man
looking equally poor, in a torn sarong. He even had a
walking stick that was large, looking like a staff. He
caught her arm, whispered something and they vanished
soon down the Galle Road. My sister came soon after,
laden with not just the one gift for our nephew but
also with Chrismas “tinsel’ decorations, bells baubles
etc.
I told her “What is this all about - Christmas. I
explained to her what I saw. My sister was a very
committed woman. She is the one who always fought for
Social Justice. There were tears in her eyes. The
tinsel & baubles, just like in the first verse of my
song. “You have come my friend............. Santa will
arrive but Jesus is all alone. Yes, He did have Mary
and Joseph but they were totally human and yet were to
fully understand who the child was. Here was the
Christ Child and He was totally alone. The Heavenly
Hosts were in another dimension. They were not there
physically. When Peter cut off the ear of one of the
people who came to arrest Jesus. He told Peter “ Don’t
you know that I can call all the angels to protect me
? but, the Will of God has to be done. Instead,
Jesus,through his Charisma, replaced the ear.
We call it a miracle !!!! ?????
It is exactly like this always when you ponder who
Jesus is. He is always alone when you consider
mankind in relationship to Him. We go about making His
birth into a parody of what the true meaning of His
birth is. We make it into a carnival of eating,
drinking and merry making. We fail to realize the
tremendous event that took place so many years ago.We
tend to forget the many Mary’s the many Josephs, the
many little defenceless new borns as such, embodied
in the image I saw. It still goes on, becoming worse
every year. One has to only visit Oxford Street in the
West end of London from November onwards to see the
build up of all the trimmings that go to make
Christmas Eve, Chrismas Day and the turkey dinner
laced with a Christmas brandy pudding. Jesus is all
alone. Yes, we go to Mass, but Jesus is all alone
The only vision for us that seems worthwhile are the
many committed people here in London who dedicate
their services to the poor in London. To the homeless
in London. We have a very good friend a Jewish girl,
who year after year gives her time and effort to help
in the soup kitchens that are organised during the
cold Christmas season. They are looked after, given
warm blankets and beds. Sharyn comes to us for
Christmas lunch, a modest one, but rushes off to her
commitment and she is Jewish.
I had to address that woman and man of my image. I had
to address their poverty, their loneliness, and
perhaps even loves that they may have lost. Their
heaviness of heart. This, I try to do in the second
verse by asking them to console themselves. It is the
loneliness of Jesus we must try to seek and
understand. As he says “ Seek ye the Kingdom of God
first, and everything else will be added unto you”.
To find out more about Nimal Mendis please access the website:
http://www.mediaeyeproductions.com
