’’Pillow Talk’’ with Hirushi Jayasena: The Earth and Humankind 

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a special "Pillow Talk" episode on my video talk show, the first and only one of its kind. Very few people can get me in bed, and one of them is Hirushi Jayasena, for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. She is one of the smartest, sharpest, and most breathtakingly beautiful girls in existence, on top of being endlessly compassionate and effortlessly sweet and kind. Angela Seneviratne had nothing but the highest praise for her upon meeting her at Jetwing Colombo Seven, and I was looking forward to this episode tremendously, because Hirushi has interviewed me on no less than three occasions, so it was fun to be on the 'other side' of the talk show. Of course, GEHAN COORAY'S MEETING OF THE MINDS was conceptualized as a discussion series, rather than an interview series, and if any millenial can discuss virtually any given topic at great length, with stupendous intuition and understanding, it's Hirushi. Today, we talk about topics that are very close to both our hearts; the Earth who is our Mother, and Humankind, who we would like to consider our brothers and sisters, although sadly, not all of them live up to the standards set by Mother Earth. 

This is definitely an episode you do not want to miss, as it takes place entirely inside my hotel room, with an unprecedented degree of intimacy between Hirushi and me, no, not THAT kind of intimacy, but the kind of human intimacy that flows from being PSYCHOLOGICALLY IN SYNC. In fact, Psychology was one of the subjects we both studied at University in the U.S; Hirushi at the University of Central Florida, and I at the University of Southern California. Indeed, the similarities between us are uncanny. We are both Singers, we both studied at two of Colombo's leading schools (Visaka Vidyalaya and St. Joseph's College respectively), we have both experienced both the positive and toxic sides of social media as public figures, and we are both hosts of our own shows on the Daily Mirror platforms. We both have minds of our own, which means we have very 'adult' relationships with our respective parents, we always express our points of view, even if it sometimes takes our parents a while to see where we are coming from (which they invariably do, as we discussed). I have to note here that Hirushi is by far the youngest guest on my talk show, she is nearly an entire decade younger than I am, and yet she can hold her own in a discussion with me or with ANYONE. One can't shake off the feeling that, for all her youth and beauty, she too is an "old soul", which is one of the many things I find so endearing and admirable about her. 

This is a girl who can easily settle for the superficial nonsense that many public figures her age bask in these days, but anyone who has watched her own talk show or followed her on social media will see that she always has something specific and meaningful to say. No idle chatter for Hirushi, banter perhaps, but not mindless chatter, and never ever gossip! One of the first things I talked to her about on today's episode (which can be viewed on Daily Mirror Online's Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter channels), is the great distinction between the Earth, which is natural, and the 'World' which is an artificial man-made construct. I have always been amazed at how many people confuse and equate the two, and Hirushi is another like-minded individual who has often pondered on this distinction herself. She shares my belief that if we are to be truly connected to Nature and to the Universe by and large, we have to first see ourselves as Children of the Earth, with a profound sense of awe in regard to our planet and our cosmos. We cannot be Arrogant "Men (and Women) of the World" who fancy ourselves evolved to the point where we are greater than the Natural Forces around us, when our so-called "evolution" is but an EYE BLINK in the much grander, over-arching context of both the Earth and the Universe. 

I think it's safe to say that the earth would be a much better place if more men invited girls like Hirushi to their hotel rooms to discuss subjects like THIS, rather than to indulge their baser impulses. And in case anyone reading this gets any ideas, no, this is pretty much the only time that Hirushi would step into ANY hotel room with a guy! Her mother or her father, who is a highly distinguished Physician, will chaperone her everywhere she goes, as befits a Young Lady, and I consider myself immensely privileged to have been given our privacy to shoot this episode in an unconventional setting. 

We also talked about the education systems in both Sri Lanka and America, and how school children here are often at a disadvantage due to the oversized classrooms. A school teacher needs to be able to nurture his or her students individually, considering the fact that it is during one's school years that a person's mind is molded, and a classroom in school cannot be treated like a massive lecture hall at a university. We were both dismayed that local classrooms still have upwards of forty students in many cases. Any psychologist will tell you that a person's mind and personality are essentially "set" by the time they reach the age of eighteen, by and large, which means any underlying issues a person might have need to be addressed during childhood or adolescence. A teacher can't be expected to know even half their students, much less each and every one of them. The same way each plant in a garden needs individual care and attention, so does each child or youth in a classroom. Since Hirushi and I are both such ardent lovers of the Earth, it should be no surprise that we would use plant based metaphors like this.  

For all this and more, tune into Episode Six of GEHAN COORAY'S MEETING OF THE MINDS today, we are half way through my series already, and while none of my other guests will be invited into my hotel room the way Hirushi was, there are many more stimulating and intellectual discussions to be had.