From the day I was born I did this job. I don’t know how to write or do science but I do know that this is the filter, this is a Leyland filter and that is Tara — these things I know. We’re mechanics. We do repairs — brake liners, engines, differentials — we run repairs!

Those days we did smith work too. When my dad was around, we did the electrics, carpentry and upholstery. Now they are all dead and gone. Even the trees on their graves are gone. Even the bones must be gone.

My father came to Negombo when he was 23. When my father went to Colombo to buy some things, a man told him there is no garage here and no one to work. To drop whatever he was doing and come. And so he came here. The garage is named after him. Marshall. Then my father passed and so did my brother. So the garage passed to me. This place must be about 60 years old. It used to be popular then, but those vehicles are no more. BMC, Austin, Morris, Bedford, Fargo, Albion, Leyland. We had those brands here. All were lorries then. You don’t see them today.

From the day I was born I did this job. I went to Colombo for work in 1958 and came back in 1970. I was working at Daimler Benz for 12 years. I learnt the trade from fixing lorries. Then I repaired buses. Now I fix all manner of vehicles. But there isn’t any reward in this business now.  It’s terrible actually.

1, 2… Right now in this garage there are … 4! Four are working! But there isn’t enough work for all 4 of them. Even four of them don’t have enough work. To be honest, the garage doesn’t have enough income to pay them. The government is also not doing well. Things are expensive. Everything is in a bad state now. The boys are also very stubborn. Four are supposed to come to work, but only two are here. I was also one of them back then. I used to work with boys just like them. So I know how to get them to work.  These boys? How can I work without scolding them? Only by scolding them can I get any work done!

I haven’t tried other jobs. Even if I tried they would not have taken me. This is what I ended up doing — the “machang job”. I think I’ve been doing this since I was 18 years old. I’ve had enough of this job. Now I want to do something else.