Hand Gestures: An Alternative Tutorial

At 6 am Mr Goonetilleke the Younger’s workers were already busy tapping the rubber; and as I shot past them, four dogs on a single lead, I waved a good morning. The wave I got back reminded me that hand gestures in Sri Lanka are rarely like this – of the usual kind.  Simple, easy to interpret, quick to deliver. To mention “Hand Gesture” in England is to imply the semaphoring of indelible insults.  The “V;” the single finger, the waggling little finger, the nodding sideways fist,  it’s a menu to delight those for whom actions speak louder than words.