I hadtheverygoodfortuneofbecoming
friendswithVarunithroughmyrestaurant
BillyKwong,morethan 15 yearsago,
whensheandherhusbandBrianbecame
regulardiners.VaruniandI immediately
hitit off.I foundherrefined,powerfulaura
completelymesmerisingandwealso
connectedoverourobsessionswithfood,
familyandedibleinsects.Varuniis one
ofthemostvivaciousandradianthuman
beingsI haveevermet.Hercuriosityandzestforlifeis contagious.
Varunihasledthemostextraordinarylife,filledwithanimmense
loveandknowledgeoffood,ancientwisdom and medicine, rock
n’roll, edible bugs and mindfulness.I
f varietyis thespiceoflifethenVaruniKulasekera
is a womanwholikesthingsfiery.
Atfirstglance,it’snotimmediatelyapparent
whatdrivesKulasekera,whobeganhercareeras
anentomologistinSriLankaandnowresideshappily
inHobart,wheresheteachesmindfulness-basedstress
reduction.Inbetweenthesetwo,seeminglydisparate
careerpaths,sheopeneda specialistteahousein
Tasmania,introducinglocalstothecalmingritual
ofteamaking.Something,shesuggests,everyone
couldbenefitfrominthecurrentstate of the world.
ButKulasekerais adamant
herchoices,whichsawher
movefromSriLanka,tothe
UnitedStates(whereshe
marrieda rockstar),and
eventuallytoAustralia,
arealllinked.Theyareall,
shesaysbrightly,connected
toscience.Scienceis Kulasekera’sguidinglight.
“Scienceexplainslifeandeverythingwedo.
Scienceis notstatic,it’salwayschanging,”she
explains.“Mymotherwasa scienceteacherso
it wasalwayspartofourlives.”
GrowingupinSriLanka,theoldestofeight
children,Kulasekerawasfascinatedbytheworld
aroundher.Aschildren,Kulasekeraandhersiblings
wereencouragedtogrowtheirownfruitand
vegetables,andit wasinthegarden,a young
Kulasekeraunearthedherfirsttruepassion:insects.
Asa highschoolstudent,shespentherafternoons
at theColomboNationalMuseum,learning how to
identify different species of insects.Bythetimeuniversityrolledaround,therewasno
questionwhatshewouldstudy.Kulasekerawasgoing
tobecomea professionalentomologist.
HerresearchtookhertoAmerica,wheresheearned
herPhDinentomologyandevolutionarybiologyfrom
theUniversityofMaryland.It wasthere,inBaltimore,
thatshefirstcrossedpathswithBrianRitchie,bassistfor
therockbandViolentFemmes,whowouldlaterbecome
herhusbandandencouragetheirmovetoAustralia.
“WewenttoTasmaniaformyPhDresearchin
1996.I hadneverbeentoAustraliabefore.I lovedit.
Webothsaid,‘oneday,we’llcomebackandlivehere’.”
Ritchie’stouringsawthecouplereturntoAustralia
repeatedly,cementingtheirloveaffairwiththecountry.
In2006,theydecidedtotaketheplungeandofficially
immigrate.TheyspentsixmonthslivinginSydney’s
SurryHillsbeforeheadingtoTasmania.
“WewerestayingnextdoortoBillyKwong’sand
weatetherealmosteverynight,”saysKulasekera.
Movinginfoodiecircles,thecouplequicklybefriended
manyofSydney’schefsandbythetimetheymoved
toTasmania,Kulasekerahadhospitalityonthebrain.
Asalways,therewassciencebehindthemoveas
shedecidedtoexploretherestorativeandmedicinal
effectsoftea,openingChadoin2008.
“I wantedtointroducea calminglifestylewith
tea.I hadalreadystartedtravellingtoteahouses
andlearningaboutthewideworldoftea- Chinese,
Japanese,Indian,SriLankanandAfrican.I wasalso
studyingherbalteasfortheirhealthbenefits.”
GrowingupinSriLanka,Ayurvedahadalways
been part of Kulasekera’slife,ashadmeditation.
Asa Buddhist,practising
mindfulnesswasa wayoflife.
“I wantedtosharethat
withotherpeoplebutwithout
bringingreligionintoit,”
sheexplains.
So,it wastimeforanother
careerchange,asKulasekera
returnedtoschool,becoming
a qualifiedteacherinMindfulness-BasedStress
Reduction- a scientificallyprovenmethodofreducing
stress,anxiety,anddepression.Today,sherunsregular
coursesteachingpeoplehowtointroducedaily
mindfulnesspracticesintotheirlives- includingmindful
walkingandmindfuleating.Andwhileshenolonger
studiesinsects,shehasfoundherselfbackinthegarden.
“Lastyearwemovedintoa propertyinHobart,
whichhasa lovelygarden.I havebeengrowing
vegetablesandexperimentingwithdifferentherbs,
whichhasbeensucha healingexperience.”
Becauseevenwhenit comestogardening,
Kulasekera remains driven by science.●Scienceexplainslife
andeverythingwedo.
Scienceisnot static,
it’s always changing.GOURMET TRAVELLER 35WORDS JOANNA HUNKIN (MAIN) & KYLIE KWONG (INTRODUCTION). PHOTOGRAPHY PENNY LANE (KYLIE KWONG) & DUNCAN GIBLIN (VARUNI KULASEKERA).