Changing karma through coffee

Kasun’s Karma. That is the name of one of the newest coffee shops in Jaffna, formally launched on 14 February this year. The creator of it is Kasun Dishan Roy, hailing from Kataragama. 

Aged 30, he is a firm believer in Karma – the chain of past action that follows an individual through life and death. 

He seems to be facing his with a unique brand of courage that not many can summon especially when the heart is involved – and bruised. 

“I am from Kataragama. My parentage is connected to the Eurasian lineage – but you will see nothing of that in the way I look,” explains Kasun with a laugh. He then reminisces how he arrived for the first time in Jaffna in 2021. It was one of the destinations in the travel wish list he had made together with a damsel from the East of Sri Lanka who he was to marry. 

“I met her when I was working in the hospitality industry in Colombo. There were many places we wanted to visit together. I believe it was my karma that it did not work out. But as a form of catharsis, I made a vow to myself that I would travel to all the places that we had planned to go to. Jaffna was one such place.”

Initially he did not plan to set up a coffee shop in this district where he did not know a single person, but he ended up doing just that with the first friend he made here. He had just entered Jaffna town, once embroiled in bloodshed of a civil war that ended when he was four years old. It was afternoon. He approached the first person seated behind a three-wheeler (a tuk tuk) and asked him in a hybrid version of English laced with Tamil where he could find a grocery store. 

“I wanted a cigarette – yes, smoking is a terrible habit but I occasionally indulge,” I told him, he recalls. 

Rajith, originally from Matale but living in Jaffna since his marriage and driving a three-wheeler to make a living, had taken Kasun around the city for the next few days. In 2024 when Kasun leased out an old house in Hospital Road, Rajith became a fixture at the venue, helping to set it up. He still takes hires in his three-wheeler but his base has become this café that is fast becoming one of the coolest places in warm Jaffna.

‘Air conditioned’ 100% by nature

“I have purchased hundreds of plants and creepers from a nearby nursery. I want this café to be ‘air conditioned’ 100% by nature,” explains Kasun. 

He is the only Sinhalese entrepreneur down the lane – and the larger immediate vicinity. 

“I don’t care about races and religion. I have worked in the restaurant business in many places including Arugambay. If I like a place I will stay there. The time was right for me to set up my own food business and it was my karma that I started it in Jaffna,” he says. 

His café is unique in appearance and has a combined effect of the modern and the ancient. A large pond-like cement container graces the frontage and the visitor has to confront the following words adorning the outer wall adjoining the main door – ‘Karma has no menu. Karma will serve what you deserve.’

When you enter the garden, you feel the general heat of Jaffna recede and absorbed into the greenery that is all around. This enables the seating to be arranged outside and a large well and a hammock, are distinctly eye catching. Rajith is lazing on the hammock, waiting to transport Kasun to the Jaffna Municipal Council.

For Kasun, creating his own karma is linked to him doing his duty to mother earth in a country that seems to be oblivious to the garbage hell on earth.

“The uncle next door is the brother of the owner of this house. I have leased this place for the next 10 years and first moved in mid last year. From then to now I have been busy completely renovating this house and cleaning the entire roadway of trash. This was a breeding ground for mosquitoes and no one could sit out. This place was flooding badly and there was an unbelievable assortment of garbage that used to materialise overnight every day and pile up. When I began cleaning it, I was obstructed by the very officials who are paid for keeping the district clean. Finally, I asked to speak to the senior most Public Health Inspector (PHI). This official supported my efforts fully. Yet there are still issues with the drainage down the road with trash being put there occasionally and with flooding re-occurring.

When you speak with Kasun it is apparent that the same fearlessness he faces his karma with is present in how he defends what is just.

No fear to do what is right

“I have no fear to do what is right. I have told all the businesses down the road that they need not even sweep the road. I do that every day. The only request I made of them is not to litter the surrounding.”

How do his neighbours view his efforts?

“Everyone down the street, including the brother of the house owner is profusely grateful. They would have never spoken to officials the way I did,” he states. 

What about the food served at the café? It is a unique blend of Eastern and Western cuisine, with the signature club sandwich served with vegetarian, non-vegetarian and vegan options alongside salad and roasted potatoes topped with garlic. The coffees and cold beverages are similar to those served in international oriented coffee shops. 

Having worked for over a decade in various restaurants around the country he had found 20-year-old Harish Shankaran two years ago. Harish had worked at a star-class hotel in Jaffna as a room cleaner.

“I did not know how to make all these things earlier. Now when the visitors who come here say the food and drinks and good, I am happy,” Harish states, acknowledging that the main dishes are made by Kasun. 

Do many know about this café? 

“We do not overtly promote because we are still busy giving final touches to the place. But more locals as well as foreigners are visiting and appreciating,” Kasun adds showing us the wall space where he has sketched the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil. 

“This is the Jaffna vibe. This is Kasun’s Karma in Jaffna,” he smiles. As one departs, there is an accompanying wisdom gleaned from this young entrepreneur – on how to face life and its hurdles. The take home lesson is – create one day at a time, like making coffee, stir in courage, and watch it immerse into positive karma.