Fortune teller sees bleak future as Sri Lankans celebrate new year

People gather around a readymade clothing stall on the side of a road to buy clothes ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festival, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

PAMUNUWA (Reuters) - Fortune teller Andara Maanage Chandani, who runs a small shrine at her home near Colombo, says she used to make enough money to buy clothes for all eight members of her family every Sri Lankan New Year, which falls this week.

This time, Chandani says she has managed to buy bottoms for only three of her five children and nothing for herself, her husband who helps out with her work, and her dependent father.