Rangamani and Thangamani enjoyed their kids doing an electrifying walk with Tushara on their way back from the temple of tooth, Kandy. They went on a round inside Kandy City. The city is fit for street photography. The train station, markets, high street, university campus etc. There it was. The increase in elevation of the road was obvious. Left side of the road was fully covered with bushes and lands; right side was covered with sloping lands. Yes, they entered into a ghat road that leads to Nuwara Eliya, a not-to-be-missed hill station in Sri Lanka.
To Nuwara Eliya
The mountain journey was pleasant. How green the way it was. Forests, bushes, farm fields and tea estates. Motion sickness is a family asset of Rangamani’s family. When they entered into van, their mood was on its high, as the Indian stock market spiked due to the buying of domestic institutions. When they get motion sickness, the spirit will go down, as the bearish stock index crashes when foreign investors sell off.
Rangamani attempted different tactics in his past to nullify his nausea.
- In one of the novels he read, the fisher men chewed betel-nuts to curtail his vomiting sense. Ranga tried it during one of his trips to a hill station. He was very confident during that trip. Alas, it went. His guts started moving like a python during the downhill. He took more and more betelnuts as a hopeful Vikramaditya!
- Another time, some of his friends suggested not to take rice meal before the trip.
- Tushara suggested one other idea this time. Soda drinks – yes, the same junk food like coke/pepsi – may reduce the nausea.
Though he tried to act as if he was fine, he prayed to vazhi-vidu-vinayaka for a vomit-free travel! He wanted to borrow that pepsi bottle from Junga. But his ego refused.
Coming back, the road to Nuwara Eliya was scenic. There were small streams cut across their way. The deep valley on the other side adorned them. The ridges with tea plantations were railing on both sides. The brownish and blackish clouds were floating above them. It must have been very cold for Hanuman when he flew down to Sri Lanka.
Going to Nuwara Eliya was a long journey. They stopped the vehicle a few times, to purchase fruit at a roadside shop, to get relaxed from their nausea.
Ramboda
There was a trishanku swargam (mid-way heaven) called Ramboda. The vehicle was stopped at an antique shop. From the terrace of the shop, they can enjoy the scenic view of Ramboda Falls on one side and the beautiful valley and farm fields on the other side. The clouds were hovering around the hill tops. To add more memory to this scene, the clouds sprinkled drizzles all over. “Like this, there was a scene in Kamba Ramayana… ” Rangamani tried to add pepper and salt to the scene, but he subsided when Thangamani cleared her throat.
Younger Bunga bought a wooden auto-rickshaw/tuk-tuk. It was super expensive. (close to a thousand Indian rupees). Elder Junga bought some Sri Lankan magnets for his tuition teacher.
Traditional food center
There was a road-side eatery (Hela Boujun) run by a women self-help group. This food court is the theme of this post.
They had umpteen varieties of traditional Sri Lankan or Indian foods. They had different varieties of tea, soups also.
Rangamani shrieked at the food items with laughter “puttu, appam, vadai, murukku, cutlet” like Pakoda Kadhar. Thangamani and kids felt a dread. They wanted to rescue him from that place, but it was too late. He jumped the steps like a Guindy racing horse, bought a jackfruit cutlet and Bael flower tea. He asked them to join as well. He was in an bewitched state like Jyothika transformed into Chandramukhi due to her multiple personality disorder.
Junga got an aappam and he found it was delicious too. Thangamani chose puttu. Bunga has been given an idiyappam. Rangamani had this strange habit of ordering weird names on menu cards. Thangamani was happy too, as she was contemplative about her kids’ behavior with outside food until that lovely moment.
Tushar said that Indians, who visit Sri Lanka, pack their lunch with them. So, he said, chauffeurs like him need to be flexible in their lunch plans. But Rangamani and Thangamani decided not to do the same on this trip. They were happy to suffice their desire to taste local food. So this lunch was sweet for their minds and tongues. While their ear lobes were chilled with the breeze, their tummies were filled with ample food.
During your trip between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, this is an eatery you should not miss!
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