Vikram & Betaal’s hegira to Yala national park

April 9, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 6 Comments

Note to fundamentalists: Loveable Hinduism had given its followers the freedom to look at good and bad of Both Rama and Ravana. I worship Rama by singing Arunachala Kavi’s ‘Ramanai kannara kandale‘. At the same time, I adore the sculptures of Ravana lifting Kailash in Siva temples. If you have a fundamentalist’s view of Hinduism and you refuse the freedom of a fiction writer, this post would not be suitable for you. Please stop reading this post. Defaming Ravana and underplaying his faith on Shaivism is an evil thought that harms Hinduism too.

I never wrote such notes to my blog posts. Some how the ‘religious weather’ of latest India force me to write it.

***

In the year of 2019, King Vikramaditya was in search of the betaal in the forests of Ella. There was a drumstick tree near the ‘Ashok Vatika’ garden. The naughty betaal rolled its tail on one of the branches and swinging back and forth and humming ‘naane varuven‘ (a ghost song in Tamil movie) song. It was busy hunting for the louse on its long hair. After it found a lice, it put it between the nails of two thumb fingers and crushed it. It appreciated itself with the word ‘besh‘ when the lice die with a sound ‘tip‘ and resumed its hunting.

Vikramaditya was dehydrated when he crossed Ravana Falls nearby. He jumped across the rocks and reached the falls at no time.

Water was gushing from a height. Rocks were dangerous and slippery due to centuries-old water flows. It was one of the widest falls in Sri Lanka. The waterfall had killed a lot of people. The water was too cold to rescue Vikramaditya from his fatigue.

Admiring the magnificent view of the falls, he offered handfuls of water to his ancestors. He held water in both hands and started drinking without wasting a drip of it. After getting rehydrated, he looked at the sky and thanked God for giving him such a gift. When he looked up, he saw the white betaal swinging on a tree on the slope of the hill.

He recollected all his energy and uphilled towards the tree eagerly, as if the British were so desperate in searching for other’s wealth in the previous centuries. Finally he reached the place and stood beneath the drumstick tree. He was so surprised that the face of the betaal resembled Thangamani’s. Betaal too exclaimed with surprise as the face of Vikramaditya looked like Rangamani.

Vikramaditya requested the betaal, “O, the charming betaal with long shiny hair! I have promised someone to bring you. Could you come with me?” The Thangamani agreed to go with Rangamani; sorry. Betaal happily agreed to go with Vikrama.

On the way down, there were two vanara-s (monkeys) jumping across the large pieces of rocks of Ravana falls. The betaal invited the vanara-s too by waving her hand. The face of the vanara-s resembled Junga and Bunga. While the water fall splashed the drips of water at all of them, they started their hegira to Yala National Park.

The two *vanara*-s 🙂 , Yala National Park

“O Vikarama, the one with bald-fore-head, it is going be a long journey to Yala. 110 kilo meters. I’ll tell you a story. You won’t feel bored and tired in this long journey. At the end of the story, I’ll ask you a question. If you don’t answer me correctly, your head will be broken into thousand pieces.”. Vikramaditya agreed. Both vanara-s screamed with joy and clapped their hands.

“Long long ago, so long ago, there lived a king called Dasaratha. He ruled the Koshala kingdom of Northern part of India…”.

Betaal narrated the long tale of Ramayana spontaneously with its screeching voice. Vanara-s and Vikramaditya were listening carefully with many ‘hmm’ and ‘umm’ syllables.

They came to the plains from a beautiful hill town in just half an hour’s time. The road was great.

They crossed the town of Wellawaya. It was a special day for Buddhists. A lot of people were gathered over there. They saw children as Buddhist disciples, who went into the city in search of food.

The people considered them as messengers of Buddha. So they offered them food and fruit. Vikrama and Betaal understood that those childhood Buddha monks would find food for the old monks in the monastery.

On the way they saw the milestones for the famous-ghost-airport of Hambantota, built by China. The Vikramaditya murmured “misfortune..” when they crossed such mile stones.

They stopped for a while. Betaal was feeling nausea, that time!

Vikaramaditya found something on the hedges, while he was roaming around. He pointed at a climber and asked Betaal, “Is this not ‘gundu mani‘ (Rosary pea) plant?” (We have Thangamani and Rangamani already. Now this is Gundu mani 🙂 ) .

Betaal nodded its head. The elder vanara shrieked “Yes, I saw it my brother’s school”. Vikarama too, joined the happy conversation.

“Yes, we used to have this along the fencing at the backside of our palace”

Betaal smiled and said “Not only beautiful, but also poisonous!”. Two vanara-s did not understand it’s meaning and scratched their head with their black-baby-fingers.

They reached Tissamaharama after a long journey. Lankans call this town as Tissa, like we call Tiruchirappalli as Tiruchi! They went to a restaurant for lunch. They filled their tummies at this restaurant! Betaal and vanara-s asked for chapati and curry. Vikramaditya asked for rice & curry. Alas! he ended up with chapatis as the vanara-s stole his rice plate.

By the time they finished their lunch, Betaal had finished its Ramayana tale as well.

Betaal said “O, Vikarama, the one with a pot like tummy, answer me now. Between Rama and Ravana, who will reach swarga (enlightenment)?”. It was combing its hair with its long and scary fingers.

Vikramaditya, who resembled Rangamani’s face, did not waste a minute. He said “Sri Rama is a God. He is eka pathni vrata (husband of one wife). He offered enlightenment to Ahalya. He won asura-s and saved deva-s. No doubt. It is lord Sri Rama who will get into swarga, no doubt”.

Ravana cave – It is believed that Sita was kept as a prisoner here – (c) unsplash

Betaal replied “O, Vikrama, Meenakshi (another name of Surpanakha) was a native girl with a beautiful name and a prettier face. She found Rama loveable. She proposed him. What he should have done? Either accept or reject her. What right does he has to abuse a girl verbally and severe her nose? How to send him to swarga?.”

Betaal continued “O, Vikrama, The bonding between a husband and wife is based on hope. When the hope diminishes, the relationship has no meaning, my dear! What right he had, to push Sita into fire-pit to prove her purity? Will it not be hot? If Sita’s conduct was not good, she should have a relationship in Mithila (Sita’s native) itself. Did he prove his purity by getting down into the same fire-pit? Take in your case, if your wife stays in stranger’s home for protection, will you suspect her? Does swarga like that?”

Betaal justified “O Vikarama, When his sister was harmed by Rama, Ravana took out his sword. It is expected from him as a brother and as a King.”

Betaal added “O Vikarama, As per Tamil poet Kamban, Ravana did not even tough Sita when he abducted her. He never misbehaved with her. At least, he did not even cut Sita’s nose to take revenge of the barbaric act by Rama. Sita was rescued as pure as she was earlier. If Ravana had bad conduct, why we have Ravana’s sculpture at all Siva temples?”

Betaal announced its judgement “O Vikarama, Soldiers who died at the battlefields reach the swarga by the rule of thumb. Duryodhana reached Swarga, when Bhima reached Narka. Based on these facts, Ravana will reach enlightenment. You are wrong!”

The two vanara-s vanished in the air. Vikramaditya’s head – which resembled the head of Rangamani – was broken into 1000 pieces. Thangamani woke up and screamed in sorrow and fear. Rangamani – who was drinking water with his capital-O-shaped mouth – startled and poured the water into his nostrils.

He coughed heavily while his eyes were filled with tears! He asked Thangamani “What happened, Thangamani? Why did you shout”. It took sometime for Thangamani that it was a dream. At last she realized that she was at the restaurant with his boring, yet, lovely hubby.

It was the most expensive meal they had ever had in Sri Lanka. It costs more than that of a Colombo star hotel restaurant! Rangamani’s purse lost its mass.

They parked their car at the restaurant itself and took a private jeep. The speedy jeep did not had any shock absorbers. Thangamani’s spinal cord was shaking like the New Delhi jerked after seeing the Chinese army at its Himalayan border. But she had velour – like the Indian army broke the neck of Chinese soldiers – to see a leopard. The rest of the day was spent in the dry bush forest called ‘Yala National Park’.

யால தேசிய வனம் | Yala National Park — Yala National Park

After this gate, you will start offroading. You can get a glimpse of it in this video!

Offroading, Yala national park

They saw elephants, crocodiles, birds, etc. at a short distance. It was like a live National Geographic Wild.

yala national park 01 — Yala National Park

Junga’s main goal was to look at the leopard: and yawn in front of it. But it did not materialize.

yala national park 03 — Yala National Park

You will soon be surrounded by animals. The forest will be beautiful until you see a leopard.

yala national park 04 — Yala National Park

That was a dry forest with thorny bushes and plants. The weather was just opposite to that of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Ella. They sweat with high humidity due to near by costal area. The road and the bushes on both sides were dusty. They got darshan from Sri Ganesa.

Beauty King and Queen, Yala National Park

The resting place at Yala National Park, which was damaged by 2004 tsunami

The sun hid behind the silhouette of dark trees and far-away mountains, when they left the park.

They went to their hotel after buying curd (yoghurt) and bananas for dinner.

The white rice from the restaurant of the hotel, mixed with the local curd satisfied them. You must try Sri Lankan yogurt, dear readers! After washing your hands, you will find it sticky due to its dense fatty nature. Junga wondered “It is a very good food. Excellent taste!”.

Thangamani took a bath before her dinner. She was sitting leisurely after dinner and combed her wet hair with her fingers. She wondered, if her fingers resembled those of the Betaal.

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***

Gritty walk to 9 arch bridge

April 8, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 7 Comments

Rangamani asked the troops, “Shall we trek to the nine arch bridge? Ready?”

ஒன்பது கண் பாலத்திற்கு, Way to 9 arch bridge, எல்ல — Way to 9 arch bridge, Ella

There are several routes to get to the bridge. There was a foot path created by the usage of locals and cattles. They trekked through it across the jungle.

Ella srilanka 09 — Way to 9 arch bridge, Ella

Junga and Bunga took it as their adventure to walk through the field, canals, the overgrown trees, the small stream that crossed along their path, the clear water flowing through it, The brightness of the pebbles under the water, the crawling leeches and the bushes on the side..

Ella Srilanka 24 — Way to 9 arch bridge, Ella

Ella Srilanka 23 — Way to 9 arch bridge, Ella

The bridge was nice. It has a colonial fairy tale too. British got stuck while building this. A Sri Lankan engineer solved that problem. It was a proud moment for them.

You can look down slightly into the valley near by! You can walk across the bridge to enjoy the lovely breeze.

Junga ran on the train track! It was time for the train to arrive. Thangamani was shouting at him to come back!

It was a humid walk. Tender coconuts helped them to hydrate themselves. Rangamani stopped with two coconuts to show off himself as a table-manners-aware person.

The place was scenic. You can shoot nice photographs from different locations. Starting from the peak, all the way until the deep valley, you can trek and capture your pleasant moments.

ஒன்பது கண் பாலம், 9 Arch Bridge, எல்ல — 9 arch bridge, Ella

“See guys, we see two disjointed hills- massive in structure- equal in power – will never get along. But a brick and mortar connects them. Humans are also like that. If a bridge satisfies their ego, they can mingle with others”. Rangamani appreciated himself ‘Wow. What a visionary thought it was!’. “What if it got a crack, my dear?” Thangamani refuted. Ranga did not expect a it. He said “Yah. That is another visionary thought” and laughed pathetically.

They walked across the bridge and waited for a train. The couple shared many other ‘visionary’ statements under the shade of vadam tree! Finally the train arrived. It was like a moving fairy in brown gown. It has a annoying noise like a demon with a broken throat. They waited almost for an hour to see the ‘blessed view’!

If you walk to this bridge, take 1000 or 1500 ml of water per head. Else you may be dehydrated.

There was a waiting area (or photo shoot area) on the side. There was place to sit and take photographs. There was a small potato field like in Nuwara Eliya.

They went to a local restaurant for lunch. There was no crowd. The road looked deserted even the previous day, when they came from the railway station. Many of the restaurants had empty tables. They ordered vegetarian rice and curry. In addition, they ordered curd/yoghurt separately. We have been served a delicious meal with lentil curry, coconut sambal, potato fritters, multi-veggie-curry, and papad. The meal came late. Probably they prepared it upon a confirmed order. They wanted to relax as well, m after a hike to little adam’s peak and trek to the bridge. Junga commented in relief, “The meal is good. Not like morning idly!!”. He was right. It was a tasty and healthy full-meal.

After the full meals, they wanted to rest well. They took away white rice, curd, and coconut sambal in the evening as well.

On that quiet lazy night, while the lights of the distant mountain town flickered, and the trains passed through the mountain in darkness, cicadas shrilled. Rangamani and Thangamani asked Junga and Bunga to join them for moon-meal.

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Footsteps to Little Adam’s Peak

April 7, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 2 Comments

“Thangamani! is it not strange to play Kanda Sashti Kavacham, at this odd time, at an odd place?” Rangamani asked.

The lights were on at early hours of day 5, 08-Jun-2019. Rangamani’s family was getting ready in a hurry. The previous day ended with a sweet ending as the train trip was nice and the dinner was delicious.

They ate and slept well. The mild cold weather and the good food offered them a phenomenal quality of sleep. Ella is less cold when compared to that of Nuwara Eliya. Because its elevation is considerably lesser. It had a pleasant weather like winter-time-Tamilnadu.

They stayed in a hotel with a small garden in the middle of a hill. The garden had various pots, in which different varieties of plants – starting from roses to cactus – were grown.

Rangamani put on his walking trousers in a hurry. Junga and Bunga were brushing in expedition. Their half opened eyes showed how sleepy there were. They were getting ready to hike in Sri Padha or Siriya Sivanoli Patham or Little Adams Peak. Was there a connection between Adam and this little peak in Sri Lanka? I don’t think so. May be a gimmick to treacle European travelers. If Yuan goes high tomorrow, they may conduct a naming ceremony to name it like Little Dongling!

“Why not? You can play Illaiyaraja, if you want. Did I say No?” Thangamani smiled at her husband.

She became an early bird after marriage. Usually she likes to do things early in the morning. She will be in good mood until her peak-hour-circus starts.

Little Adams Peak / little sivan oli patham is 2,234m high. It was close to 5am then. Rangamani and Tushara planned to reach the peak before the sun rises. They were on their march. Set and …. go!

The trek route had off-roads and steps. It was dark everywhere. Junga felt that his brother Bunga would be scared. But he was enthusiastic. He walked energetically with Tushara with the help of cell phone torch, which teared down the darkness.

The town has not yet woken up. Except the sound of their slipping sandals and some strange sounds surrounding the tea plantations, the entire hill maintained a haunting silence.

விடிகாலை நடைப் பயிற்சி, சிறிய சிவனொலி பாதம், எல்ல — Morning walk, Little Adams peak/small Shivanoli patham, Ella

“The sun will rise on time, isn’t it?” Thangamani asked anxiously as she was concerned about their leisurely walk.

“Usually it will come on time. You want to meet him today. hmm…. Not sure if he will change his mind.” Rangamani replied in a sharp hissing voice. She nudged him in return. Their food step count increased gradually.

It was a lonely track for Jeeps or trucks. It took a long time to reach the top of the peak. All of them were breathing and sweating heavily. Sometimes they need to help each other to reach the height. What they saw were amazing scenes! They filled their vision with stack of blue mountains, their nostrils with a fresh breeze.

கதிரெழுகை, சிறிய சிவனொலி பாதம், little adams peak, எல்ல — Sunrise, Little Adams peak/small Shivanoli patham, Ella

There was a Buddha statue, should have been added much recently. There was a shrine for folk deities as well. They were waiting for another delightful sunrise. Tushara appreciated that it was a good decision to hike in the morning.

When you go there, do not forget your walking shoes. A fall may cause worst bruises due to sloppy land and hard stems of tea plant.

சிறிய சிவனொலி பாதம், little adams peak, எல்ல — Sunrise, Little Adams peak/small Shivanoli patham, Ella

A couple of foreigners joined them. Tushara mentioned that there were many private drones flying by and taking pictures during peak seasons. But it was calm without any fuss, due to the effect of Easter bombing.

வெடிகுண்டுகள் செய்த வேலை. கைவிடப்பட்ட சுற்றுலா தளங்கள், எல்ல — Effect of Easter Bombing, Abandoned tourist attractions at Ella

They shot some photos before they started their downhill. On the way back, there were no one to confront them, except an elderly Thai couple.

‘Flying Ravana’ was an adventure game that starts from Ella. You can fly on a rope. $20/head. Rangamani folded his cuff and tried to go in. “What you think about yourself? Bear grylls ah?“ Thangamani shrieked at her crazy hubby to put him back on track.

“Walking through these tea plantations is nice, isn’t it” Junga exclaimed. Rangamani cleared his throat. On realizing that he was ready to deliver a lecture, Thangamani increased her pace and moved far away from him.

“Tea plantations have their own worst side of history, my son. See there!” Rangamani’s fingers pointed at the estate residential houses.

There were Tamil settlements in the quarters of tea plantations. Tamil temples were observed. Tamil film songs were heard. Few boys and girls were rushing towards the town in school uniforms.

Rangamani had bizarred body language due to his uncontrolled emotions. He said “They were imported as slaves from India to work in tea estates, until they die. They are treated as third class citizens in this country. At the same time, India is not ready to take them back. They became frail and vulnerable under the pressure of those supervisors and estate owners. There was a line in a novel – The tea is red, because of their blood” and gasped. Junga did not know that his father can talk non-stop like a RJ!

“Junga, Come here”. Junga heard his mom’s call and ran towards her. Your guess is true! She tried to rescue her son from Ranga’s noble ideals!

Junga was activated after they finished the trek. He felt hungry as a starved elephant. He took a shower even before someone instructed him, rushed downstairs, expecting some food to munch. He found Idlies as part of their breakfast buffet. “hurrayyyy” his mind rejoiced. He took the idlis on his plate and found a seat. Junga thought he was blessed that day to see idlis. “Hey Junga, You were expecting Chapatis in Sri Lanka. But you got idlies dear!” His conscience rumbled.

Rangamani suggested to him to consume local food wherever he goes. When Idly is in front, why should we listen to a boring father? With much eagerness, he tried to slice the idly with a spoon and fork. It was a failed attempt. It was like a hardened cake in the name of idly. The idly was sliding like a beautiful Russian athlete of winter Olympics in his plate.

Junga changed his technique. He stabbed the Idly on its head with a fork like a skilled murderer, dissected it into two pieces with a knife. His lips were piled up in utmost concentration. Two became four. Four became eight. He rejoiced, he accomplished something. Then he took one piece, dipped it into the chutney, and pushed it into his mouth. It was sliding inside his mouth here and there. Thangamani and Rangamani were loading themselves with bread and juices on the other side. He could not even start!

He lost his patience. He expected a soft idly like the feather of a quill. But what he felt was a split rock. With much disappointment, he conducted a closing ceremony to his addiction to the idlis. He went ahead with bread and butter as usual.

Finally, a son accepted his father’s suggestion. When you follow something, you get knowledge. When you encounter something, you get wisdom!

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Elevated rails to Ella

April 6, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 6 Comments

Bunga was busy in the garden after a brief photoshoot. He was the younger of the two. He liked toy cars for a long time like any other boy. He bought it at Ramboda.

It was a wooden replica of Sri Lankan Auto rickshaw/tuk-tuk with a black top. It was not worth the money. The jelled joints came out the next day itself. Bunga was upset. Rangamani does not know how to fix it. Tushara tied it with a rubber band. Despite a simple solution, the auto-rickshaw appeared as good as fixed. There was a bright smile on Bunga’s face.

Their next hop would be at Ella, another hilly town located 60 KMs away. This stretch of the travel would be covered by a mountain journey. This is one of the scenic train routes in the world as per Sri Lankan tourist information. That was similar to Mettupalayam to Ooty heritage rail route of India. They reached the nearby railway station at Nanu Oya town to catch the afternoon train.

The short downhill dropped them at the station. Rangamani bought a few snacks in the shop outside the station. The owner was a Tamilian.

Shop keeper: “Are you coming from oor (India)?”

Rangamani: “Yes”

Shop keeper: “I visited our oor as well. I went to Trichy, Madurai. What’s your native place, brother?”

Rangamani: “Pudukkottai”

Shop keeper: “I see. Don’t know where is it”.

Rangamani: “Do you know Kattabomman? King of Pudukkottai betrayed him. Now you know…”

Shop keeper: “Our place does not differ from that. Same betrayal. Same story”

Rangamani knew what he meant. Those who know about the racial unrest between Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils can understand it. He did not want to continue with that discussion. Instead, he asked the shop keeper “How much is this coconut biscuit?”

The railway station resembled the railway station of Mettupalayam, Tamilnadu, India. Colonial style boards, deserted rail tracks…

நானு ஓயா ரயில் நிலையம் | Nany Oya Railway Station

They were waiting for the train. There comes a shocking news. The elder boy Junga alerted Ranga that Bunga had missed his toy train in the garden of the lodge itself.

Alas, what bad news it was! It was so sad to see the disappointment on baby Bunga’s face. It is too far to go back. They can not catch the train. Rangamani told Bunga to ignore it and continue the journey. He assured him to get a new toy later. Bunga accepted in half a mind. But it was a sad moment for them. That tragedy was blown up in the air as the train arrived.

கரகர வண்டி காமாட்சி வண்டி — Elevated rail

That train journey took three to four hours. It took its passengers through lush green tea gardens, hill tops, valleys, and floating clouds.

கரகர வண்டி காமாட்சி காமாட்சி வண்டி — Elevated rail

Tushara had booked a first class ticket for them. This train looked to be Chinese made as per the public documentation available on internet. There were seven boxes running with kada-kada sound of Indian trains. The windows are bigger enough to enjoy the sceneries and get excited.

Tourists post plenty of dangerously photographed pictures on Instagram. But few of them met with accidents. During their trip, a European lady had scratched her leg and created a scene.

Vendors sell sliced pineapple strips, mango, butter corn, freshly prepared rice, and curry, chilli bajjies etc. We can see new items at every station.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QAtCC_VSCQ8%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

The entire route was covered with clouds! You will find beautiful hills and dense jungle intersected by tea estates, hillocks, old bridges, waterfalls and hamlets. When the train passed through the tracks, local kids cheered at the level crossings.

The travel took three and a half hours. Tushara came by road and welcomed them at Ella station. As they climbed into the van, Junga saw the toy auto lying in the seat. He shrieked at his brother, “Hey Bunga, here is your auto-rickshaw”. Tushara went the extra mile to go back to the lodge at Nuwara Eliya to take the toy car. It was such a touching moment for Rangamani. He thanked his chauffeur many times.

எல்ல ரயில் நிலையம் | Ella Railway Station — Ella Railway Station

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Drizzling Nuwara Eliya

April 5, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 2 Comments

Thangamani woke up in the morning. It took some time for her to realize where she was. Mobile phone displayed 5:30am. But it was so dark. She felt shivering due to 14° C. She covered herself well inside her razai and continued to resume her elongated-sweet-sleep of the morning. She used to do it since her childhood. Sometimes she used to sleep until her mom shouted. The glasses of the windows of her neighbor used to vibrate with ‘drrrrrr‘ sounds at those wake-up calls. Neighborhood aunty used to retaliate from her window “Ey Thangamani, why don’t you get up, before your mom’s voice cracks my window glasses”.

Her sweet-lazy mood of that morning was dispelled when she realized that her hubby was not in his bed. ‘Crazy chap, Did he roll and fell down from his bed? Seems… mhoom… no.’

She thought he might be in the toilet. Her instinct refuted her guess. She was so tired the previous day after the long-but-lovely uphill from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. They enjoyed the Ramboda Falls, had nice food there, shot some lovely photos at Damro tea factory on their way.

When the Sinhalese lady was explaining the techniques behind tea preparation, Thangamani started oscitating. Her eyes filled with tears, as she tried to control her yawning! It may be easy for her to control her husband Rangamani, but not her yawning, you know! At last that poor lady yawned with her nose, while closing her lips tight and bulged like hanuman. Finally they left from the factory after buying some tea bags.

After a few sharp U-bends, they entered Nuwara Eliya, the little England of Sri Lanka. Tushara lowered all glasses of their van so that the below-twenty-degree breeze could fill their wind pipes. The cold weather brings out the kiddish nature of adults. All their faces were smiling as they drove along the bank of Gregory Lake.

Tushara said that Gregory Lake should be full of tourists by that time. You won’t believe. The lake was empty. The clouds flew down into the snowy water to make it a resemblance to Manosarovar, the heavenly lake.

When the vehicle was stopped at a parking space, there were no other vehicles. The road was deserted. They went for a boat ride, during when the cloud entered their boat. Thangamani felt piercing cold. She was smiling and made fun of the younger Bunga in excitement.

They had only 15 or 20% visibility when they ended their boating. There were no tourists to rent a boat. All those boats were stacked idle. A horseman waited for them. It was so sad for Thangamani to reject his offer. There were no people on the road. The night curfew was still in effect. Terrorists caused a curfew in 2019. Corona forced another curfew in 2020. Economy-goofed-curfew in 2022! These curfews caused heavy losses to the Sri Lankan tourist industry.

After reaching their hotel, Thangamani went to bed immediately. Later Rangamani and Junga brought hot chapatis and dhal curry. She was asleep when she was eating.

Tangamani wondered, where Rangamani went early in the morning, that too in a foreign land. She forced herself to switch on the lights and got down from her bed. Bathroom was empty. She opened the door. The corridor looked empty and haunting.

She felt herself as the Sita of Ashok Vatika (the place where Maharani Sita was held as a prisoner by Lankan King Ravana). After seeing Junga and Bunga on the bed, she murmured “Yes they are the vanara forces”. But where was her Rama, then?

When she locked and latched the door, a hissing sound alerted her. Was it a snake? She looked around and followed the direction of that haa-iii-zzz sound. It lead her to the balcony door, which was opened very slowly and carefully by her.

Rangamani was standing there, with his mouth widely opened in upper case O shape. He blew air in the cold weather with the hissing sound. It came out as a fog/smoke from his mouth like a Nigiris steam engine. He did it again and again sincerely. He was blowing air with ah-ah-ah and huh-huh-huh sounds to create different patterns.

“What happened? Can’t fall asleep?” asked Thangamani.

Rangamani’s eyes opened wide on seeing Thangamani. With her head popping on the sides of the door, she might be looking like King Janaka‘s daughter Sita. As Tamil poet Kamban says, அண்ணலும் நோக்கினான்: அவளும் நோன்கினாள். (The prophet looked too: she nodded too.). Thangamani did not nod, by the way.

“Hey Thangamani. See this ah..”. He opened his mouth again to showcase his steaming achievement. Rangamani watched his performance impatiently. She said “wonderful” and rammed the door.

Later, she appeared again on the balcony with tea cups. Both were waiting for the sunrise!

கதிர் எழுகை — Sun rise from the highest peak of Sri Lanka

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Collation of traditional food at Ramboda

April 4, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 6 Comments

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.

தின்று தீர்க்கப்போகிறேன். உணவகம், ரம்போதா, Ramboda — *Hela Boujun*, Traditional food center, Ramboda

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.

பலாப்பழ கட்லெட். ஒன்றே ஒன்று உங்களுக்காக. உணவகம், ரம்போதா, Ramboda — Jackfruit cutlet

During your trip between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, this is an eatery you should not miss!

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Beetling around Kandy temple of tooth

April 2, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 8 Comments

Only those who give to the poor are good. The doors of paradise will open to those who satisfy their hunger.
-Manimekalai (Tamil-Buddhist Novel), Seethalai Sathanar, 6th c AD.

Day 3 : 6 Jun 2019

Rangamani woke up before Thangamani. He took a bath and opened the balcony door. The cold breeze caressed him. He went out, stood facing the lake, and stared at the mountain which showed its silhouette in the morning darkness. Mountains are the abode of Kandan, the Tamil God. Mountains are where Siva and Parvati are roaming on their Bulls. Mountains are Gods. They gift us loneliness. They gift us renunciation. After renunciation, there are no delivery dates, no promise, no stress, of course, no money too!!

Kandy woke up early in the morning. As the darkness is slowly being replaced by fresh day light. Buses hewed the morning crowd. Children in school uniforms were walking down from the near-by green hillock. Buses and private vehicles were waiting until those kids crossed the road. This is something you could not see at Chennai’s zebra crossing.

That windy morning made his heart rhythm in sync with the food steps of those kids. He thought of himself as the contemporary Aristotle, Leo Tolstoy, or Adi Shankara. They might not have their morning tea like him. Out of hunger, they might have come up with such meaningful philosophical thoughts. Elder kid Junga put in an appearance before he went to take his bath. He might be baffled to see his dad in a strange posture. Rangamani realized that Junga was looking above his head. Was there any golden ring or what? He looked above. There was no golden ring, but lot of mosquitos flying in a ring shape! He got some audience for his ideologies, at last!

Slowly, Thangamani came out of the room, with another bonny attire, to offer them the morning tea. “Ayo pei (ghost)!!!”, screamed Rangamani and Junga at same time at her over-makeup. Thangamani gave a grimace of anger. “You destructive dogs..” She murmured to herself and went inside to adjust her make-up. Bunga was still enjoying his elongated sleep.

The lodge they stayed in used to offer buffet breakfast for its guests. As they went within months of the Easter Sunday bombings, the tourism industry was in shambles. Their restaurant merely had one or two staff. They knocked up a pack of fresh pancakes and cakes. The cut fruits were not fresh, though. Being starved the previous day, poor Rangamani’s family didn’t waste a grain!

They checked out already. Let’s follow them!

Their travel plan had the following:

Look around the Buddha temple called Dalada Maligawa.
Worship at Hindu shrine which is inside the Dalada Maligawa.
Start their trip to Nuwara Eliya.

Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

They parked the car on the bank of the lake and walked towards the temple. Tushara said he would not get a parking space usually. The Easter Bombing had deluged the commoners with losses. This place should have been added to their travel plan as it is an iconic building and UNESCO site. Junga and Bunga were walking excitedly. The way to the temple was colourful with lots of florists. Birds like flamingos were resting on the bank. Some of them were swimming in the water. The pleasant weather made Rangamani recall his trip to Kodaikanal lake.

Tushara bought them their entry tickets. They got a discount of SAARC countries. Another Qatari traveler joined them. They arranged a guide – a so-called UNESCO site-certified guide – to explain to them the historical background of this site.

There were checkpoints outside the temple. Bunga excitedly passed the checkpoint and did hi-fi to the soldier standing nearby.

All the Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka worship in that temple. Babies born in Sri Lanka are brought there within a year of birth. The temple was full of newly born babies, neomamas, and their caretakers.

Rangamani’s family went to attend the morning ceremony. The temple looks auspicious with the vyali-s, dragons, tusks of elephants. They waited for a long time. Rangamani lost his patience at the ceremonial prelude. He started gazing at all the veiled brass vessels one by one. He thought he may get an annadhanam (food offering) and appeased his mind. Alas, he did not get anything till the end!

The tooth relic of the Buddha is kept in a golden castle there. They keep the ark open for public display once a year. The sacred tooth relic of the Buddha was in Kalinga after the death of the Buddha. At the behest of King Gugasiva of Kalinga, his daughter Princess Hemamali and her husband Dantha smuggled it to Sri Lanka. This happened in the fourth century BC.

They have a statue for them as well. It is located in a garden outside the temple. Ranga’s family walked around and viewed those statues and read the legend underneath.

A lot of people came for the morning ceremony slowly in long queues due to security checks. Check after the bomb blast is useless. It is a customary action. But all governments follow that to shut the mouths of critics. Some of the babies in their mamma’s laps were crying. Some of them were still sleeping in this noisy environment. They may recharge themselves for their turns later!

It is their turn to worship at the sanctum of tooth relics. Rangamani and Junga were squeezed like our Indian women screw their wet cloths before drying it. They lost Thangamani and Bunga in the crowd. Ranga found it very hard to keep Junga in his hands in that huge crowd. Somehow Rangamani and Junga came out. Thangamani came out already and was waiting for her hubby.

She was in another arresting apparel today. Rangamani wore a t-shirt, which was bought on Amazon for 100 rupees. They visited the manuscripts room before visiting the meditation hall. While Thangamani looked at the religious manuscripts and texts placed over there, Ranga was looking outside to find the origin of the aroma of food.

Thangamani asked if the guide could take them to the Kataragama Temple on the same campus. The Qatari and the UNESCO guide went away. Tushara was kind enough to accept and he himself guided them to the temple.

Katragama devalaya was like a hut. It was a fusion of Buddhism and Hinduism. The Buddha was in the ananda sayana (sleeping) pose in the sanctum while Vishnu and Brahma stood outside in worshipping pose. That would be a little confusing!

Kataragama devalaya - Kandy - Temple of tooth — Kataragama devalaya – Kandy – Temple of tooth

Things to Note

Entry Fee: <$10 per head
It is recommended to wear white/lite-coloured shirts and tops. Dark shirts/tops may hurt the local devotees.

Places to visit in Kandy

Peradania botanical gardens
Kattukalai Pillaiyar temple
View point
Temple of tooth

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Along the banks of Mahaweli Ganga

April 1, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 5 Comments

Vivekananda has gone to America. Gandhi went to South Africa and London. Xuan Zang came to India. Sangamitra voyaged to Sri Lanka. So many people are traveling.

People in Singapore like to travel around the world. Changi airport brings cheers to their minds. The cheer waves influence the Indian expat community of Singapore too. Rangamani’s son used to say, “Appa, he went to Korea, she went to Taiwan..”. That is not his demand. He knows that. But many of the middle class Indian slaves like him can not afford to visit overseas every year.

At last, Thangamani and his wife Rangamani decided to roll-out their plan to look for an affordable travel plan to satisfy their kids’ urge to step on foreign soil. Rangamani thought about Thailand and Bali. At last, they could get a package to Sri Lanka. Food – It is another important reason to choose Sri Lanka. Their kids are not mature enough to try non-native food. Sri Lanka’s food styles are not too much deviated from India, you know!

Rangamani became too philosophical. With the itinerary in hand, he started lecturing Thangamani. ‘See darling, how much interesting information we get while traveling! The cultural and historical background of the new places makes the trip even more interesting. We get a chance to see the new land; converse with new people’.

Rangamani continued. ‘A country within touching distance from Tamil Nadu. It is an island that is surrounded by the wavy blue water; wrapped inside a green carpet. A country inhabited by ancient Tamils – Sri Lanka! Let’s go!’

Thangamani knows about his hubby’s curiosity disorder. Hence, she replied with her usual single-syllable-replies like ‘hmm‘, ‘umm‘, ‘aama‘.

Itinerary

They did not inform their kids about that trip. He used to discuss this with Thangamani, either after they slept or before they woke up! In other words, he might have tried his best to persuade her to accept his choices!

He wanted to find a reliable local tour operator. Based on reviews on TripAdvisor, he contacted **** Lanka Travels (They do not sponsor this post!). He got a response. Their presales staff asked him about his duration and interest. Rangamani might have qualified himself well. So she drafted out a plan. The total cost stopped Ranga’s heart for a while. He changed it many times to suit his budget. He cut the duration, requested upgrades for hotels, and many chops here and there. She might have seen even tougher customers. So she handled him cool and sold off a package with a private van and chauffeur. Ranga made part of the payment.

Total Cost: USD 1600 (for a tailor made)

Visa

Next step was to get the visa. Sri Lanka offers on-arrival visa now. But when Rangamani applied, they did not have this scheme. They respected westerners with on-arrival visas. But not Indians 😉

Sri Lanka used to offer on-arrival visa earlier. You know about our fellow Indians, right! They used to violate visa norms, smuggling goods, and do trading. At one point in time, Sri Lanka stopped the on-arrival visa for us. You may know about the bumpy relationship between Sri Lanka and New Delhi.

More over, they make good influx of forex with Western travelers. So they get different treatment. After the war and China jumped into the race, some of the Sri Lankan businesses started accepting WeChat payments, too. A country – that made them bankrupt – gets special treatment, too! ‘Truth is stranger than fiction’. Though they are our neighbors, their politics and bureaucracy alienates us, but not the people!

It’s ok. Rangamani bought an e-visa for all of them by paying $41.

Cost: USD 41

Travel Tickets

Buying a travel ticket was another worrisome deed. He tried different permutations and combinations to get affordable tickets. Finally, he got it from Air India with a transit in Chennai. Both Singapore Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines were selling their tickets at sky-high prices. Rangamani strongly believed that those who play dhaayam (dice game) well, they get air tickets at good price.

Cost: Not relevant.

They were set ready to go!

Checklist

Sri Lankan Visa – 41 USD/Passports/Air Tickets
Daily expenses – 50 USD/Day
Travel itinerary.
Chauffeur charges (if you are going by private car/van) – 10 to 20 USD/day
Mobile Numbers of travel agent/Chauffeur
Enabling international roaming in SIM cards, mobile phones, chargers
Summer wears, coolers
Beach wears
Mosquito patch/creams/mats
Camera/chargers/SD cards/hard disks
Bacterial infection medicine (creams…)

Day 1 – 4 Jun 2019: Reaching Chennai

The plan was to fly from Singapore to Chennai and take the early morning flight to Colombo. Rangamani and Thangamani, with their sons 9 year-old Junga and 4 year-old Bunga started their historic overseas trip. Rangamani was in his dreams while Thangamani dissolved his dream by verifying if she locked the door, switched off the fan. Changi was busy as usual. While Thangamani was in the waiting hall, Rangamani was in a queue to get them lemon tea and toast.

They gained some energy. Thangamani spent some time in the miniature orchid gardens inside the airport with her sons.

Air India got delayed considerably. Out of hunger, their tummies contracted like the baby mangoes in maavadu pickle. With a flat regret tone, the airline invited its passengers to onboard at last.

Day 2 – 5 Jun 2019: Reaching Colombo

Just before sunrise, they reached Chennai airport. That place got up in the morning and was ready to start the day. Thangamani was in arresting apparel, expecting to appear stunning in photographs. Rangamani wore his plain old dull t-shirt and pant. His dressing sense is so unpopular in Pudukkottai. ‘Ramar pachchai‘ (cerulean green) shirt with brown pant. White shirt with yellow pant are his favorite combos. When he used to walk with his mundane choice of suits, the stray dogs in his streets would be disturbed and activated. When they got out of the taxi, Thangamani appeared as mighty as Rajamatha Sivagami Devi and Rangamani was found as weak as her handicapped husband Pingaladevan!

Bunga vomited as soon as he stepped out of the taxi, due to his motion sickness. After realizing that Rangamani was in search of water, a middle-aged man – looked like Kattappah in his safari suit – helped by offering them his water bottle to clean their child. It was a help in need.

DAY 1 CHENNAI AIRPORT AIR INDIA — To Colombo

The airport was not crowded. So they cleared their immigration check soon. When they went inside, the same Kattappah-like person in the safari suite stood at the customs office and smiled at them. He was an officer in the customs department there. What a kind man he was! They began that journey with his message to the world – compassion!

DAY 1 CHENNAI AIRPORT SUNRISE — The sunrise – Chennai Airport

They did not sleep well for two days. They had to get up early in the morning the previous day to come to Chennai from SG. They woke up the next day, before the rooster started his duty. So, they fell asleep as soon as they got into the air craft.

That was the first flight to Colombo from Chennai. The aroma of Air India, like broken seat handles, dirty luggage compartments made them feel at home. But it should be a hectic work for the staff members of the airline because it is just a 60 to 90 minute journey to Colombo. Being an international flight, they need to serve the food plate and collect everything back. Rangamani could see they were running front and back to clear the formalities!

Rangamani woke up when Air hostess tapped on his shoulders to ask him to unfold his table to place his breakfast plate. He might be sleeping like a Kumbhakarna with scary snoring! When he saw the breakfast plate, his mouth started pouring fluids! Yes. He was as hungry as Bakasura. He snatched the food plate like a hungry monkey. Thangamani and the kids were still sleeping in the front row. His mind has been deluged with cheers on seeing the bright sunlight on his window. He did not waste a second. As landing time was approaching, his hand and mouth started working as a speedy food processing machine.

By showing them the green patches of Sri Lankan land, their vehicle landed on time. Rangamani felt nostalgic as the view made him recall his village days. When they came out, he could feel the pleasant weather. He could say that for sure as he was roasted in Chennai summer the previous day. The trilingual board welcomed them. ‘Ayobovan‘ is the word he learned from Rupavahini (Sri Lankan television) in his childhood. Bunga was still sleeping on his shoulder, when Rangamani entered the hall, where PM Ranil Wickramasinghe was smiling in his photograph accompanied by another photograph where then president Sirisena appeared with his pale boring face.

Sri Lankan Airport looked like a ghost town. There were no passengers as international tourists stopped visiting Sri Lanka due to Easter Bombing. They cleared immigration on time. The immigration officer talked pleasantly in Tamil. Junga and Bunga were running and jumping like monkeys inside the empty immigration hall. It is not new. Sri Lanka has had monkey visitors from India since its Ramayana days.

The luggage came even before they reached the luggage hall. Due to the bombing, there was some restriction for the travel agents to meet their guests. So their travel agent asked them to catch the free shuttle bus and alight at the parking area.

Things to do in Colombo Airport:

Money exchange at Sampath bank
Local SIM card (if you travel without travel agent)
Food (I missed it. If you travel with kids, take proper food here or near by)

DAY 1 COLOMBO AIRPORT — Free shuttle bus from Colombo Airport to Parking Area

Our Chauffeur, Tushara, came to the parking area with a garland and a goody bag. The bag contained our travel plans, his company information, and a local cell phone.

There was a confusion in our communication. He was waiting for them in the arrival section, as security eased. But they came to the parking area by that time. Before he came, they faced the unavoidable people in the parking area, who tried to lure them for taxis, tour packages etc. They were uncomfortable. They felt like they were standing in front of Chennai Central Station. More over, it took some time. Junga and Bunga started feeling hungry. There was no place to eat. Fortunately Thangamani had packed their Air Indian breakfast. That helped. Whatever, it was a hole in Rangamani’s travel plan.

One of the strangers, who was in porter apparel, forcefully helped to put their luggage inside their van despite his refusal. Firstly, Rangamani likes to handle his luggage myself. Secondly, he was not comfortable handling it with a stranger on a foreign land. He had a bad experience at Riyadh airport already. He was so close to being cheated at Manila airport. Finally, Tushara and Rangamani lifted the luggage bags; the stranger man was just touching it like the bishop of Rome touched the head of the wounded Ukranian kids passionately! He touted money for doing so. Ranga did not have any small amount to pay him. Finally, Tushara gave him something. Ranga settled it later during the trip. Anyway, it is part of any trip!

To Kandy

They got moved from Colombo to Kandy. The journey took three hours. But the trip was not boring as they keep on distracting their Chauffeur with various questions and dumping him with their thoughts. He might be wondering, would he have enough patience to drive the vehicle in that single lane.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fOWj75gW-LM%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

Rangamani looked around. He was captivated by the trees, the green hills, and the lawns. The land was mosaiced with grass, trees, and bushes. But the same land has its own devastating side, which is the reverse of what his kids were enjoying from their window seats! That place was really spooky during the war against Tamils and LTTE. While writing this in 2022, as the Sri Lankan economy was devastated by incompetent rulers and Corona, what do you think of the Sri Lankan achievement after that genocide. Rangamani shook his head to get away from such thoughts.

They went there within two months of the Easter Sunday bombing in Sri Lanka. There were no tourists. Very few tourist vans were on the road. Instead, Sri Lankan soldiers were standing by its side. Rangamani booked our trip before the bombing. He was shocked to hear about the bomb blast. He was on a back foot, too. But the *** Lanka tour company assured him a full refund if I wanted to cancel. At the same time, they made him realize that this was the time they needed support. Ranga consulted Thangamani. She too, agreed to go ahead with their travel plan.

Three hours later, they entered Kandy.

Kandy is a city in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, surrounded by lush green hills. People say that it was called as Kanda malai (Hill of Kandan). During colonial times, they called it Kandy. The temple of the tooth is located here. We shall talk about it later.

The Peradeniya Botanical Gardens (Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya) is located at the outskirts of Kandy. It welcomed them. This was the first attraction of that trip.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

There was no crowd at its entrance. Some locals were waiting for their turn to get entrance tickets. Ranga’s family were allowed in immediately, because they were tourists. That was Sri Lankan respect for tourists.

They were exhausted by then. As soon as they went inside, Rangamani felt so hungry. If he were a mighty ‘bison of Ooty’, he might have eaten all those leaves and grass! You want to ask me why he was always hungry? What to do? Our poor man’s addiction to food grimaces at him often. He searched for something like a café or restaurant. There was only one. They had Western dishes and drinks.

Photo(c) 2 Days In Kandy: 7 Brilliant Places To Visit In Kandy Sri Lanka [2019] | Dream Big, Travel Far

Rangamani ran in hunger, grabbed a chair, clutched the menu card, and started eating those English letters with his eyes! Urgently toasted breads, potato fries and juice were served as a nectar to satisfy their craving. Although they were not enough for their tummies, they gained some strength to walk around the park. Come, let’s see how our hero’s family went for a walk along that riverbank.

There flew a beautiful river on the left side. It is the Mahaweli River / Mahaweli Ganga! Like the Ganges in our India, it is the longest river in Sri Lanka. Starting in Nuwara Eliya district and outfalling into the sea of Trincomalee.

Bunga saw the local people taking a bath in the river. He asked his father Rangamani, “Appa, whey they take bath here? Don’t they have bath room at their house?”. How to explain these kids about the pleasure in taking bath in water stream?

Its banks were covered with dense bamboos. In addition, plants, bushes and vines had grown over there.

Lord Krishna never visited Sri Lanka. If he had come here, he might have wanted to make flutes with these bamboos, and immersed the bees in that garden with his divine tunes.

The elder kid Junga was not getting used to the new place yet. He was away from the family’s mindset. He grimed his face and began walking slowly. Rangamani tried his best child management skills to change Junga’s mood. ‘This is such a beautiful place, new place, new experience, new people, new plant, new vine’. Junga became even more furious. Thangamani felt sympathy at her husband’s worst ever child management skills.

They looked to their right. There are durian trees in the wide green land of the park. This is the first time they have seen a durian tree, though they can not avoid its smell in Singapore. Durians are not allowed inside public transport and few hotels due to its pungent smell.

Thangamani and Rangamani walked on the Royal Palm Avenue, in which the ancient Kings of Kandy used to walk as part of their royal procession. With his eyes glittering with proud, Rangamani saw Thangamani. She smiled and said, ‘enough, shut up and walk’.

There was a Cannonbell tree. Rangamani tried his luck another time to convince Junga by lecturing him about the Nagalinga poo (cannonbell flower) and how it resembles Shiv Linga. He further added that Lord Shiva likes it. The kid stopped there for a while and gazed at him. His eyes told his father, ‘It’s okay. It’s his wish. What am I supposed to do with that?’.

மகிழத்தின் நிழலில்! — Centuries-old trees blessed them. This Spanish cherry tree (*magilam* or *vakulam* in Tamil) was sung by Tamil Sangam poet Kapilar as ‘பசும்பிடி வகுளம் பல்லிணர்க் காயா’ (*Pasumpidi Vakulam Pallinark Kaya*) while singing about plucking different flowers and stacking them on a rock.

DAY 1 PERADANIA BOTANICAL GARDEN KANDY 8 — The board said that the Spanish cherry tree was planted in colonial times by the Prince of Wales. Rangamani told anxiously, “Not sure how much he looted from Sri Lanka in return!”

They completed that trail by walking on Royal Palm Avenue, which went through a road with palm trees on both sides. They climbed the swinging bridge and enjoyed the beauty of the Mahaweli River. It is enough of this moment! Is the twin human eyes enough to appreciate the beauty of this place?

Tushara said that there was an orchid garden. But they could not gallop. They moved out of that park with positive thoughts, hoping to be back there again!

DAY 1 PERADANIA BOTANICAL GARDEN KANDY 10 — The bus stop outside the Peradania Botanical Garden, Kandy 10

Kattukalai Pillaiyar Temple

Their man took them straight from the park to Kattukkalai Pillaiyar Temple – a Ganesha temple – as they requested. Dear Readers, you should have gone with them inside that beautiful temple. The kumbabishekam took place recently. The temple was clean and beautiful to look at. Not much crowded. They waited and attended the evening pooja. They were able to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in the names of Sri Somasundareswara and Sri Meenakshi, in addition to Lord Ganesha in the name of Sri Selva Vinayagar.

DAY 1 KATTUKALAI PILLAIYAR KOYIL KANDY 1 — Kattikalai Pillaiyar Temple, Kandy

While Thangamani was waiting at the temple, Junga and Rangamani visited the Ganesananda hotel next to it. Junga felt better and started uttering words. Junga packed cheese dosa while Rangamani took away masala dosa-s for their dinner. They chatted about the ongoing IPL match, until the food package (another pack of nectar!!) arrived.

Around the lake

Before they went to their shelter, Tushara drove them to a place from where they could get a glimpse of Kandy City. It was a view point, from where they could see the Kandy City, the Buddha statue on the mountain, the Kandy lake, and the temple of tooth.

The day’s conclusion

Very long day it was. They could not go anywhere anymore. They went to their shelter on the bank of Kandy Lake, took a shower, and grazed on their packed masala dosas. Rangamani felt about the hole in his travel plan when he chewed his piece of dosa. He should have taken a proper breakfast at Colombo before starting his journey. With the babies on his side, he should have done a better plan.

Against mountains surrounded by trees, the gentle breeze comforted them. They lied down in a trance, thanking the Goddess Meenakshi for gifting them that day.

See you in the next post. Tata!

KANDY HOTEL (c) Google Maps — Kandy resting place (c) Google Maps

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Thanks: Kannan Murugapandian, Google Maps

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z 2022

#BlogchatterA2Z Theme Reveal 2022: Yātum ūrē! / The world is my town

March 20, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 5 Comments

Blogchatter is an amazing team to boost, sometimes turbo-boost, our blogging urge. I recently joined this community. I signed up for their #WriteAPageADay campaign to write 400 words every day in the month of February 2022. It was an exciting – sometimes tiresome – journey. Yet, Blogchatter offered me the One of the Top bloggers award for February and credited fair amount of credit points! More importantly, I got a chance to read the musings of other Indian bloggers.

They announced the BlogchatterA2Z blogging challenge for April 2022. It’s been flashed out in my Twitter timeline many times. Fellow bloggers announced their themes. But I hardly had time to be cognizant of this challenge due to the perils of FY end.

As part of this challenge, I am going to write 26 posts corresponding to the 26 alphabets in the month of April. The Theme of this series would be யாதும் ஊரே! / Yātum ūrē! / The world is my town.

One post will be released every day except on Sundays. I shall use this opportunity to translate some of my old travelogues into English. I am planning to write some new travelogues, which were pending for a long time, as well. I am yet to arrive at a detailed plan!

A: Along the banks of Mahaweli River (Travel fiction)
B: Beetling around Kandy temple of tooth (Travel fiction)
C: Collation of native food at Ramboda (Travel fiction)
D: Drizzling Nuwara Eliya (Travel fiction)
E: Elevated rails to Ella (Travel fiction)
F: Footsteps to Little Adam’s Peak In Ella (Hikelog)
G: Gritty and Greenly walk to 9 arch bridge (Hikelog)
H: Vikram & Betaal’s Hegira to Yala national park (Travel fiction)
I: The Infant of Kathirkamam/Kataragama (Travel fiction)
J: A journey to Galle (Travel fiction)
K: Kingly guests back in Colombo (Travel fiction)
L: A lazy evening at Asiatique Night Market, Bangkok (Attraction)
M: Masquerader at Riyadh (Travelogue)
N: A Noon meal mercy & Cordial bus ticket (Travelogue)
O: An overcast chilly day on the roads of Mumbai (Travelogue)
P: Pursuing a Tamilian Cafe at Matunga (Travelogue)
Q: Quenching my desire for Elephanta (Travelogue)
R: The radius of rocky poems – Ellora (Travelogue)
S: The sketchy caves of Ajanta (Travelogue)
T: Trip to iconic buildings around London Bridge (Travelogue)
U: The U turns and the breezy morning at Kodai hills (Travelogue)
V: A vintage evening in the colonial streets of Jersey (Travelogue)
W: Wander around Macritchie reservoir hills, Singapore (Hikelog)
X: X roads of Ooty and my bike wheels (Travelogue)
Y: Yet another lovely beach, brighton (Travelogue)
Z: The zeal with zest for a desert safari at Dubai (Travelogue)

Hope the blogger police allows this 🙂

All the best to fellow writers. Those who want to sign up, you may click #BlogchatterA2Z

End of radiance – Karna’s end | Mahabharata Paintings

February 28, 2022Pandian Ramaiah 2 Comments

Karna took over as commander in chief of Kaurava army on the sixteenth day, after the fall of Drona. Kaurava army had much hope of recovery after the fall of their great chieftains, Bhishma, and Drona.

Kunti knew about the news. She understood that she could not prevent the clash between her sons. But she wanted to minimize the damage by meeting him. Maybe, I think she might have felt that discussing that with Yudhishthira would not earn her because he did not know the background. Some versions of Mahabharata say that it was Krishna who sent her to seek protection for Pandava-s.

It was early in the morning. Karna was in his morning prayers. Kunti came to meet him. Everybody knew that Karna would donate whatever had been asked. Karna understood her motive and asked her to express her wish in a grudge.

“சந்தனக்கட்டைகள் அடுக்கிய சிதையைக் காட்டி பிணங்களை ஆசை காட்டிடும் வீண்வேலை… அர்த்தமற்றதும் கொடூரமானதுமான வீண் உடற்பயிற்சி! விரைவில் நாமிந்த காட்சியை முடித்துக் கொள்வோம்… எந்த லட்சியம் கருதி நீ இங்கு வந்தாய் – என்பதைச் சொல். இனி நான் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டிய செயல் என்னவென்பதையும் கூறிவிடு. அச்செயல் என்ன ஆயினும் நானதற்குப் பணிவேன் என்பதை நிச்சயமாக நம்பிக்கொண்டு, சொல்லவேண்டியதை விரைவில் சொல்லி முடித்துவிடு”

The futility of making a carcass happy by showing the pyre stacked with sandalwood. Meaningless and horrible futile exercise! We will finish this scene soon. Tell me what ambition you came here for. Please tell me, what you want me to do hereafter. Complete what you have to say as soon as possible, be confident that I will obey you no matter what.
Ini nan urangattum, BK Balakrishnan

Kunti requested him to come to Pandava‘s camp. Citing his bond with Duryodhana, Karna refused to oblige. She asked for the safety for Pandava-s. Karna assured her she will be known as mother of five sons even after the war, either with Arjuna or with him. Karna left to battlefield after that.

It was difficult for Pandava-s to fight with Karna. Kaurava‘s army had time to take breath after successive loses on the sixteenth day. There was a dispute between Yudhishthira and Arjuna about Arjuna’s failure in tackling Karna. All Pandava-s except Arjuna had fought with Karna and lost before this dispute. Though they lost, Karna did not kill then, as he promised to his mother. Unaware of the reality, poor Pandava-s felt humiliated by Karna.

Shalya – the Madra king and maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva – was appointed as Charioteer for Karna by Duryodhana. Krishna raged a psychological war against Karna with the help of Shalya. As directed by Krishna, Shalya was praising Arjuna often. He pointed to his low birth as well to irritate Karna while fighting.

Karna had a powerful astra (weapon) to kill Arjuna. It had the capacity to Kill Arjuna as well. But it can be used only once. Shayla advised Karna to focus on Arjuna’s chest. Karna was confident about this target, so he focused on Arjuna’s neck and shot it. Krishna pushed Arjuna’s chariot a few inches down. As Shalya expected, the astra missed its target and hit Arjuna’s crown.

“கர்ணா, சிரசினை குறிவைத்து அந்த அஸ்திரம் நீ தொடுக்காதே. குறி தவறிவிடும்…” அதற்குக் கர்ணன் சொல்வான்: “மத்ரேசா உனது கூற்றின் பொருள் எனக்குப் புரிகிறது. ஆனால் லட்சியம் குறிவைத்து தொடுத்திட்ட சரம் தனை மாற்றி தொடுப்பது தர்ம நீதிக்கு உகந்ததல்ல. தொடுத்த அம்பினை கர்ணன் திருப்பி வைப்பதில்லை என்பதை நீ அறியவும்…”

“Karna, do not aim at the neck and shoot that arrow. ” To which Karna will say: “Madresa, I understand the meaning of your statement. But it is not in the interest of moral justice to change the string of my target. Know that Karna will not revoke the his arrow.
Ini nan urangattum, BK Balakrishnan

Unfortunately, the wheel of his chariot got stuck inside the pit. He sought help from Shalya to release it. He refused to help and started abusing Karna’s caste.

Karna highlighted the rules of war and asked Arjuna to hold for some time until he releases his wheel from the pit. While Karna was busy releasing his wheel by showing his back to Arjuna, Krishna asked Arjuna to shoot his arrow to kill Karna. Arjuna refused as Karna was armless. Krishna countered him by saying that poor Draupadi had not shown such dharma when she was disrobed in court. Outraged Arjuna shot his arrow at Karna, which pierced his heart (or beheaded him).

The beautiful and mighty warrior was born in right place at wrong time, faced humiliation allover, did not take anything from this world but donated a lot, ended his life in the battlefield miserably.