Visit to Polonnaruwa 2

Last May, I was in Penang and visited a Buddhist temple which contained a large statue of a sleeping Buddha, which was made of plaster and garishly painted. I couldn't help but recall
the Gal Vihara, which represents the pinnacle of Sinhalese rock carving. The serene facial expressions and liquid flow of the robes are all carved from the same massive slab of granite.

The 14-meter long reclining image shows the Buddha passing away and entering nirvana. The face, delicately flecked with variations in the natural colour of the rock is especially beautiful. The statue has been carved with such tenderness and attention to detail that even the bolster like pillow carries a subtle depression under the head. The standing Buddha statue that is 7-meters tall is supposed to be unusual because the arms are folded, the eyes half-closed, and the face bears a sorrowful expression.

Sunset over the Parakrama Samudra from the Rest House

Earlier, we had lunch at the Polonnaruwa Rest House, a small government run hotel, located overlooking the picturesque Parakrama Samudra. Instead of returning to Dambulla, we decided to stay overnight at the rest house, famed for hosting Queeen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their first visit to Sri Lanka in 1954. Despite the recent addition of several rooms overlooking the Samudra, the rest house has declined in both service and appearance, but the location is incomparable.

Where water should have been, sand has appeared

The severe drought that Polonnaruwa has experienced was evident in the shrinking f the Samudra, with the water having receded. Still. we saw a number of small fishing boats. This being the windy season, strong winds blew all day and night.

Fawzia relaxing on the terrace.

A flock of gulls against the setting sun

In the evening, Ranjit Hulugalle, the "gentleman farmer" blogger, came by for beer and dinner. Ranjit runs"From Dream into Reality", one of the most popular blogs in the country

Ranjit stayed for a long chat. He's seen with his faithful steed the Tata pick-up

Driving back to Dambulla the next morning, we stopped at Giritale Tank, another ancient reservoir. Here's Beaula wading in. Fawzia took a dip in the cool water.

The view from my roof

I bought my house at Clover Lodge for the peace and quiet and for the view. I don't go up to the roof often enough but the view from up there is tranquil and brings a sense of calmness. Almost every visitors comments on this and perhaps I should go up more often to appreciate the view.

The photo above the village that borders Jade Bay. The previous owner of my house told me that there wasn't a single dwelling when she moved in twenty years ago. And the number of houses is increasing. Last afternoon, when I snapped these photos, the tide was low and some mud had appeared.

The white buildings in the center cove is the Folk Museum where Patrick Ng the poet works.

Sometimes at night, flights coming in to land at the airport appear over the hill, with lights blazing. One appears almost every minute.

More to the right in the center of the photo is the Bardbury Camp, where young people come during the weekend for recreation activities, mainly canoeing. Quite a few canoes could be seen in the photo. The two houses on the bottom right were built some years ago and remained vacant for many years. One owner has begun to fill up a stream illegally. We have complained to the Lands Department.

More to the right is a beautiful view of Jade Bay. It being a Saturday afternoon, a few boats had anchored, their owners probably partying on board or swimming in the bay. The Jockey Club golf course could be seen in the distance.

More to the right would be a glimpse of Sai Kung town, especially the lights at night.

Sai Kung is one of the few locations in Hong Kong where the nights could be starry. Then, a few hours spent on the rooftop becomes even more relaxing.

Mr. Woo

The phone call would go like this.

"Mr. Woo?"

"Yees? Hey Georgie! How are you?"

He had again recognized my voice.

"Go to airport tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Three thirty."

"Half past three. OK"

If he had been driving when I called, he would call back to double-check. And he would be there on time.

Mr. Woo has been driving me to the airport from Clover Lodge for nearly 10 years now. He's one of those individuals I look forward to seeing.

Mr. Woo's English isn't perfect but we manage to carry on a conversation during the drive. Before he sets off, he makes sure that I have my passport and the airline ticket (the latter somewhat superfluous now). Then he asks about my parents, although my mother passed away four years ago. I ask about his mother, who, at 94, used to live in a remote "mountain village" in Guangdong. Mr. Woo would visit her regularly. He says that the fresh mountain air and the clean water enabled her to live long. She had a fall recently and passed away.

Mr. Woo has told me his life story a number of times. He says his father was a Kuomintang General (for all I know he may have been a foot soldier), so, when the Communists took over, Mr. Woo swam to Hong Kong knowing that his future would be bleak under the Communists. He couldn't swim, so he paddled "like a little dog". He came with two friends but none of his siblings followed, and Mr. Woo lives the immigrant's dream, eventually buying a taxi and educating all his children. Two of them live abroad, if I recall correctly.

Each time I travel with him, I feel that Mr. Woo is getting more feeble and wonder if I would see him again. He no longer drives long distance at night.

Coconut pluck at Mangalika Estate

Till he fell ill in October, my dad took care of Mangalika Estate in Chilaw. Then I handed the management to Bandara, my brother-in-law. I June, accompanied Bandara as he was supervising the pluck.

Coconuts are usually plucked once in two months. Some coordination is needed in advance. The pluckers have to be informed and then those who go around the estate collecting the plucked coconuts. Finally, the "mudalali" (or the wholesale buyer of the nuts) must also be informed so that he could send tractors and trucks to collect and transport the nuts to his business premises.

The pluckers come early. They have long bamboos with a sharp knife tied to the end. They can easily spot the bunches of mature coconuts which they expertly cut and allow to fall to the ground. It takes 5 pluckers about 4 hours to pluck the 20 acres, for which they are paid Rs. 5000/.

The collectors follow the pluckers, making small heaps of the plucked nuts making it easier to load the nuts to the tractor, which goes around the estate collecting the nuts. They are paid Rs. 500-800/ each for a day's work. These loads are brought to a central collection point, which is near the watcher's house. Watcher Chandrasena and family reside on the estate to look after it.


The tractor unloads the nuts near the watcher's house

The first heap of coconuts

Coconuts being counted and loaded to the truck for transportation. These men can tell good coconuts from the "puhu" or bad ones, but I felt that they were discarding too many good ones and got them to take another look at the discarded nuts. A a result, about 500 coconuts that had been discarded were loaded to the truck to be sold to the "mudalali".

Bandara can be seen at the extreme left, keeping a sharp eye on the counting

Bandara adding up the figures

The crop exceeded 6,000 nuts, probably the best for the year. But, the wholesale price of coconuts has fallen sharply and we can barely meet the running expenses of the estate. Mangalika Estate is a "non-profit" venture, run more as a hobby than for profit! I bought the land at dad's insistence so that he could enjoy what he's done most of his life--manage a coconut plantation. Now, I must decide what to do with the property.

Roy's visit

Roy arrived for a visit on June 16 with his girlfriend Shannon. Shannon's sister Amanda, who lives in Florida, arrived the next day.



Shannon and Amanda at the airport.



At "Pondside". Roy, Shannon, Fawzia, and Amanda. The two girls loved "Pondside", and Roy proposed to Shannon there. Thankfully (!), she accepted.



The girls were fascinated by the fishing boats on Negombo beach and by the fish market. Not like in the States!



Roy with Beaula, my sister.

Shannon with Beaula.

The two girls, Roy, and Fawzia did a 10-day tour, visiting Kandy, Dambulla, and the ancient cities. They appear to have had a great time. I stayed back with my ailing father and Beaula.