"Pondside"

My dad enjoying a ride at "Pondside". He's 82.

"Pondside" is what remains of the ancestral property that belonged to my dad's family. My grandmother Engracia Nonis, who had expanded a small piece of land by buying up adjoining plots in the early 1900s, gifted parts of the land to her children--my dad and his brothers and sisters. The part that is "Pondside" was given to my uncle George, who in turn sold it to his sister Mary. I bought the property, which is about one hectare, from Aunt Mary in 1977.

The property is named after the pond that borders one part of the land. My grandfather, Charles Stanley Braine, had the pond dug so that his large brood of children (six girls and three boys) would have a place to frolic. The pond is fed by a stream, which now brings pollutants in, so it's no longer safe for swimming or bathing. A body of water cools and greens the property and attracts birds and various small animals, so, polluted or not, it's still adds beauty to the property. The pond also teems with fish.

"Pondside" is a green oasis in a village that is fast becoming crowded with large houses built by the locals. In the 1980s, men from the village, almost all of them Catholics, began to leave for work in Italy. They were later joined by their wives and children. They obviously make good money working as housemaids, drivers, or in caring for the elderly. The only way of displaying their wealth is to build a large, modern house back in the village, so Boralessa (that's the name of my village) is full of these houses, which are largely unoccupied because their owners are in Italy. My house, which sits in the middle of my property, is only 800 sq.ft.

In the late 1970's, my family lived at "Pondside". When we first moved in, there was no electricity in the area. Life was simple, and I traveled to work at the Kelaniya University by train. Fawzia taught at the girls school in the village. The property had numerous fruit trees such as mango, guvava, cashew, ambarella, pomegranate, beli, and anoda. It also had coconut, jak, breadfruit, and some coffee. We also kept chickens for their eggs. We were, for the most part, self sufficient in food, except for rice, fish, and meat. And the produce was organic, although the term was not applied commonly to agricultural products at that time.

In time, we, too, went abroad, and a succession of friends and tenants lived at "Pondside". In 1995, when I moved from the USA to Hong Kong, we made a determined effort to revive the property. First, the old house, a relic from the 1940's, was pulled down and a new house built for my friends the Nizam and Eileen Dane, who were looking for a calmer life. Nizam (or Dane as I called him) was serving in the army, only two years from retirement, and Eileen had retired from the Central Bank after it was attacked by a suicide bomber. Tragically, Dane died in action soon after they moved into "Pondside"and Eileen didn't stay there for much longer.


My son Roy relaxing at "Pondside"

To give an idea of the prevalence of bird life on the property, let me show a list of the birds seen by my friends Kathy and Cully Wilcoxon, who spent a week there in January 2004.

Birds seen at “Pondside”, Boralessa (January, 2004)

Black-hooded Oriole
White rumped Munia
Indian Pond Heron
Little Cormorant
White-breasted Waterhen
Red-wattled Lapwing
Flame-backed Woodpecker
Red-vented Bulbul
Magpie Robin
White-bellied Drongo
Purple-rumped Sunbird
Long-billed Sunbird
Common Myna
Brown-headed Barbet
White-throated Kingfisher
Indian Pitta (a rare bird)
Asian Paradise Flycather
Pak-billed Flowerpecker
Great Tit
Little Egret
Yellow-billed Babbler
Oriental White Eye
Black Bittern
Koel
Palm Swift
Greater Coucal
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Blue-tailed Bee eater
House Crow


Jak fruit

"Pondside" is now looked after by Prasanna, his wife Padma, and their two children. We pay them a small sum monthly, provide free housing, and pay for their electricity. Prasanna is a coconut plucker. He climbs coconut trees and plucks the coconuts by hand, charging the owners Rs. 30 for every tree he climbs. This is a dangerous job because the coconut trees could be 50ft. in height and a fall could be fatal.


Prasanna and Padma in the vegetable plot

Prasanna and Padma take good care of the land and have made it thrive. They are naturals at the cultivation of vegetables and take pleasure in sharing the produce of the land. Padma keeps chickens and sells the eggs to her neighbours.


Padma and the two children with the cow.

In 2007, I gave some money to Padma to buy a calf. The family is looking forward to the milk that is expected this year.


Prasanna and Padma appear to have thrived since moving to "Pondside". In addition to a TV and furniture, they bought a refrigerator last year, a luxury for many Sri Lankans. This year, Prasanna bought a motorcycle; instead of bicycling to work, he now rides the motorcycle. He told me he had paid half the sale price of Rs. 60,000 in cash. We are happy to see them doing well.


Prasanna, Padma, and their two children, who are dressed for Sunday school.

To my regret, I don't get to spend much time at "Pondside". When in Sri Lanka, often on brief visits of a fortnight or so every year, I might spend a few nights at "Pondside", enjoying kos, polos, breadfruit, cashew, and mango cooked by Padma. These visits bring back memories of times when life was simpler and we lived closer to the land.