An afternoon with Ranjit Hulugalle

Ranjit is the author of the "Dream into Reality" blog http://rajaratarala.blogspot.com/
about whom I have written before. He is the British educated Sri Lankan who gave up a comfortable life in London to return to Sri Lanka to the life of a working farmer.

I called him up from Namala and he happened to be at his rural home in Ratmale, less than an hour's drive away. After waking Victor from his restful slumber, we packed a nice lunch of rice and curry and set off for Ratmale. The route took us past Habarana junction (famous for wild elephants sauntering on to the road after dark), where we turned right in the direction of the ancient capital Polonnaruwa. The road has been repaired recently and it was a smooth drive through the thick jungle till we turned off to the rutted dirt road leading to Ratmale. The jungle became scrub and the small houses of poor villagers began to appear. Although the time was around 2pm on a Friday, there was hardly anyone on the road. The people we met, although helpful in providing directions, seemed lethargic and possibly in low spirits because of the hard life they led.

Ratmale turned out to be a sleepy little hamlet with a couple of shops and a school. It is a "Purana" village, which means that the inhabitants have been there for centuries; they are not colonists who have been transplanted to the dry zone from other areas in the country. They lived in fear of wild elephants and would shut their doors and windows tightly in the evening, ensuring airless, sweltering nights.

Ranjit greeted us effusively. I recognized him and his house ("Kumbuk Pokuna Lodge") from the photos in his blog. He didn't seem to know who Victor was, which amused Victor, but it didn't seem unusual considering Ranjit's isolation and spartan lifestyle. He led the way to the beautiful Ratmale Tank (lake) just a few yards from the house.


Tanks are man-made reservoirs constructed in Sri Lanka's dry zone under the direction on ancient kings. In areas where water was in short supply, these tanks (shallow indentations supported by an earthen bund) were built to conserve as much rain water as possible in order to irrigate the rice fields. Ranjit claims that over one thousand such tanks exist in the Polonnaruwa area which has long been called the granary of Sri Lanka. The Ratmale Tank is easily over 1,000 years old. We found it to be in great shape.


Ratmale Tank. The sluice gate controls the flow of water to the rice fields below the tank.

Ranjit pointed out that wild elephants roamed the jungle on the other side of the tank. He bathed in the tank every morning, and during our visit, dozens of villagers walked past his house on the way to bathe and wash their laundry.


Victor, Ranjit, Lal (driver), and me on the bund of Ratmale Tank

"Kumbuk Pokuna Lodge" (the pond of kumbuk trees) is, in a sense, typical of Ranjit's approach to rural life. The veranda had no external walls and Ranjit's bed, with a mosquito net hanging above, was the only piece of furniture. His view consisted of the majestic kumbuk trees gently swaying in the wind. Obviously, he did not suffer sweltering nights. Free of electricity, running water, radio, TV, newspapers, Ranjit is able focus on what he likes best, cultivating his farm, observing the lives of the villagers, and writing his blog. He does own a mobile phone and a digital camera which he sends for charging to Ratmale village. He does not own a computer; when he wants to blog, he borrows one!

Because wild elephants pass by his house at night, he is in some danger. An elephant could easily reach out with its trunk and grab Ranjit while he's asleep. Elephants usually come looking for food and Ranjit has taken the precaution of building his kitchen away from the house. He also has a well for his water supply.



The verandah of Kumbuk Pokuna Lodge

We shared the lunch with Ranjit. During this time, Ranjit's helpers would stop by, some posing for photos with Victor when they recognized the visitor. Ranjit kept reminding the villagers that it was the Internet (and his blog) that had brought Ratmale to our attention. He repeated that his mission was to encourage young villagers to stay in Ratmale instead migrating to the cities or abroad by bringing the world to Ratmale through the Internet. As far as I observed, the villagers did not appear to find his lifestyle eccentric.

Ranjit capturing another memory

Ranjit had arranged a driver named Neville to bring his jeep for the safari, and we set off around 3pm from Ratmale. Ranjit kept up an ongoing commentary about the villagers, their lifestyle and habits as we drove along. He had also caught some fresh water shrimp nearby and described how he caught them.

Ranjit & me

After the safari, we returned to "Kumbuk Pokuna Lodge" and Ranjit became animated as he described the poverty and despair of the local farmers. It was growing dark and soon, wild elephants would be coming on to the road, which could pose some danger. So we bid a reluctant Goodbye to our unusual friend. As we left, a peacock flew on to the branches of a nearby tree to roost for the night. Nothing would have been more appropriate.

Victor was fascinated by Ranjit and his lifestyle and we all kept discussing him on the way back to Namala. Back in Hong Kong, I read that we would consume 31 billion barrels of oil, six billion tons of coal, and a hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas this year. Their consumption will yield 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide. An alternative lifestyle must be found. Probably Ranjit already has the answer.