Travels with Victor

On July 3, we drove to Mahargama to pick-up Victor Ratnayake on our way to Dambulla. We only stopped twice on the way, once to have some "kola kanda" (herbal drink) at Gampaha.

Victor proved to be a fine traveling companion. He kept us entertained with stories of the Sri Lankan diaspora that he has met on concert tours, with jokes, and biting criticisms of politicians and bad drivers. I expected him to nap on the way, but he talked all the way on the three hour trip.


At breakfast, Namala Holiday Resort

Namala Holiday Resort, of which I am a shareholder (more about that in another entry) is about 3 km. from Dambulla town, near the international cricket stadium. Dambulla is within the so called Cultural Triangle, which includes Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, two ancient capitals of Sri Lanka. It's steeped with Buddhism, history, and culture. In recent time, the main wholesale market for Sri Lankan agricultural products has been set-up at Dambulla, so it's also of commercial importance.


At Namala, after the morning walk

Victor gets up every morning at 5.00am and takes a walk, and, in the photo above, I caught him in a rare pose. He's very conscious of his health. No drinking, smoking, or eating meat. He told me that he used to smoke 50 cigarettes a day till 1991. I am surprised that his voice still sounds so mellow.



With Kanthi and the staff at Namala

The staff at Namala, all Sinhalese, were thrilled to have the famous musician in their midst. Victor deals in an appealing manner with people, calling them "son" or "daughter". He's charming and unassuming.


The lovely mango grove at Thilanka Spa

On the first evening, we drove to the nearby Thilanka Spa for a massage. Thilanka is built on a lovely mango grove, and, even in the midst of a drought, the surroundings were green and cool.

Because only one massage therapist was available, we urged Victor to have a go. He said it was the first time he'd had a massage and that he enjoyed it thoroughly.


On the safari jeep

The next morning, we wanted to visit the Kaudulla National Park to see elephants, but Victor was sleeping so peacefully that I didn't have the heart to wake him up. I had called Ranjit Hulugalle, the man who writes the "Dream into Reality" blog, and he was waiting for us with a safari jeep. Finally, we set off after noon with a packed lunch.


On safari. A lone elephant in background


Some elephants can be seen in the background

Victor was fascinated by Ranjit's lifestyle, which I'll write about later. This was Victor's first elephant safari and he enjoyed it a great deal.

We had to return on Saturday because Victor had a concert in the evening. His daughter told me that this was the first time that Victor had traveled for a purely recreational purpose. Next time, we'll take him to Kandy for a few days, and also try to wean him off the mobile phone to which he seems addicted!

Visit to Bellwood Farm

Bellwood Farm is the property that my brother-in-law Hamlin and I bought in April, mentioned under a previous entry titled "Hillside Paradise"! Actually, that was the title of the advertisement used by the previous owner. The land is part of the old Bellwood tea plantation, which has been subdivided many times for various purposes, mainly for distribution among landless people. Bellwood Farm is 17 acres in extent.

One morning, we started off from the Hantana house and traveled through the beautiful Hantana tea plantation on the way to Bellwood. Despite its proximity to Kandy town, the plantation is amazingly tranquil; for about 10 kms, we hardly encountered any traffic on the road. Of course, the road, like many such rural roads in Sri Lanka, was in very bad shape. But the lovely, carpet-like tea bushes, the smiling, curious faces of plantation workers and their children, the quaint churches (one dedicated to St. Sebastian) and Hindu kovils, the stunning valleys and pine plantations, the cool breeze blowing in through the open windows, kept us enthralled.



Our party consisted mainly of Fawzia's cousins Dudley, Shaan, Fati and their children. After about 10 kms of travel, we came to Galaha, a typical plantation town providing supplies of fertilizer, pesticides, weedicides, and small equipment to the surrounding plantations and provisions to the workers. In a country torn by ethnic strife, Galaha is unusual in that Sinhalese, Tamil, and Moor residents appear to live in harmony.

Three more kilometers of bone rattling roads and we were in Bellwood Farm. At Hantana, the elevation of about 2000 ft. and Bellwood is much higher, closer to 3500, so the climate is even nicer. We felt this as soon as we alighted from the van.



Bellwood is awash in greenery. Virtually anything grows there. The photo below shows coffee and pepper. Jak, cardamom, cloves, avocado, guava ... the list goes on. However, the land had been neglected in recent years and most of the produce has not been harvested.



The more verdant part of the land is steep, with a perennial stream flowing at the bottom. Beyond the land, this stream divides, one providing water to local rice farmers and the other forming a "spout" where locals come to take a bath and wash their clothes. This is also the opportunity for villagers to trade gossip and catch-up on the local news.

We are thinking of tapping the stream and to start bottling water. "Bellwood Spring Water" has a nice ring to it!



More than half the land consists of a grassy hillside, formerly planted with tea. Tea is fetching very good prices now and Hamlin is thinking of planting tea in the hillside. This isn't cheap: the cost of planting tea in an acre of land is about Rs. 300,000 (US$3,000).



I was pleased to see that Hamlin has already started some cultivation. Part of the land had been cleared and planted with carrots, tomatoes, celery, and other vegetables. They were sprouting, and two labourers were at work. Sarath, the caretaker, told me that the temporary fence they had constructed around the area was keeping out the wild boar, rabbits, and porcupines, although the seeds were attracting wood pigeons. When the tomatoes ripen, he expected the monkeys to arrive in droves. Farmers never have it easy: in the dry zone, it's the lack of water. In other areas, it's the animals and birds that destroy their crops.

A problem that dairy farmers face is the low wholesale price paid for milk. When we bought Bellwood, there were three milking cows, but the caretaker Sarath was not keen to keep them because the price paid for mild was less than that for bottled water! So, the cows have been sold.

The house at Hantana

Back in 1984, my son Roy was attending schooling in Kandy. He had been miserable at the school hostel and unhappy at the various teacher's houses where he had been boarded. When my parents agreed to move to Kandy and take care of Roy, we bought the house at Hantana.

Hantana is about 2 miles from Kandy, at a higher elevation than the historical city. (Kandy was the capital of the last King of Sri Lanka, who was captured and deported by the British. It is revered by Buddhists because the Temple of the Tooth (which is supposed to contain a tooth of the Buddha is kept there.) Hantana is actually a tea plantation which is still in operation. A part of it was taken over by the government in the early 1980s to build houses for the middle-class.

The construction was given to an Italian company, and they built the houses in a distinctive style never before seen in Sri Lanka. They had to build on the slopes, and Kandy experiences heavy rains, so the houses were constructed mainly of concrete. But certain aspects of the design, such as the parallel window panes, have proved a problem from the start. Frankly, I never liked the house, not least because we had to climb 34 steps to reach it. I didn't like the floor plan either, or the small bedrooms and the awkward corners.

Roy spent three happy ears at Hantana with my parents. He left for the USA in 1987 and my parents returned to their home closer to Colombo. We kept the house going, sometimes letting university students stay there for free or renting it out through a local agent. But it was a drain on my purse. On visits to Kandy, we would stay there for a couple of days at the most. During the 25 years I've owned it, I may not have stayed in the house for more than 60 days in total. It certainly doesn't feel like home.

My parents planted avocado, mango, and other fruit trees during their stay. These trees are bountiful now. After a brief stay last week, we plucked nearly 100 luscious avocado fruits and distributed them among the relatives who visited Hantana with us.

Although I don't appreciate Hantana, visitors do. This time, as the low country of Sri Lanka was sweltering in heat, the climate at Hantana was cool and nice. Not even a fan was needed. The water, coming from the springs of Hantana tea plantation, was crystal clear and the best we had tasted in Sri Lanka. Although I had plans to sell the house, I may face much opposition from family and friends now.

The photos below show the steps leading down to the road, and my dad posing in frot of the famous Hantana peak. He's sentimentally attached to the Hantana house because he lived there, under some hardship, when we first bought it. After all these years, he still has friends among the neighbours. Dad helped start an association of residents which is still doing good work.

Before the TV and telephone transmission towers were set up and it became a high security zone, climbing Hantana peak was a ritual for students from the nearby university. "Hantana" has strong romantic connotations for generations of university students and is celebrated in film, poetry, and song.

Return to "Pondside"

The house as seen from the road


I am back in Hong Kong after three weeks in Sri Lanka during which I did quite a lot of traveling. Friends are surprised at this because Sri Lanka is quite dangerous, with a civil war raging and bombs going off in towns and innocent people being killed. But I haven't faced any danger. Maybe I've been lucky.

We made a beeline to "Pondside" because it is where we can relax the best. After the heavy rains in recent months, the land was green and the mango, jak, and cashew trees were heavy with leaves and branches. Numerous birds and squirrels were to be seen. On the negative side, the pond was covered in algae and an edible water plant (called "kang kung" locally, a type of water spinach). This was a popular food during earlier hard times, but villagers, prosperous with remittances from relatives working in Italy, don't care for it now.


Looking towards the pond. Those are cashew and mango trees.

We like "Pondside" mainly for its tranquility and the fresh produce that comes from the garden. Because the house is about 50 yards from the road, we are not disturbed much by traffic which consists mainly of bicycles, motor cycles, and tuk-tuks. We can observe the passing scene without drawing attention to ourselves. The garden, rife with mangoes, papaya, jak, cashew, coffee, bread fruit, and vegetables, all grown organically, provides fresh and tasty food, cooked lovingly by Padma. What more can one wish for?

Prasanna is proud of his motorcycle

We do have electricity, running water, and a fridge at "Pondside" but we don't have a radio, a TV or a phone. No BBC, CNN, ATV. No worries about wars, the stock market, or the price of oil. This leaves us time to chat with Padma, Prasanna and the occasional relative or neighbour who cares to visit. We do have few relatives left in the village. My cousin Marie, her husband Bandara, and their son Charles and his family live a few hundred yards from us. Other relatives such as Ignatius, his sister Georgiana, and nephew Chryshantha are also nearby. When they see our car parked at the house, they drop by for a chat and a cup of tea.

Padma, Maduranga, and Prasanna

Not much had changed since our last visit. The two boys are taller. The second, Maduranga, is mischievous but is also good at his studies. The cow should be giving milk now, but, despite two artificial inseminations and one attempt with a stud bull, she is not showing signs of pregnancy. Padma, who was looking forward to the milk and the cash it would bring, is disappointed. We may have to buy another cow.

The huge "kumbuk" tree near the pond. It must be over 100 years old.

The magnificent kumbuk tree is the landmark at "Pondside". Kumbuk timber is light but hard and is prized as the best wood for fishing boars. We get regular offers from boat builders but wouldn't dream of cutting it down. Because it's rare in the area, people come from miles away to peel a piece of its bark for medicinal purposes. By the away, while at Ratmale, I saw miles and miles of kumbuk trees growing along the bunds of ancient tanks. More about that in another entry.

Maduranga, the younger boy, is good at his studies.

Village life is full of gossip, disputes among neighbors, and "Pondside" is not immune to these intrusions. Unfortunately, Prasanna appears to be prone to jealousy, and, despite warnings from me, has a tendency to become abusive towards his family. Padma had a nice brood of chickens which she kept for eggs and also sold for meat. When she was away visiting relatives, Prasanna had sold the lot to "teach Padma a lesson" and bought a mobile phone with the proceeds!

Tarzan, the "Pondside" dog

Tarzan usually roams the neighborhood but during our visits tends to stay at home and guard the house.