A golden opportunity to visit India’s Southern neighbour, Sri Lanka, virtually landed on my lap, during the auspicious occasion of the Deepawali festival celebrations. It became a reality because of an unprecedented and dynamic programme initiated by High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda and Madam Jennifer Moragoda for the long serving members of the staff of the High Commission.
The journey commenced from the glitz of the mega T3 Terminal of the IGI Airport of New Delhi on a fine November dawn. The SriLankan Airlines aircraft engulfed us in its spotlessly clean and visually soothing interiors and within an interlude of three hours we were gliding down a land which was painted with green interspersed with the blue of its abundant water bodies. The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at Katunayake seemed an embrace into the welcoming arms of a natural green expanse. The 40 minutes ride from BIA to the heart of Colombo was like drifting through some beautiful panoramas in which the land and the water competed to charm the onlooker. As we approached Colombo it seemed as if mega structures were awakening from the horizon. Entering the city we were surrounded with a perfect blend of modern architecture with that of the bygone colonial era, where the two styles complemented each other rather than starkly outlining the two different eras.
Colombo seemed to me was a grand dream of a city. A visit to the iconic Republic Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which fortunately was in our itinerary, was like being transported to a time when grandeur and exquisiteness was the rule rather than an exception. The building with its ornate interiors and grand corridors is an edifice to be absorbed, and so painstakingly maintained to the last detail. I count myself fortunate to have been granted the opportunity to meet with the person of the stature of Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane in her stately office.
What struck me in Colombo, the commercial capital, was that it had a variety to offer to all and sundry. From architectural marvels, to places of serene reverence, from the calmness of the waters of the lakes that dot the city to the expanse of the Indian Ocean. The one thing that is in common throughout is cleanliness. It seemed as if cleanliness and orderliness were endemic to the people in general. Especially having spent almost the entire life in Delhi, and seeing the entire traffic coming to a halt when a person needs to cross a busy thoroughfare through a zebra crossing was a pleasant surprise. Another wonder was the absence of honking which made the cacophony of the streets, the people, the shops, the birds, audible. For me it was a city of humans and not some mechanized robots with horns blaring and trying to outdo each other.
I visited the ancient fortress city of Sigiriya in the Central Province, a world heritage site, and the adjacent equally famous Dambulla Cave Temples. Besides their historical and architectural magnificence these sites stand testimony as to how the heritage of a nation and its people should be preserved and presented. The visit to the Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Tooth Relic in the city of Kandy seemed a connection with serenity within, particularly in those blissful environs. Kandy is truly a natural citadel which only a few in its chequered history had been able to breach fully. The Botanical Gardens of the University of Peradeniya on the banks of the longest river of Sri Lanka, Mahaweli, actually transports one to the bounty of nature and the flora that has been accumulated in the country throughout the annals of its human habitation.
The visit to Nuwara Eliya, the land of the mountains in Sri Lanka was more of an entry into the extensive tea plantations of the country. The roads are spectacular with flowers of varied colours and hues dotting the entire hill country. It seemed as if besides the humans the flora of the land too was welcoming the outsiders to their warm embrace. Visited the two famous Hindu shrines, the Hanuman Kovil and the Seetha Amman Temple, with connections to the Ramayana in these verdant environs. Nuwara Eliya will be imprinted in my mind for a long time for the beautiful waterfalls and lakes that are abundant.
I would have certainly missed something if Bentota was not on the itinerary. Yes, certainly the majestic Ocean gently washing the sandy shores is an attraction yet for me the boat ride to the mangrove forest which runs along the Bentota river was captivating. It was akin to experiencing the National Geographic and Discovery Channel shows in real life. Entering those riverine passages shaded by the green sky of the trees above, and the variety of forms of the pneumatophores protruding out of the river floor with an exotic variety of fauna, was being transported to a different world.
Galle was a mixture of old world Europe in Sri Lanka. Resplendent buildings of the colonial times, from the Portuguese, Dutch and the English times, vied with each other for attention. The Ocean and the silhouettes of ships anchored around was indeed a perfect end to our Sri Lanka trip.
An aspect that fascinated me in Sri Lanka, was that right from its early kingdom days the administrators realized the importance of water and over the millennia have constructed such an efficient system of water reservoirs that the landscape seems full of the life giving elixir although the country lacks a perennial snow fed water body. I found it to be a land where humans blended with nature and not the other way round.
What struck me most when I entered Sri Lanka and all through my journeys through a fair bit of the land was its cleanliness, hospitality of the people – the normal people on the streets, the respect for traffic rules and the resilience of the people. I could feel the hope with which they see their future and intensity to achieve human perfection which indeed overcame some of the deficiencies arising from the current economic situation. All around I could feel that throbbing energy of innovativeness, courtesy and above all a respect for fellow human beings, flora and fauna. The people have blended themselves with the land to create a truly tropical paradise.
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