Memories of my Trip to Sri Lanka in 2014

By Ramesh Kumar

Visit to Kala Oya has become a "Must" for us since our first visit there last year. I have been saying this place teaches me what "Destitute" is. Unless one visits and sees it for themselves no words can aptly convey what tough conditions under which the residents survive here. It is a very well run facility but sadly it lacks regular "Supplies." We do our bit but there has to be something else that needs to be done to help the facility. Elderly people going without meals regularly is not nice. Those who are reading this piece please think about it. I am open to suggestions. It takes a mere $70 Australian to provide all meals and two teas daily for nearly twenty five people.
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It is also in Kala Oya there is a little paradise hidden away about fifteen minutes of extremely slow drive from the main Puttalam - Anuradhapura Road. This place is surrounded by paddy fields on one side and a lovely secluded lake on the other. This "Cabana" is perched atop the banks of the lake which gives views, sights and sounds money cannot buy. The property is owned by Auril's best friend Scolestical's sister and family. Two nights here was just superb. The "Facilities" that add to the charm of this place: water tank on top of a mango tree that stands above the cabana, generator-run power supply which is available from about 6.30 pm to when it runs out of petrol, showers at the well, dip in the lake in which crocodile and human beings live in harmony, eating the catch of the day from the lake, eating mangoes just fallen off the tree, waking up listening to the sounds of lapping water below your feet, the chirping birds, sounds of peacocks, jumping fish, wonderful breeze off the lake....oh where do I stop?!

Our half day safari through Wilpathu National Park was great for one particular reason - leopards. We did not see any in Yala last year and this time in Wilpathu we spotted two of these spotted big cats! And both of them gave good sightings. I could photograph the second one and did not bother about the first because I simply wanted to "Take it all in" seeing a leopard in the wild for the first time. Wilpathu should really be done over a whole day as it is bigger than Yala and the vegetation is magnificent. We need to revisit this place.

And then we got to Jaffna and I have written plenty below most of the photos in my FB pages. Point Pedro, Causarina Beach, Thurkai Amman Temple in Tellipalai, Keerimalai, Nallur are some of the places we covered. Things happen because they are meant to happen as they did today. Our plan today was to visit Thurkai Amman Temple and keep moving and yet we ended up having a lovely lunch at the temple. We visited the temple as we planned and were invited to join them later for lunch. Still we were not sure but we moved on to visit my ancestral home and then Keerimalai. After Keerimalai we resolved to go back to the temple and join them for lunch. What a good decision it was.
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Nallur Temple
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Visiting Nallur was just as inspiring in the evening. In my opinion Nallur temple sets the standard for Hindu temples in Sri Lanka and I walked away from this temple again with my opinion unchanged. The bells were pealed this evening and it got some more of my childhood memories flooding back. Magic!

Picture Gallery

Girls' home being run at Thurkai Temple. There are one hundred forty nine displaced girls being taken care of. They attend school, enter university and do very well for themselves. The board in this picture shows the Mission statement of this organisation