|
 A
visit to Sri Lanka had been my long cherished desire. The
opportunity came recently when I went for a brief visit to study
family planning, women's status and tourism in Sri Lanka. The legend
is that Prince Vijay Singh, perhaps from Kalinga, (Orissa) incurred
the wrath of his father, the King, and was banished out of the land.
The Prince accompanied by his close associate was despatched in a
boat into the open seas. As luck would have it the boat landed in
the island of Sri Lanka. The island was then ruled by the Queen of
the local aboriginal matriarchal tribe.
Prince Vijay Singh who survived the journey, charmed
the Queen. She not only sheltered him, but also married him. He
usurped the power, crafty as he was, became the King, banished the
Queen and her folks into the deep forest and brought himself a
Princess back home from Orissa. From then on more and more people
from Orissa, Bihar, Bengal and other Northern Provinces kept joining
the Prince continuously. The word 'Singhala' has originated from the
word 'Singh', connected with the name of Vijay Singh and other
members of the ruling clan. The Tamil tradition in the east also
dates back to antiquity, and people from the Southern part of India
have also been simultaneously settling in parts of Sri Lanka from
time immemorial. Over a period of time, so many different types of
people have come to this hospitable island, and have lived for
centuries, in love and harmony.
The flight to Colombo from Madras was straight, easy and quick,
and was over, before I could have my cup of tea. After reaching the
Colombo Airport and getting into the car, I dozed off for about 10
minutes. Suddenly when I opened my eyes, I lost my bearings. I
thought I was dreaming. I was passing through a strange beautiful
place. Suddenly I was overjoyed, because I thought this might be
Paradise. The exotic trees, lovely winding road, little exquisite
village cottages, each one with its own little garden. Tiny Souvenir
shops with their wares of mud and clay; and bamboo and coconut
leaves. Everything was so perfect, so neat, so flawless, so pleasant
and so colourful, that it did not seem real. The dream ended as we
reached closer to Colombo and our hotel.
Later I realised I was not the only one who felt so. Fourteenth
Century Papal envoy to China Marigolini summarised some of his
impressions of Sri Lanka, thus - "Now the paradise is a place that
really exists upon earth, surrounded by the Ocean Sea in the regions
of the orient, on the other side of Columbine - India, and against
the mountains of Seyllan: and from Seyllan to Paradise is a distance
of forty Italian Leagues; so that it is said that the sound of the
waters falling from the fountains of Paradise, is heard there". On a
similar vein, Bernard Shaw, on his death bed, expressed his last
wish to be born again in 'Sri Lanka', if the doctrine of rebirth was
a reality.
In Colombo, the most beautiful place is the 'Galle Face' green,
the beach which mercifully has been left large, open and upspoilt.
All the important buildings and hotels are located in and around 'Galle
Face'. We stayed in Lanka-Oberoi very close to the beach, which is
one of the early five star hotels constructed in Colombo. It has a
huge lounge, which is adored with two giant size Sri Lankan fabric
hangings, depicting the symbols of great Sinhala Kings, royalty, and
ancient culture. This creates a strong Sri Lankan presence, and you
feel at once that you are not just in any five star hotel, but you
are in Sri Lanka.
Every morning we took lovely walks on the Galle Face green, where
almost every health-conscious Colombo citizen comes for jogging. You
are sure to meet the same people day after day. The beach has a lot
of mobile eateries, where you get quick snacks, and even breakfast
and dinner. You find many people having their morning breakfast and
evening snacks on the beach. The most popular snacks in Sri Lanka
are 'Hoppers', egg hoppers and string hoppers (that is precisely the
Appams, egg Appams, and Ediyappams of our own South India). Plenty
of these are available on the beach. You can also have a morning cup
of tea at the beach, which is a cup of mild, tasty and sweet
black-tea (since milk invariably arrives late).
Colombo is dotted with hundreds of hotels and eating places.
However for Chinese, there is nothing like 'Golden Dragon' of Taj
Samudra also situated at Galle Face. At stone's throw are located
Milton, Hotel Nippon, Ramada, Hotel Galle Face, Taj Samudra to name
just a few.
Why Serendip? Learn next week.
|
