Colours of Hikkaduwa#3

The last swim. Behind the cinnamon stick fence at Siriniwasa, Hikkaduwa. 29 Dec. 2013. Photograph© Chulie de Silva.

Thank you to my readers!

It’s been an amazing digital romp keeping this blog going the last six years or so. Through the thick and thin days, I’ve appreciated your feedback comments. Taking stock today I now have 225 posts, 734 comments and over 135,000 hits,

So this is to say a Big Thank you to all who have supported and encouraged me to write. I miss the comments and feedback which usually came with a good dollop of characteristic humour, I got from Mike Udabage.  Sadly he is not with us anymore, but I can still see his comments and smile.

The image of the school children that landed me in trouble. 10 Nov 2007. Photograph copyright Chulie de Silva

I started this blog in 2007, November with the first post  Shaken not stirred and my first experience of being hauled into a Police Station and having a ride with Police escorts in a blue jeep. At least, I got off without having to spend a night at the Royal Boarding House.

Prior to this in 2006, on the second anniversary of the  Tsunami in 2004, I started the Hikkaduwa Chronicles . This was supposed to be a jumbled memoir of a family that has lived in Hikkaduwa for over a century. The original intention was to keep the two blogs separate – one on family history and one as a photoblog. But once our web aggregator Kottu took Hikkaduwa Chronicles off its list, and with limited time it made more sense to keep the Chuls Bits & Pics going as my main blog. Now, I reblog on to Hikkaduwa Chronicles, the relevant pieces, as I still have some readers who follow that.

The smiling eyes, one of my favourite photos. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

Gold winner on hits is:

Degas Little Dancer. The All time favourite blog with readers. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

The next favourite is:

The 200 year old Sri Lankan house photo on the blog that gets second most hits. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

And the bronze goes to:

Birthplace of Sri Lankan literary giant Martin Wickramasinghe. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

The posts on this blog that got more than 1000 hits are:

Degas’ Fourteen Year Old Little Dancer		10,194
Age Old Charm of a 200 year old Sri Lanka House		9,530
Martin Wickramasinghe’s house, Koggala, Sri Lanka		4,437
Kandyan Dancers & Drummers		3,183
Selling Bananas and Discussing Climate Change		3,169
The Not So Hi! Ladies of Sri Lanka		3,093
Goddess Tara Time to Come Home ?		2,809
Tsunami 3 years on: Remembering Prasanna Kirtisinghe		2,227
Images of Jaffna		2,201
Much ado about Hikka nudes		1,893
Afghan Treasures Exhibition: a peep into a rich heritage		1,860
Painful wakeup call@Lighthouse, Galle		1,825
Colours of Dhaka		1,231
Maugham, Miss Pretty Girl, Cabbages & Condoms		1,162
Bomb in a Bra: Don’t Cry Baby, Don’t Cry		1,137
Smiling Eyes		1,075
The shrine on the beach “Welle Dewale,” Unawatuna		1,043

For me it’s always interesting to see the WordPress summaries and receive comments from someone from a far away place. This interaction is what makes a blog more interesting, than even writing a book. It’s the icing on the cake.

In this melee of blog posts, I’ve found another Chulie — Chulie Davey whose parents lived in Colombo in the 50’s and we exchanged Dear Chulie emails sometime ago; Dale from US who was a visitor to my parents home in the 1970’s and sends me links on classical music pieces to listen to and to read my blogs again; Klaus from Germany who was a great support to the family in the post tsunami traumatic times; nephews and neices who have found me on the blog and asked “Are you my Chulie Nandi?” …. and many more. such interesting virtual encounters.  Happy too that a couple of stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines.

So, my friends,  thanks again, wherever you are and do stay, and keep reading. The following stats are reproduced here with many thanks to WordPress — 3 more months to go for this year and I am looking forward to more blogging. Focus will be more on local history and travel stories. Do click on the Follow link on the blog and as always look forward to hearing from you.

Country	Views
Sri Lanka	18,106
United States	7,355
India	3,126
United Kingdom	2,779
Bangladesh	2,664
Australia	2,418
Canada	1,913
United Arab Emirates	1,015
Italy	812
France	735
Germany	636
Saudi Arabia	419
Netherlands	405
Malaysia	378
Singapore	343
Pakistan	313
Qatar	311
Thailand	257
Switzerland	253
Republic of Korea	238
Philippines	228
Russian Federation	222
New Zealand	214
Japan	183
Brazil	174
Austria	172
Belgium	170
Norway	165
Indonesia	164
Mexico	153
Kuwait	153
Sweden	152
Maldives	152
Spain	147
Greece	121
Denmark	117
Turkey	116
Poland	112
Nepal	111
Ireland	110
Bahrain	102
South Africa	94
Hong Kong	84
Israel	84
Oman	77
Romania	76
Finland	75
Hungary	73
Czech Republic	71
Cyprus	71
Croatia	71
Portugal	71
Argentina	70
Jamaica	61
Lebanon	51
Ukraine	46
Slovakia	46
Viet Nam	44
Colombia	43
Lithuania	37
Brunei Darussalam	36
Serbia	36
Bulgaria	35
Taiwan	35
Myanmar	32
Egypt	31
Chile	31
Georgia	30
Kenya	24
Peru	21
Slovenia	21
Latvia	20
Jordan	19
Estonia	19
Iraq	17
Nigeria	16
Morocco	16
Malta	15
Ecuador	14
Puerto Rico	13
Trinidad and Tobago	13
Armenia	13
Albania	12
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic	12
Algeria	11
Iceland	11
Uruguay	11
Venezuela	11
Cambodia	10
Afghanistan	10
Sudan	10
Bosnia and Herzegovina	10
Tunisia	10
Haiti	9
Mauritius	8
Antigua and Barbuda	8
Panama	8
Botswana	7
Dominican Republic	7
Saint Kitts and Nevis	7
Bermuda	7
Mongolia	6
Fiji	6
Azerbaijan	6
Costa Rica	6
Palestinian Territory, Occupied	6
Saint Lucia	6
Aruba	5
Uganda	5
Belarus	5
Guyana	5
Montenegro	5
Ghana	5
Belize	5
Syrian Arab Republic	5
Honduras	5
Kazakhstan	5
Moldova	4
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	4
Luxembourg	4
China	4
Senegal	4
Guatemala	4
Seychelles	3
Malawi	3
Djibouti	3
United Republic of Tanzania	3
Namibia	3
Barbados	2
Bahamas	2
Paraguay	2
Ethiopia	2
Macao	2
French Polynesia	2
El Salvador	2
Angola	2
Réunion	2
Dominica	2
Libya	2
Togo	2
Isle of Man	1
Suriname	1
Zambia	1
Somalia	1
Equatorial Guinea	1
Cayman Islands	1
Bhutan	1
Cameroon	1
Guernsey	1
Sierra Leone	1
Guadeloupe	1
Côte d’Ivoire	1
Vatican City	1
Comoros	1
Jersey	1
Cook Islands	1
Mozambique	1
Yemen	1
Zimbabwe	1
Bolivia	1
New Caledonia	1
Guam	1
Rwanda	1
Turks and Caicos Islands	1
Papua New Guinea

I cannot remember my mother

For all of us who remembered our mothers on Mother’ Day, there are an equal number or more of children who didn’t for reasons of their own. This beautiful poem by Rabindranath Tagore, is for them with love. …

 

Blue skies through the coconut trees at Siriniwas Hikkaduwa. Photograph© Chulie de Silva

I cannot remember my mother,
only sometime in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.

I cannot remember my mother
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air,
the scent of the morning service in the
temple comes to me as the scent of my mother.

I cannot remember my mother
only when from bedroom window
I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of my mother’s gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.

One summer at Hikkaduwa

The paper was crumbling, in the journal I had kept in my teens.  The collection of photos was damaged. But they were special and had survived among my treasured possessions despite many home moves across countries.

Then it was always summer. ... Photograph copyright Aruna Kirtisinghe.

The memories of the summers in Hikkaduwa can be only rebooted and read from a forgotten hard drive  — of sea baths, walks early morning with the high tide washed silky soft sand oozing through your toes; long chats sitting on catamarans; fishing in rock pools in the burning hot sun; plopping and killing the deadly jelly fish on the sand with sticks; walking at low tide hanging on to cousins to the big reef; watching at sunset the fishermen pushing their boats out to sea; cricket in the back garden and even doing geometry on the beach.

Then there were the long arguments and discussions on every topic –politics, religion, arranged marriages, and the voicing of doubts about what the future had in store for us — would we be happy, have enough money to travel; would we be rich enough to have shoes to match the dresses; would we marry out of caste and religion, —   the list went on. Accompanying us gyrating Elvis crooned Love me tender, It’s now or never; we wrote  love letters in the sand with Pat Boone, and star gazed trying as Perry Como did to catch a falling star. We loved itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini –  but bikinis were strictly taboo in the Kirtisinghe clan—room was made for the single piece swimsuits by the English ladies who married uncles, but jeans and shorts were out.  We’d sit on coconut tree trunks that had fallen across the beach as if in worship to the mighty sea and dream… about love and careers, marriage and children … Scrawled across the journal in my ungainly handwriting was the poem.  I hadn’t noted the author’s name, but I still remember coming across it — one summer at Hikkaduwa.

Then it was always summer, so it seemed,

As each day slipped to night

Softly the grasses stirred as if they dreamed,

And such a light

Lay in the noonday hour

As never was before

And will be nevermore:

And love was sweeter then, a flower

But now unfolding, holding

All the promise in its cup:

Then was the heart aware of every door

That opened on to beauty, where

Uncounted bluebirds soared upon the air:

That was the time when life was one long song

And we the singers, then…

They were the years when

We and the world were young.

Note:

This is my 110 blog post, posted on 11.11.11 @ 11.11 pm.

Best Photo Memories of 2010

 

This is it.  The last day of the year. What did I write in the book of my life in 2010?  Did I get it right? One never knows but the time flew.  From the comforts of a known world it’s been a dodgy journey through unfamiliar territory. Joys of daily life that family, friends – new and old — brought, were marked poignantly by the loss of loved ones.

Olu flowers in my house. January 1, 2010. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

January started with me playing around with my camera trying to teach myself photography. On hindsight,  that was a good start for what was to come by towards the end of the year. January also brings fond memories of Nepal.

Glass bottom boat at Unawatuna. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

February brought my sister on a visit from Brisbane and we spent time in Galle and Unawatuna. A photo review won’t be complete without one of the sea!

March brought an unforgettable experience of  travelling again on the A9, meeting the IDPs being resettled.

Mother and baby at Mallawi hospital. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

  

Cattle on the A9 road. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

 

Barefoot to school: recently resettled children from IDP families at assembly in school in Thenniyankulam, North Sri Lanka. Much value is placed on education and parents strive to give the best education for the children. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

April was Sydney and time to  see the star of my life my granddaughter Tara.

Tara and Ranil in Mosman. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

August was a time to celebrate my mother’s 88 th Birthday.  From a beautiful young wife who came to Hikkaduwa from Panadura, she now is the epitome of a gracious beauty.

Amma on her 88th Birthday 22 August 2010. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

 August is also a time we remember my father Benny Kirtisinghe.  My mother, Manel sang a lilting poem from memory that he had written to her from Hong Kong in the 60’s that told her how much she missed him. For him till he breathed his last she was his Flower of Love. Today, I spoke to her on Skype.  She was full of smiles. Her grandson, my brother Prasanna’s son Mathisha has passed his A level exam with 3 A’s.

There were moments, after the tsunami that I wondered if we were going to get this far.. We are a bit like veterans of a famous battle, recalling the bad times and proud we have survived the storms. Will life be free of troubles in 2011? Of course not. So on this last day of the year, I’ll leave you with a mantra I picked up from my constant companion and the modern treasure trove of knowledge—the Internet.

Sit cross-legged on the floor. Close your eyes. Now, repeat the following ancient spiritual phrase: ‘Ai amdi veribest’. That, of course, is the phonetic version. The original Sanskrit is hard to read. Anyway, if you want to know what it means, just say it over and over. It will swiftly reveal its own, very personal message to you.

Best wishes for 2011 and beyond.  

 

 

Statue and lotus flowers at my father's almsgiving. 31 August 2010. Galle, Sri Lanka. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

 

Monsoon Longing

Waiting for tourists in Lanka. Photograph©Chulie de Silva

The  monsoon rains are here. The sea is grey, a weary old man, beating a deserted beach. I feel the salt wind on my face the sadness I feel at monsoon times near the sea, but the morning sun lifts my spirits as it lights up the polished floors of a hotel verandah in the south of Sri Lanka. …

Ambition, Disunity and Conspiracy and the Tragedy of 1815

 

INTIMATION OF THE NEXT MEETING

of the

Ceylon Society of Australia

 Colombo Chapter

 

Ambition, Disunity and Conspiracy and the Tragedy of 1815.

Mr. Haris de Silva

Retired Director, National Archives

 

Questions and discussions will follow

Date: Saturday, 5th December 2009 at 5.30 p.m.

 

Venue: Lions Activity Centre, Vidya Mawatha, Colombo

 

Directions:

(Vidya Mw, which joins Wijerama Mw to the Independence Square, is now accessed from its Wijerama Mawatha end. Proceed along Bauddhaloka Mw, turn into Wijerama and then turn left –  towards Independence Square – at the lone tree junction.

Enter the Lions Activity Centre through drive-way on your right between the SLAAS and the Institute of Engineers buildings)

Interested ? Please contact persons below. No fee for attendance.

Chulie de Silva, (President)

Tel:  077 777 2220; e-mail: chuls201@gmail.com

Daya Wickramatunga

Tel:  077 317 4164 ; e-mail dawick@sltnet.lk Mike Udabage, (Treasurer)

e-mail: mike_udabage@itechne.com

About the Ceylon Society of Australia (CSA):

The CSA is a non profit organization, incorporated in Australia. Its main objectives are to foster, promote, and develop interest in the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka, especially the post-medieval period when this country was first exposed to, what we now call, globalization.  Apart from publishing the journal- The Ceylankan which has attracted much international appreciation, the Society holds meetings quarterly in Sydney, Melbourne and Colombo. Most importantly, it is non-political and non partisan, and studiously steers clear of political and similar controversial issues. CSA is not a formal, high profile Society but, rather, a gathering of like-minded people, open to receiving and imparting new ideas, who would enjoy a quarterly meeting in reasonably modest and intimate surroundings. The Colombo Chapter caters to CSA members in, and passing through Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan public. ! 

 

Sunrise, sunset and in between in Maldives

Sunrise at Kurumba. Maldives. Photograph© Chulie de Silva

Wake up early in Kurumba island, walk the few paces to the beach, sink your feet into the cool cool pristine white sand, look East and there you have it — all the joy of  a magnificent sunrise.  The Kurumba atoll in Maldives was a picture postcard sight. Tiny waves lapping softly, the  water crystal clear inside  a man made reef.  Ahh, Once long long long ago, we played at Hikkaduwa on a beach like this behind our house.

This now is the playground of the rich — the honeymoon paradise.

Bouncing babies and safe motherhood in Sri Lanka

 

Mother and baby in Ampara photograpah copyright Chulie de Silva

 

 

Today reading the story of Sri Lanka’s emergence as a success story in safer childbirth with a remarkable decline in maternal deaths, I mused about how I took for granted that childbirth would be safe when I had my children way back in the early 70’s.  It was joy unlimited as I breezed through pregnancies always under the stern but very caring eye of my GP, Dr. Navaratnam.  The news today that Sri Lanka should be held up as an example for other South Asian countries makes me very grateful for the high quality of medical care that was available to us in  the Sri Lanka system.  

 Presenting a paper at  the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, UK, South Asia Day, Dr Hemantha Senanayake, from the University of Colombo, said the “ mortality ratio of Sri Lanka has declined dramatically as a direct result of the availability of midwives and trained assistance. “In 1960, the child mortality was 340 per 100,000, however, it was lowered to 43 per 100,000 live births in 2005.”

 Dr. Senanayake attributed it to Government policies adopted in the past few decades and among these the decision to increase the number of midwives. The number of women in Sri Lanka having a minimum of 4 antenatal visits has reached 99 percent in Sri Lanka, said a news report on this conference on the Sri Lanka Government’s Official website.

Visiting the Mahiyangana Base Hospital supported by the World Bank assisted Health Sector Development project last year it was a lovely sight to see young mothers with their babies in an attractively decorated waiting room.  There were a fair number of twins, and this was the regular Friday baby clinic.  There were also fathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles—holding, helping, coo-cooiing and going ga-ga over the offspring .  Babies usually bring out the best in families here, and  this  was proof indeed. But was even more amazing was that there was not a single mother with a baby bottle.  All babies were breast fed and they were there with their babies for regular health checks and immunization.

Sri Lanka has encouraged breast feeding and discouraged home births (1 percent in 2006) and the availability of comprehensive emergency obstetric care is being expanded. Presently, 85 percent of births take place in facilities that have the services of a specialist obstetrician.

We did visit also a smaller clinic run by a midwife in Moneragala too on that visit. But she said she had only one delivery for the whole year!  Most of her work is on pre natal and post natal care.

Midwives like her are recruited from villages close to Maternal Care Centers where they are meant to serve, which ensures minimal geographic and cultural barriers to providing a service we can deservedly be proud of.   

 The midwife is known, if not related , and tends to bond easily with the mothers to be. As was the case with Dharshini Perera, a health nurse I met at an Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp at Nannadan in the North of Sri Lanka.  Dharshini spoke  fluently in Tamil, her mother’s tongue.  Caring and tender, I watched her as she checked on the children and had a following like the Pied Piper in a little while. She is a fine example of  the hallmark of the service — low-cost and indigenous.

Going back to the time when I was born many many moons ago, and an oft repeated story by my father springs to mind. Father to be was waiting at the railway station to meet the Midwife who was coming from Colombo for my  birth .  For no apparent reason on that New year’s day, the train whizzed past the Hikkaduwa station to Galle, leaving my father gaping in disbelief.   My father’s Colonial relic “ clerk” came to the rescue of his panic stricken boss and a local midwife was rounded up. The rest as they say is history. But the fact is that even way back then it was a hallmark of a good service.  Thank you Sri Lanka, we owe much to you .

© Important: Copyright Notice

All images and text in this site is copyrighted. No material from this blog may be used except as a direct reference to this site.

Text & Photographs@ Chulie de Silva

Turkish Delights!!!

 

 

Istanbul the capital of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, located on the two  sides of the Bosphorus  is steeped in history. There was a fascinating collection of magnificent religious and civil structures.  But first it was a visit to the Grand Bazaar and a walk around the streets to absorb the ambience. Mind boggling the sights sounds and smell of kebabs etc.    

 

 

Trade and bartering is a way of life. Among the carpets, the ceramics, lamps  (not only the Aladdin type), belly dancing costumes, jewellery, spices, almonds, dates, figs and fruits of all kinds was the famous Turkish Delight. Right next t to it we found small bottles of yellow liquid which looked suspiciously like the honey jars at the breakfast table and  a little board that said Turkish Viagra.  The price  was 20 Turkish Lira.  Not interested we walked away — the price dropped down to 5 Lira and in addition there was a special offer for my pretty young colleague — not a story to be told here.

  

© Important: Copyright Notice

All images and text in this site is copyrighted. No material from this blog may be used except as a direct reference to this site.

Photographs@ Chulie de Silva