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“Do you believe that Ravana was the king of Lanka?” I asked. Our tour guide Terence laughed aloud. I was a bit embarrassed. I shouldn’t have asked this to a guide who had a thorough knowledge of the history of the island. “We are traveling through a land which has a long history. Perhaps you will find an answer to the question by the end of this tour. If that happens, my mission as a guide will be fulfilled”, he said. It sounded as if he had covertly thrown us a challenge. We decided to meet the dare in true sportsman spirit.

' ...ancient capital cities like Sigiria and Polonnaruwa, the Dambulla caves, the Mineria National Park, Kandy- a picturesque hill station, Nuwara Eliya or little England and Beruwela... 'This was my second time in Sri Lanka although the first could not be called a real visit since I was on my way back from Bangkok and could hardly manage a glimpse. This time we had chosen a full blown package, of one week, from Hem Tours. A fantastic itinerary that covered ancient capital cities like Sigiria and Polonnaruwa, the Dambulla caves where the Buddhists monks reside from the 1st century BC onwards, the Mineria National Park(famous for elephants), Kandy- a picturesque hill station, Nuwara Eliya or little England and Beruwela, a sea-side resort.

A teardrop in the ocean

We boarded the Srilankan aircraft from Cochin and within 50 minutes after the take-off, saw the island through the window panes. The island appeared like a perfect tear drop from the eyes of the Indian sub-continent. After reaching the Bandaranayke airport I adjusted my watch to local time. Clearing the formalities we waited for our guide Terence, outside the airport. He came after a while, profusely apologising for being late.

We went to Sigiria through the port town Negombo. Gamini, an ex-navy officer, was the driver for the Toyota minivan arranged for us. Negombo is a fishing town which still echoes its Dutch and Portuguese past. The exotic spices found here proved to be a curse for Lankans as the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British, one after the other, kept them in bondage for over 300 years. They came as traders and were responsible for spreading Christianity here. Some 2000 years before them, the Egyptians had been here in search of the spice ‘Elavanga’ (cinnamon). Here Terence showed us a tower built by the Dutch to look out for the arrival of enemies.

A little piece of Kerala

Leaving Negombo we entered Trunk Road 1. In Srilanka, highways are known as trunk roads. Though the roads were narrow there were hardly any potholes.The traffic seemed to be controlled by an unseen force as there wasn’t any noise or congestion. We stopped at a roadside resort for tea. Here there were a lot of jackfruit trees and mango trees that reminded us of Kerala. Even the atmosphere, people and architecture were similar to that of the Malabar region in Kerala. In fact, geologists believe that the hilly regions of Srilanka are an extension of the Western Ghats of India.

While we were passing through the plains known as Coconut Triangle, rain clouds gathered from nowhere and we got some relief from the summer heat. This area has seen lot of attempts at extensive coconut cultivation and the sprawling coconut groves resembled beautiful and well maintained gardens.

Amid rock animals...

In the evening we reached Kurunegala, the headquarters of the southwest region. A busy trade center, it was plagued by malaria till the middle of the 20th century. Authorities used to punish officials by transferring them here! Leaving the narrow lanes of Kurunegala, our van headed towards Dambulla (69 km from Kurunegala). This town is surrounded by giant rocks in the shape of tortoises, monkeys, elephants, eels etc! ' This town is surrounded by giant rocks in the shape of tortoises, monkeys, elephants, eels etc! These rocks were given the names of their shapes ' These rocks were given the names of their shapes.The lush paddy fields and coconut groves were a contrast to the grey rocks making the place more striking.

It was dusk by the time we reached Sigiria, which was 16km away from Dambulla. Mineria national park and the ruins of Polonnaruva’s medieval town were our prime targets for the next day. After a Srilankan continental style dinner, we went to bed. The journey had clearly taken a toll on our nerves.

Polonnaruva; A blast from the past

Next day morning we went straight to the erstwhile palace of Polonnaruva, where the only remnants were rundown floors and walls. There were beautiful ponds and gardens in the spacious compound which were quite a relief from the dreary ruins. According to records, Polonnaruva has been inhabited from the 2nd BC onwards. It was regarded as the capital of Srilanka in the ancient times. Vijayabahu I was the first Srilankan king of Polonnaruva. The palace is situated near to the lake called Parakrama Samudra which is also said to be an irrigation tank. On the left side of the main door you could see Buddhist temples, gigantic sculptures and monasteries.

We saw relics of Hindu temples of the early Chola rulers. The steps to a higher area called ‘four Holy Squares’ contained roughly sculpted figures of crows, dogs and snakes. The guide explained the legend that any person engaged in theft in this area would turn into a crow, a snake or a dog. Suddenly we heard a crow crowing. Was it an unfortunate thief in his crow avatar?

An Encounter to remember

' The park with an area of 8889 hectares contained more than 300 different species of birds, fishes, reptiles and butterflies. 'After having lunch from a lakeside resort and visiting a museum of relics, we went straight to the Mineriya national park. A muddy road led us into thick woods and immediately after the first turn, stench of elephant dung wafted to us. “Don’t get off the Jeep’ said Chaturang, the forest volunteer.On spotting a baby elephant my friend went berserk with his camera and clicked away to glory. Suddenly the mother elephant came out of the woods and charged to our jeep. “Don’t worry she is just trying to scare you” shouted Chaturang. We quickly dashed off without further provoking it. Then we came across a herd of elephants … a complete family with father, mother and kids. When we sounded the horn the elephants stood still and appeared as if posing for us before going back to the deep woods. The park with an area of 8889 hectares contained more than 300 different species of birds, fishes, reptiles and butterflies. The Park also has a lake, Mahaniravapi, built by King Mahasena. We did not notice the dark night that slowly enveloped us as we stood near the lake engrossed in the beauty of the place.

Sharukh Khan Mania grips the island

Dinner was at Hotel Sigiria. Their Guest Relations Executive Budipa enquired if we were Indians. When we replied yes, her eyes widened and she asked whether we have met Sharukh Khan. We were quite astonished by her eagerness. Terrence said that the youth in Lanka are mad about bollywood films and actors, though they don’t understand the language. At dinner we had Chicken Royal, specially prepared by the main chef Nimal Fernando.

Simhagiri: Inside the lions den

Before dawn we started for Sigiria rock fort. Even from a distance we could see the 200m colossal boulder emerging out of the green valley. The 130 hectare garden surrounding the rock, including the water filled trenches surrounding it has been enlisted by UNESCO in its World Heritage List. Some people call it the eighth wonder. The lanes on entering the ‘water garden’ are bordered with fountains on either side. Even during the summer, they gush with abundant water.

The caves adjoining the rock were filled with murals depicting beautiful women. From the base of the hillock, the rock appeared to be lion. Earlier, the spot was known as Lions Den (Simhagiri). Gradually the name became Sigiri and then Sigiria. We climbed the steps that were between the legs of the huge rock lion. After some distance, steps gave way to iron ladders. At the top, there were vestiges of king Kashyapa’s palace built in 6 acres. While enjoying the majestic valley from such dizzying heights, one question inevitably emerged in my mind. What prompted the King to build the palace at such a height? The answer was quite simple – the fear of death. In order to capture the throne, the king had killed his father and expelled his brother. But fate had its say as Kashyapa committed suicide rather than surrendering to his brother. Continued.............

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