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I returned to Kandy and to the little haven of the Kawasaki's. I'd promised to help Lily the cook prepare some food for the lunch they were hosting the following day. A few people were arriving to share a meal and discuss the comings and goings and politics of the country. The home is always abuzz with activity and there are people always appearing to chat of discuss some matter. It's one thing I learned. The Kawasaki's connect people. I had my first lesson in making cutlets. This seems like an odd name for the tasty little balls of veggies, but whatever they were called, I was happy to be learning and helping. After a rather slow and awkward start, I got the hang of consistently rolling the mixture. Lily was kind and patient, although I felt she was ready at times to push me aside and take over.    The next morning Ken was busily cooking chili in his kitchen and Lily was sweating away in the outdoor kitchen deep frying and preparing the feast. I think there were about 10 people to feed including Ven. Lekdron (Ani-la), a Burmese nun and a Monk who all ate first and were the honoured guests. The variety of food was astounding and my little balls were a hit. I only got to try one.
Later that day, Ani-la had organised for us to visit a girls' home. She had a friend from Melbourne visiting and two other local ladies joined us. One worked for an International Engineering firm and the other, Takiri, was our driver. Women drivers are a rare thing in Sri Lanka and this one was exceptional not only in her driving and navigating skills, but also her capacity for kindness. She had bought three large cakes for the little girls to share for birthday celebrations. It was a joyous afternoon and I gathered from talking to Ani-la that there wasn't much joy in these little girls' lives. Abused and used by the men in their community, children as young as 11 have given birth to their brothers and sisters. Incest is illegal and the children are given refuge in the shelter until their court cases. Ani-la is doing what she can to give these little girls life skills and some light in their lives. Check out her website, Tara Lanka.
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About a year ago I joined an organisation called Servas International. Their philosophy is one that I hold close to my travel ethos. "Peace and understanding through travel and hosting". So now when I travel, I contact the hosts in that country and try and meet them. This time I was lucky enough to meet Ken and Visakha Kawasaki who live in Kandy. They insisted that I stay with them in their gorgeous home and I was I made to feel part of their extended family that consists of friends, neighbours, monks, nuns, philosophers, teaching colleagues and their loyal and caring staff, Lily the cook and housekeeper and Ashoka their driver. They are fascinating people with amazing past lives as ESL teachers and workers in Indochinese refugee camps. They still teach at the university and have many Chinese and Burmese monks learning English through the many resources that they create. Check out their website Brelief.   I've been among some huge crowds in many different countries over the years. I've filed most of these experiences into the archives under "don't do this again". But yet, I've done it again. The Kandy Festival of the Tooth, was record breaking for a couple of reasons. The size of the crowd and their conduct. It's a family festival, so no booze, no drugs, no bad behaviour. It's also the biggest festival in Sri Lanka whereby people from all over the country descend on Kandy for a week of festivities culminating each evening with a street parade. To get a viewing position, the financially strapped tourist and indeed the locals have to find a spot just after lunch and then hang around until the start of the parade at 7pm. The folk were impeccably behaved. They're were polite, friendly and patient as they waited for the action and the highlight of the evening to appear; the casket replica of the Tooth Relic, paraded on the head of the chief elephant. Yolanda and I arrived about 3pm and positioned ourselves in a side street, just a few metres from the barricades. It seemed like a good idea at the time, providing a quick escape when it all got too much. However, as the kick off time approached, a police bus manoeuvred its way in front of us, parallel to barricade, essentially blocking any chance we had of viewing the parade. We persevered for a few hours and managed to see some performers from a distance, but alas no photos. I've found a few royalty free ones online that show some of the action that we witnessed. Jugglers, fire and whip dancers and many elephants all lavishly adorned and lit with LEDS, moved along the street led by a groups of drummers. It was indeed a spectacle, but after seeing one too many elephants that didn't seem to be having as good a time as their human counterparts, I decided it was time to leave.  A small group of us hooked up on the trip back down the mountain and ended up spending a fun night together in Kandy. We visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic, where (apparently) one of the Buddha’s molars lies in it’s own little temple. It was plucked from the ashes of his funeral pyre and secreted away for centuries. The legend says that whoever is the bearer of said tooth, has power and control over the country. If only our politics were that simple. We walked around the central lake, ate spicy pittas and shared meditation experiences. |
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