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The temple, the man, the magic
I need to start this journey with a cherished memory. This post is not really about myself, nor about a beautiful temple called Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Vihara, but mainly about a man called N. I don’t know him too much to praise every one of his traits and I will mainly talk about his professionalism, but I can say I admire the man I had the luck to spend time with for a few days.
And I will never forget him in the act of coming to pick us (me and my wife) up at the mentioned temple with an umbrella under a downpour, taking off his shoes and getting quite wet himself.
But I’ll get to that later: now I need to backtrack a bit.
A few months ago I was strayidling in Sri Lanka. It was supposed to be just a regular trip around the cultural tourist attractions, but my timing hasn’t been the best, I have to admit it: as soon as I landed at Colombo airport, the 2019 Easter attack occurred. I got through immigration quickly, operations at the airport were ordinary and smooth, maybe because the news didn’t spread yet. And our driver N. was already waiting for us outside of the arrivals hall, with a big smile and a sincere friendly attitude.
Why do I mention this? Simply because I’m still wondering if the bad news had already reached him and he pretended he didn’t know. Of course to not ruin our holiday mood. He informed us later during the day, but he never changed his friendly and extremely helpful attitude throughout the whole itinerary.
This man lives in Colombo, he has a family there. Of course, he was worried about the whole situation (we talked about it, even if I’m an escapist)… Nevertheless, he tried his best to not show his inner emotions to us.
Actually not only him: I’ve soon realized that most of the people I met were trying to hide their concern for the awful news in front of tourists and were still providing their best help.
Okay, this is good, but not good enough to leave such a big impression of an instant. Where’s the magic, then? As usual, the magic happened when I didn’t expect it… And here I’m back to the temple.
As far as I know, usually tourists prefer to just visit the main attractions in Kandy city, only a few of them decide to spend time outside the city. The Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Vihara is situated approximately 13 km west of Kandy and it’s an ancient Buddhist temple.
As I expected, there weren’t other tourists when we got there, maybe also because the sky was starting to threaten with some clouds. But we had been so lucky with the weather till that moment, so why bothering carrying an umbrella? Our excellent driver N. was waiting for us in the car. The car was parked just a few meters away from the temple. Again, why bothering at all? Wrong!
And why going to visit the temple right away when the man who sells the admission ticket is also an artist and personally takes care of the temple conservation? He also prepares simple home-made (multi-language) leaflets for visitors. So, it’s better to spend time reading them and have a chat before visiting the temple and not afterward. Wrong again!
As soon as we got into the main shrine, we were cut off from the exit by a cloudburst. Me, my wife and the monks. After admiring its interior, my wife kept herself busy taking photos (which are courtesy of her), while I started a chat with one of the monks, who could speak a bit of English.
I asked it straightforwardly: “Does it usually last long? 20 minutes maybe?”
“Yes, maybe 20 minutes…” (Me: smiling face “ON”) “… Maybe 2 hours” he added. (Me: smiling face “OFF”)
After the “expected” 20 minutes, it was still raining heavily and even my wife didn’t know what else she could photograph. But the view was beautiful, the drenched secondary shrine inspired us a bittersweet melancholy. I’ve found myself staring at it while listening to the echoing beating of water on the rock under it. Again, me, my wife, the monks. And a waterfall isolating us from the world. Unless a savior could bring us again into it. “Should he save us? Do we want to be saved?”
I don’t think I’d have been able to answer at that time. But suddenly I’ve seen a man under a big green umbrella coming to us, rescuing us. Still smiling, carrying sun inside himself, bringing the affability of Sri Lankan people. We simply could not resist his warmth. And, yes, this sun kept shining on us for a few days and I’ll be always grateful to him, wishing him (and his compatriots) all the best.
Thanks again, N. Thanks, Sri Lanka.
Some additional information:
besides hiring a driver (like I did), you can reach Kandy by train or bus from Colombo. It should also be possible to get to the Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Vihara by bus from Kandy.
Anyway, it seems it’s not very easy for foreigners to understand the local bus routes and schedules. Some tourists prefer to rent a motorbike to get there.
Interesting sites around Kandy:
- the already mentioned Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Vihara: an ancient Buddhist temple built in the 14th century, in Southern Indian style. The compound encompasses a main and a secondary shrine.
- Embekke Devalaya: another 14th-century Buddhist temple, famous for its extraordinary wood carvings of the Drummers’ Hall
- Lankatilaka Vihara: the temple has an original structure of the 14th century. Although it’s a Buddhist temple, the main building has also Hindu elements and incorporates a Hinduist shrine.
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