Jampot for Jess: November 2009

We took a trip to Kandy a few weekends ago to visit our three fellow Fulbrighter's. Kandy is truly a beautiful place, both culturally and visually. It was such a treat to get out of Colombo's smoggy bubble and breathe in the fresh air. We arrived just in time for Halloween and managed to pull together a successful Halloween bash. The following day, we explored the outskirts of Kandy in search of two ancient temples, Embekka and Gadaladeniya. During our walk, we saw wild monkeys for the first time! Packs of them running across beautiful green fields and swinging from the trees. We made sure to keep our distance though, because the monkeys here are known to come up and try and steal your belongings. Gadaladeniya Temple was situated on top of a giant rock face, giving us a beautiful view of Kandy while feeling the cool rock beneath our feet. It was built in the 14th century by a great Raja (King). My favorite thing about many of the Buddhist temples here is that they also have Hindu God's inside, making them a place for both Buddhist and Hindu worship. It is fascinating that two religions that are so different are able to exist in the same structure. I think this is representative of Sri Lankan life in so many ways. So many different religions, cultures, heritages, and languages are existing in one small country. Even the trees reflect this concept of co-existing; it seems like there are hundreds of different kinds of trees, all sharing the same soil.

The following day was one of my favorite days so far in Sri Lanka. My first Poya Day. Every month on the full moon there is a buddhist celebration called Poya. We started the day with a trip to the Kandy Botanical Gardens, alongside the Mahaweli River. 150 acres of beautiful trees and flowers. It was amazing how well the land was kept up, every tree was trimmed perfectly and all of the flowers were gorgeous. During our long walk inside the grounds, we came across a group of monkeys as well as a scorpion and two water buffalo. After taking too many pictures of the water buffalo, I made it angry and in result, Utsha and I had to walk the long way back to the path in order to avoid it.

After the gardens and a delicious Indian lunch, we went to see the Temple of the Tooth, beautifully situated next to the lake in Kandy City. Even though it was pouring rain, thousands of people flocked to the temple for Poya. Buddhist monks come from all over Sri Lanka to pray at this temple because it is a sacred site and known to bring those who pray there closer to enlightenment. The Temple of the Tooth is perhaps the most popular temple in all of Sri Lanka. It is believed that one of Buddha's teeth is inside the temple, however it is kept inside of a sacred dagoba, so no one can actually see it. The tooth has been seen throughout history as a symbol of great power, and thus it is a very big deal that the Singhalese have ownership of it. Some believe that the Portuguese stole the tooth during their rule in Sri Lanka, but the Singhalese say that the tooth they stole was a replica and the real tooth was actually hidden in the hair of a princess during that time. Some believe that the tooth is still hidden, some believe it is indeed in the temple, as for me... it seems like an awful lot of hype about a tooth :) Relics are a strange thing.

The temple was beautiful and I feel very lucky to have visited on Poya day. After exploring the grounds, we marched back out into the rain to find our shoes and saw that there was a parade beginning for Poya day. What a special event to have stumbled upon. There were 5 elephants (one baby that was so cute) all dressed up for the celebration and many groups of Kanyan dancers. It was such a beautiful parade and so fun to watch the dancers.
The train ride home from Kandy was like the cherry on top of a beautiful weekend. I love riding the train through Sri Lanka. Each ride, we whiz past all of the villages and homes that line the track and I get tiny glimpses into the lives of the people who live there. Sometimes the smell of curry and coriander leaves quickly seep into my nose, as I catch a glimpse of women cooking dinner in their kitchen. I see kids playing cricket and volleyball and men working the paddy fields. So much life can be witnessed from my train window. We pass temples, churches, and shrines. People walk only 5 feet away from the track, following the same path we do. My favorite glimpses are of the people sitting outside their homes, waving and watching as the train passes. It's like they are waiting there just for us, welcoming.