LankaPositive5: How I time travelled in Jaffna

By Sachin Bhandary

The colonial legacy is visible everywhere on the Sri Lankan railway. However, on the air conditioned Colombo-Jaffna Intercity express, you will probably forget you are still in the island country. It was in this train that I was cruising towards Jaffna. The railway line had recently started after a long pause of 25 years during the civil war.

Jaffna was the original home of many separatist movements, the LTTE being one of them. Since I was traveling alone, well-wishers had warned me. ‘You don’t speak Tamil. That could be a problem in Jaffna. Be careful machang,’ said one.

All these warnings hadn’t mattered. But inside the comfortable air conditioned compartment, uneasiness started to set in. I hadn’t even booked a place to stay.

‘This is stupid,’ I told myself.

How did I end up in a beautiful house?

But that afternoon I found myself in ‘Lotus’. This beautiful house in Nallur, close to Jaffna town, oozed of old world charm. 

At 10 dollars a night on Airbnb, the charm was multiplied by at least a few times. 

Over the next few days, Lotus reminded me why I love travel. For it is the opportunity to lead many lives in one.

Entering its leafy compound was akin to stepping into a gentler time. A time that has passed us by and will never come back.

Conversations with my host’s mother intensified my borrowed nostalgia for Jaffna. She would reminisce of days before the war, when ‘boys used to play cricket next to our house’. And I would almost see myself as one of the ‘boys playing cricket’. 

 

The house was a treasure trove of stories:

The house was a treasure trove of stories. This was one of the few families which had stayed put even when the fighting between LTTE and the Government forces intensified. My host, an articulate man of my age, narrated how he and his siblings would hide beneath the staircase during air raids and crossfire. 

During those evenings, even lighting candles in the house was risky. Any light from the house would have alerted the LTTE of the occupants in the house.

Lotus mirrored my mood in Jaffna, one of quiet questioning. Nearby the house was a pond filled with lotuses. As a ritual, I would spend a few minutes every evening staring at the timelessness of the pond. Like Jaffna, it too, had stood the test of time. 

It was a city working hard to regain its past glory. From the magnificent Nallur Kovil to the born-again Jaffna Public Library, the city slowly but surely seemed to be getting back in business. The day next to my arrival, the Municipal Grounds close to the Dutch Fort hosted the Jaffna Music Festival. People and their readiness to get on with their lives could be seen on Point Pedro Road.

Such signs and initiatives might seem small, but need to be celebrated nevertheless. Along with the right policies and visionary leadership, Jaffna truly might reclaim its lost glory in the coming decades. 

My days in ‘Lotus’ would end with a book in hand, curled up in the small and cosy bed. 

If I could, I would have carried the breeze that rushed in from the window every night. The same breeze that brought promises of intriguing stories, every single time.

Intriguing stories from a city called Jaffna, the one that was deceived by destiny. But, also the one, that is preparing to defeat destiny.

(This is the fifth in a series of 12 positive stories on Sri Lanka by Sachin Bhandary. Sachin quit a successful, decade-long career in public relations to pursue ‘The 12 Project’. It involves him travelling to 12 countries and taking a monthly challenge in each one. He recently travelled through Sri Lanka to write positive stories about the country and believes that Sri Lanka has unfortunately been suffering from the war stereotype for way too long. He believes travelling is the best way to learn and wants to encourage more people to take trips with a purpose. When not busy with keeping himself alive, Sachin shares his experiences through these platforms: website – www.theoddtraveller.in; Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Odd-Traveller/777044725674620; Twitter – @theoddtraveller; Instagram – @theoddtraveller. Follow him, he promises to take us on an interesting ride!)