Palmyrah paradise of the north

By Chandrika Gadiewasam

It’s been a journey I’ve so looked forward to but never come around to, maybe because I was a bit scared of the unknown! Also I had all the usual issues, it was difficult to get leave from the office, I had a whole stew pot of personal family issues and my cat was sick, etc.

But in life, when do those problems ever end? So I put them on hold, delegated the cat to a caring friend and seriously considered the thought of a whirlwind Jaffna run. Finally my daughter, who is much more adventurous than I am, dragged me into it with numerous bribes and carefully planned threats plus her ‘Special Face’ which she uses to get stuff done… 

And so it was that last Friday I joined her and Tilak Thilgaraj, the charming and very hospitable owner of one of the best hotels in Jaffna, the famous Tilko Jaffna City Hotel, to embark on my long-overdue dream tour of the north.

It was my daughter’s first visit and my third although the previous two had been strictly on business with an NGO and we hardly had time to sightsee, being more involved in our aid work. This time I was there for pleasure! And indeed what a pleasure it was, from the beginning to the dizzying dusty end!

A land of amazing contrasts

Jaffna is a land of amazing contrasts... There is the blazing blue of the sky, the startling yellow of the ground and the residential architecture that reminds one delightfully of icing cakes. There are pockmarked ruins from hundreds of years ago and new light grey cement and aluminium constructions mushrooming everywhere due to the help from its many friends among people and nations and its diaspora children. There are fields and beaches and plantations of the iconic palmyrah that symbolises the north. 

There are modest ladies in the most beautiful multi coloured sarees and shalwars riding demurely sideways on male relatives’ bikes and also robustly cruising by on their own motorbikes, something Colombo ladies still hesitate to do... There is also Prabhakaran’s house, which considering it belonged to a much-feared rebel leader of legend, looked like a regular suburban residence, though we barely had a chance to see it as we whizzed by. 

We also met the venerable descendant who himself was quite old, of a very famous deceased sainted yogi, who told us about these magical spiritual beings from India, one of whom was American and had lived in Hawaii of all places.

There is timeless magic and a brave resilience about the battle-scarred north and the spirit of its determination... combined with the vulnerability of its gracefully bowing to the winds of change.

Since I’m a librarian by profession, the famous Jaffna Library was one of my most looked-forward to visits (apart from the beach of course, being an ocean-side fanatic by nature) and I must say the library far exceeded my expectations in its majestic silent grandeur rising once more like a brilliant white phoenix from its ashes as a glowing landmark. 

The current collection, re-opened to the public in 2004, reaches about 25,000 volumes including 1700 historical ‘ola leaf’ manuscripts on medicine and astrology, some of Indian origin. 

There are public notice boards about the places to see in Jaffna and a display containing antiques like one of the oldest radio receivers and other copper items, and finally very quaintly you will see the conservative nature of Jaffna society if you happen to see the ‘Males Only Study Hall,’ although the sturdy women of Jaffna are presumably allowed to study somewhere nearby too…

‘Sangiliyan-Thoppu’

Then since I’m a fan of history I have to tell you about ‘Sangiliyan-Thoppu,’ the palace of Cankilii II (the last king of Jaffna, last of the Aryachakkaravarti line. At night it was completely dark and looked incredibly haunted, so we passed up the idea of investigating it by torchlight and instead visited in the shimmering mid-morning.

Walking through the Mantri Manai (ministers’ quarters which are the last remaining bits of the palace) was like stepping back centuries into some kind of Dravidian Game of Thrones, and you can touch the ancient blocks of this reconstruction and know that these have been standing when the king’s ministers gathered for meetings here, imagine the drama and palace intrigue and wonder at the long dead craftsmen who had conjured the intricate carvings and mouldings of the building.

For more historical structures taking you back in time, try a walk through the old Dutch Jaffna Fort, with its moats, thick limestone walls and cavernous dungeons. Place an ear on the wall and you may feel the ancient human stories of pain, war, death, victory and conquest that have been enacted in this area.

Two days was not at all enough to cover even a fraction of the wonders of the north although we timed ourselves carefully and did not hang around as much as we wanted to, with our cheerful drivers rocketing around as quickly as they could safely drive. There are still so many Kovils I want to walk around inside, so many old ruins I have to linger over so as to feel their silent histories, and oh so many regional foodstuffs I have to explore! 

Tilko Hotel 

A word has to be said about Tilko Hotel if you haven’t already heard of it (very unlikely). It’s basically one of the best places you can stay in Jaffna in absolute comfort and convenience. The food itself is worth all the effort because you can access all the best of the north of Sri Lanka and then amazingly also Continental fare if you want a more familiar taste. Sumptuous fare worth any wait!

The pool is the only shaded one in the area, the importance of which can be appreciated under the shimmering northern sun; if you are thinking of business, the conference facilities are flexible to suit your requirements perfectly. Finally it’s your one-stop-shop for all tours and hikes around the peninsula, which can be organised without hassle from the head office with its friendly and dedicated staff.

At the end of the day, time permitting we had only really caught a brief glimpse of the wonder that is Jaffna, perhaps not even a tenth of the many sites and attractions that are available to be seen, but we came away with the resolution to come back soon, stay longer, meet new friends and tell their stories to the world, in time to come.

Pix by Asanka Fernando