13 April 2013

This morning we were heading for the Nallur Kandasawamy Temple. It is dedicated to Murugan and it is known to Buddhist Sinhalese as Katargama. This is the most important Hindu temple in Sri Lanka. The original temple was known to have dated from the mid-fifteenth century. In 1620, the Portuguese did their usual destructive job. The old temple is said to be have been located at the present day St James Church.  The present temple began in 1807. It is an enormous complex. We were early for the service and so we decided to take some of the sights of Jaffna. First we visited the old Dutch fort.

The inner defences were completed in 1680 and the outer in 1792. Unfortunately, it was used in the civil war and large parts of it were destroyed. It is currently being restored. Another prominent feature of Jaffna is the clocktower.

The clocktower was built in 1875 to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales. We then headed back to the temple for the morning service which was short and sweet.

I can’t say this temple is the most welcoming place. Gates are locked until it is precisely the time for the service. In other temples, gates are always open. The priests were aloof and unhelpful. But we had to make this visit. It is a must for Hindu Sri Lankans.
After breakfast, my cousin Lakshmi, Charles and myself decided to hit town to do a spot of shopping. I wanted to buy presents for my relations in Singapore. The town was busy with last minute shoppers. Tomorrow is the Hindu and Buddhist New Year.

We did our shop and headed back to hotel to cool off. It was stinking hot again. Bala had organised an auto rickshaw guy to take us to Kovalum on Karainagar. I was keen to see the spot where my mother was born. The tradition was to have the first child born in the maternal grandparents house. Thus, my maternal grandmother made the trip from Malaysia to her parent’s house (my great grandfather’s house) to give birth. My cousin Bala informed me earlier that the house does not stand anymore as it was built from straw and mud bricks and had an attap roof. Anyway we had lunch and waited for the auto rickshaw.

After a stop in town to buy a present for our grandaunt, we headed for Karainagar. Crossing the causeway seemed like something we do everyday. The auto rickshaw driver had the key to the only house that stands in the area which belongs to our cousin who lives in Canada. It took a while for us to track down the house although we had been here before. It seemed like a remote location with a lot of twists and turns along the way. We finally got to the place and made our way to the back of the house where my granduncle and great grandfather lived. My mother’s brother in Malaysia inherited the last block of land which is the largest and is on the oceanfront. Unfortunately, the navy still occupies a chunk of this land. After searching the area, I found two areas where houses once stood. Although the houses were made of traditional material, the floor was made of concrete.

I am standing here in what I believe is my great grandfather, Thambiah’s house and where my mother was born. House itself is small. Our driver informs us that houses in those days were small. My granduncle’s house was next door.

There was a barbed wire fence separating the land here and a flat piece of land beyond the back fence that belongs to the family. There were cows grazing the land. The well on the land took a central spot.

I almost felt today that I did what I came here for. I found my roots. This is our family land and this is where they lived as farmers.