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.

  7 April 2013

More festivals at the temple. Only that today is being sponsored by my cousins who have been carrying on a tradition that started more than 100 years ago. With my connection to the temple, my female cousins roped me into carrying The Lord Ganesh around the temple. You quickly realise that being tall does not help. My cousins owe me a shoulder massage. We posed for a few photos and then began our tour of Karainager, our island homeland.

We drove around looking at various houses that belong to relatives we know but now deserted. We stopped at our cousin’s grandfather’s place first. This was typical of most deserted houses. The house was built in the 1940’s but now in a state of decay.

One of my cousins remembers staying here as a kid and recollects how she enjoyed the time here. We moved on from here to see my grandaunt.

She is 83 and lives alone in a house built by her grandfather in 1923. She runs a crop farm and seem very independent and healthy. I told her I would come back later that evening to spend some time with here. We then moved on to the village where my mother was born and where my mother’s maternal grandfather lived. The village is called Kovalum and the prominent feature is the lighthouse.

We also took in a glimpse of our ancestral land that is waterfront and now owned by my uncle in Malaysia who has no interest in coming to Sri Lanka. A few cousins are thinking of taking on the task of building something eco-sensitive on the land.

We saw a few other places before retiring to the hotel for a wash and rest. While the others headed off to the temple again, I was dropped off at my grandaunt’s as I wanted to spend some time with her. I spent about 4 hours with her. I have great affinity with her as she was also born in Malaysia like me. Except that when she married my granduncle in 1956, she moved to Sri Lanka. It was just amazing talking to her and she enjoyed talking as she liked my company. She was a school teacher in Malaysia before she got married. She also lived through the Japanese occupation in Malaya. She could remember all the Japanese she was taught in school. It’s incredible for a woman who is 83. She also could clearly remember all the atrocities the Japanese committed in Malaya. It was very vivid in her mind. As a little boy, I knew her parents well. She also remembers the time as a teacher, when she made a goodwill visit to Japan. She visited Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo to name a few. She said that the Japanese were welcoming, honest, orderly and clean. They were all very friendly towards the touring teachers but some how she could not forget the ill deeds of the Japanese in Malaya. We also talked about relations and this was helpful as I wanted more information to fill in the blanks on my family tree. I concluded the night by telling her that I would come back again with my cousin.

 6 April 2013

We leave shortly after breakfast for a trip to Karainagar which is an island and about 30 mins away. This is where my ancestors came from. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway.

We had a half-day at the temple. It was hot. We had to dress in our traditional attire and topless. I got the outfit in Colombo. The temple sits on the land that my maternal great great grandfather, Ramanathan gave to setup the temple. Thus I have some connection here. This land grant would have happened around 1870.

There were various ceremonies conducted at the temple which included a parade of The Lord Ganesh around the temple. There were also various cultural programmes mingled with the ceremonies being conducted. These are ancient Hindu practices.

This country is also full of old British cars. Check out this one, a Morris Oxford, parked outside the temple.

We got back to the hotel and got changed before heading out to Casuarina Beach, the premier spot on Karainagar.  

I was trying to catch a glimpse of the famous lighthouse.  Our maternal great grandfather, the infamous Thambiah, was known as lighthouse Thambiah because he lived in Kovalum close to this lighthouse. 

The lighthouse is visible in the picture. We are hoping to get to it but I am told the roads are bad. I also spotted the local Mr Whippy.  

Back in the room this evening and I saw an Australian Government ad on TV that was produced in Tamil. It is a message to discourage illegal departures by boat. It warns of treacherous conditions on the sea and that no jobs are available in Australia. It displays our old immigration minister, Chris Bowen, prominently. People are still keen to leave. Karainagar had a population of 45,000 in 1991. Now it is around 8000. There is plenty of abandoned buildings around.  It is the same in Jaffna township.  It is very sad.