Kitulgala sylvan abode of beauty

Wijitha NAKKAWITA

The verdant hills rising skyward among the valleys of the Kelani river and rivulets Kitulgala Oya and Kehelgamu Oya are like fully dressed glamorous maidens silently awaiting admiration of everyone. Having walked the paths, waded the shallow waters and climbed the hills abundant in flora of thousands of varieties for years this unique village and hamlets around it had cast an undying spell on me.

Even dry leaves or the brittle twigs that one tramples on the paths often with leeches hiding in the more shady and wet places do not detract from the beauty of the hilly landscape criss crossed with the river, rivulets, streams and brooks.

Often one has to climb on foot to the tops of the hills shrouded in mist in the dawn and even during noon if rain had fallen. Yet one must be barefoot to have the feel of this luscious terrain. Unhurriedly taking time to absorb each foliage, touch the trunks of the trees and plants, touch only the stems of the flowers without hurting. That is the only becoming way to become a part of Kitulgala.

It is not for the tourist local or foreign who has just a few hours to look at the abundance of greenery that mother nature's landscaping hands had created. It is to be spent leisurely, if lucky enough all by one's self a day, two days, three days or better still for a week. It is not a pleasure to be known by the urban millieu members of the rat race whose key word is workaholic. One turn in any direction, climb up or walk down and wherever one's eyes turn green plants, clear water running sometimes in cataracts or falling like silken veils over hills as small or big waterfalls. Nowhere in this fair isle could anything more fair could be seen.

It's Kitulgala. The tree among all trees, the Kitul palm had given my village the name. Though people often describe the coconut palm as nature's great provider the Kitul palm is a larder full of delicacy. One tree tapped for toddy would give you at least ten litres in the morning and evening. Before it ferments, you boil it to make treacle or jaggery.

Fresh from the tree before it is fermented it is a drink that has no equal. When it ferments Kitul toddy is not only an alcoholic beverage but is also nourishing drink. Then you make a flour from the Kitul palm that could be used to make a very savoury and nourishing delicacy. Many decades back when my grandparents were living my grandma used to hang a handbag like patte made of arecanut leaf from the loft over the hearth. The patte - the bag was filled with Kitul treacle. After a month or so she would take it down and pour it on a dish. It contained small candy like crystallized bits among the treacle. People call it welihakuru and is a delicacy that has no equal.

Ferns, rushes and reeds creepers with tendrils clutching tall trees are everywhere. They grow in sheer abundance.

One must tread on the paths and every now and then touch the trees or the leaves. That is how you begin to become a part of the great bounty of nature that Kitulgala is if you have it in you- a sense of belonging here.

Well as I said earlier as a little child of about three years I lived here with my grandparents. As a school child I spent all my holidays here.

Yet after many many decades Kitulgala is still my home though I don't live there any more.

Then the appetizing foods - baru koku a kind of fern reddish brown growing on hillsides cooked with spices, Sinhala del, a sister species of jak fruit, scores of edible green leaves, fruits growing naturally among the trees and hal pittu or kiri rotti are among the most delicate foods rich in nutritional value.

When it rains it rains. You have to be patient and be indoors for hours as it really rains.

You have to learn to listen to the chatter of raindrops falling. Or the very faint music of rainwater running down over stones.

In the clear waters of the rivulets swimming freely over the ochre sands are fish of several varieties including a very special variety bulath hapaya, red and black striped small fish found in abundance. In the waters flowing around the village and hamlets lies the secret of beauty that cast spells on anyone who comes here.

Kitulgala was once made world famous with the genius film director David Lean filming his great movie Bridge on the River Kwai. When Lean went to see the actual river Kwai in Myanmar where the film's real location was he did not like it. Then a certain locations company advised him to come to Sri Lanka and see Kitulgala. Once he came he too fell in love with it like most others. But you don't have to be a great film maker to know this place as there is none other like it here or anywhere in the world.

From the prehistoric human settlement at Beli Lena to the modern rest house Kitulgala has about 30,000 years of human history in between. I am somehow sure the Ravana the prehistoric king of Sri Lanka had lived here for some days if not for some years as tradition has it that he flew to India to bring the beautiful princess Seetha on his flying machine. I also have a belief that he took off on his flying machine from atop Ballahela Hill.

Now Kitulgala has become well known for white water rafting. One sees these rubber rafts rushing down the river evading stones and flying down rapids. In a few moments these rafts vanish round the bends of the river. Still the rafters can only glance at the beauty of the river and its banks dressed in greenery interspersed with flowers. But the surfers are a breed that are out for adventure. Still the unpolluted river and its environs need to be protected from modern civilization's onset. That is the only wish and none else for Kitulgala.

Asiatic Lion population in Gir grows by 13%

Manas DASGUPTA

The population of Asiatic Lions in the Gir forest in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, the only abode of the animals in the world, has grown by 13 per cent, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

"This is Gujarat's gift to the world as we celebrate the golden jubilee of the State," he said. Against an average of 5-7 per cent growth recorded in the previous counts, the population grew by 13 per cent, to 411, in the just-concluded 13 {+t} {+h} census. The last count, taken in 2005, put the number at 359.

Gender imbalance

Announcing the outcome of the Asiatic Lion census-2010, carried out in the sprawling expanse of "Greater Gir," including some areas outside the Gir National Park, Mr. Modi said that benchmarked against the 1979 census, which put the number at a mere 205, the population had more than doubled. Of the 411 lions, 77 were cubs less than a year old, and 75 in the 1-3 age group.

"Thus, almost 40 per cent of the lion population comprises young ones, which bodes well for the future." Furthermore, gender imbalance did not affect the population: of the total, 97 were male and 162 female, and the rise in the female population had helped to decrease the incidents of male lions devouring cubs, as the female lions prevented such attempts.

Mr. Modi said the Rs. 40-crore special package announced last year for the sanctuary and its environs had paid dividends. The packaged helped to enhance communication facilities and launch a crash program to cover open wells. "We used to lose 10 cubs, on an average, every year to these open wells. After the implementation of the package, the loss this year was only one cub." Courtesy: The Hindu