The journey south from Jaffna to Dambulla

Our visit to the Nallur Temple was all too brief but I was very aware that we needed to return to Kandy for medical reasons so we hit the road south as I wondered how is it that I frequently leave places wanting to return for a more leisurely visit to explore further. We took the same route as we had on the trip up, the A9, - it's the only one anyway - resisting thoughts of deviating to revisit places off the main road that we had known well. Unlike our journey up, we now travelled in daylight and it became obvious that had we tried to leave the main road we would probably have met safety issues on roads that were now dirt tracks, possibly still mined. The map below indicates the places we previously regarded as being in our neighbourhood, from Jaffna to Puliyankulam.

Road to and from Dambulla - Jaffna

Leaving the Kallur Kovil, we drove through streets and lanes that seemed totally untouched by the thirty years of war with lovely houses, standing behind well maintained walls, in manicured lawns and gardens. As we travelled south, this contrasted with the abandoned war destroyed houses and structures left us feeling quite uncomfortable.

Gracious living in Jaffna

The women in the Jaffna area now seem to be very different to those I know in other areas, in terms of their independence, due possibly to the need to take care of themselves or suffer the consequences. I noticed many riding not only bikes but also motorbikes and even working in one of the restaurants we visited - something not at all common in the south.

As we drove towards Elephant Pass, through Chavakacheri and Meesalai we could see the ravages of war with blown up houses, palm trees missing their tops, standing like useless power poles in the dusty earth.

remains of a house

Previously the Meesalai Railway Station

The most sobering sight of all was that of a couple of Army women, minus any useful protective  clothing or equipment - a few sandbags only were visible - kneeling in the hot dusty dirt locating or detonating land mines. As we paused  to take a quick photo, [ we were immediately sent on our way ] I hoped that they had done their work well under the road we were travelling on!

de mining the side of the road near Meesalai

As we neared Elephant Pass our hearts began to race, even though we knew from our way up in the dark that there was now no bridge, no lagoon, no Rest House. Some things you know with your brain but the heart finds it difficult to accept. Elephant Pass was where we sometimes relaxed in the evening, timing our arrival so that we were sitting on the veranda with a cool drink as the train from Colombo crossed the bridge, its lights reflected in the lagoon below. I especially enjoyed those nights as I was somewhat isolated, living in company quarters with very few women around me.

Monument at Elephant Pass

There were at least four Army personel guarding the monument and I was asked to stop taking photos. It is only recently that foreign people have been allowed into this area so maybe the authorities are sensitive to foreign interpretation of what they see, I don't know, but monuments are usually there to commemorate something important for a nation and as such are much photographed.

Elephant Pass monument

I thought that the idea of the country being supported by hands was interesting.

Bronze Plaque at Elephant Pass

I was interested to see the woman carrying a child seemingly wading through mud in the foreground of this plaque. As a woman and a mother I can empathise with the plight of women caught up in any war anywhere as they not only lose sons, husbands, brothers, have to survive alone in an environment where human values and beliefs have broken down.

One of the plaques art Elephant Pass

Elephant Pass has always been an important spot because it is/was the narrowest point between the Jaffna Peninsular and the mainland. Both the Portuguese and the Dutch maintained a defence base there in the 1770s, as did the British. The British established networks of Rest Houses all over the country [ the forerunners of today's guesthouses] for their refreshment and accommodation needs. I well remember my first stay at a Rest House where we were served  four course meals on fine china with silver service and white gloved servers.

The name, Elephant Pass, apparently came about because the Dutch had wild elephants rounded up and herded into the shallow waters of the lagoon from where they were captured and sold in the yearly sales with buyers from places like Bengal then exporting them.

Formerly the lagoon at Elephant Pass

When we lived there the lagoon was one huge salt pan, complete with a salt processing factory. Of course the salt works are now on the list of "gone". As I stood at the edge I thought about how destruction of the lagoon would be affecting the weather and animal life of a very wide area.

Sea Side view at Elephant Pass

Elephant Pass was, of course, a key point during the thirty year war between the Sri Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers with three wars being fought there and no doubt many more skirmishes. During the first war there in 1991 the Sri Lankan Army was saved from defeat by a Lance Corporal named Gamini Kularathna. He was a village boy, meaning without advantages enjoyed educationally and otherwise by his city raised and prestigious leaders, however he proved himself  a hero with his quick analysis of the severity of the situation and selfless bravery in the face of oncoming disaster. Armed only with a few hand grenades he ran at this approaching Tiger "tank" detonating his weapons in time to stop it, blowing up those inside and, of course himself, as well. I hope that his poor family has been well taken care of, unlike the board that commemorates his bravery.

Bulldozer Tank, near Elephant Pass

The Tigers were well known for their ability to improvise and their tank started out as a bulldozer.

To finish the story about the three wars, the Tigers gained control of Elephant Pass in 2000 during the second war but lost it during the third war in January 2009. I remember watching this on the news in Colombo at that time.

A little further south we came to Paranthan where the Chemical factory was formerly on the northern outskirts.

Paranthan Chemicals

Without the sign we would have been hard pressed to be sure that we were in the correct place, except for the remains of the huge cooling tower lying in the centre of the picture. It wasn't possible to go closer as this is now an army base.

Paranthan Chemicals today, cooling tower in the centre.

I guess few cars stop on the road side here as this little boy's head popped up over the Hindu Temple wall to see why we were there. He seemed bemused when we got out of the car and went over to take a look.

The Sri Lankan government has been able to obtain aid to rebuild the A9 highway from Dambulla to Jaffna, especially from the Indian government and a fine two lane road now replaces the windy narrow one of the past. Very few trees have survived the war and it was amusing to see a couple that remain, now right in the road.

Road through Kilinochchi

We were travelling through at the end of the dry season. I well remember what these dirt roads were like during the wet when getting around is not so good. In this area there were a few mud/coconut roof houses but a little further south we saw quite a number of very small box-like houses built by the Indian government which would like to see refugees return home from there. It didn't seem that many had done so, as almost all the houses looked uninhabited.

Near Kilinochchi

Fresh air home for rent.

House, Kilinochchi area

After a lunch break near Iranamadhu turn off we hurried south, fortunately experiencing fewer delays than on our northward journey, eventually arriving at the Lakeside Adventist hospital in Kandy where Sam received some additional medical attention, averting complications.

Now that some time has elapsed since our visit, we are happy that we went despite the uncomfortable feelings, even emotional pain, that we experienced.