Polonnaruwa an amazing artistic renaissance
 

by Prasad Abu Bakr

It was almost 3.00 pm when I set off on my way to reach Polonnaruwa on the 25th of December, being Christmas day the roads were almost sans traffic making it a pleasant drive, the driver turned off at Dankotuwa, on the Chilaw-Negombo highway and steered towards Kurunegala making the country side scenery even more interesting with each approaching vista.

However it was almost 7.00 pm when we arrived at the Habarana junction from where we had to turn right to Polonnaruwa.

There was a new check point almost at the turn off from the Habarana junction since I last went in that direction almost 3 years ago. The roads were bad as it was immediately after 12 days of heavy rains that the region had just experienced.

So this made the journey to our destination a little more slower. In fact it took us around half an hour more than usual to reach the Polonnaruwa Rest House owned and operated by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation where I was supposed to stay next.

On arrival I was warmly welcomed by the General Manager of the propertySugath Rajapakse who in fact has a 31 year career span behind him in the hospitality trade.

A former Air Force staff officer who was responsible at operating the catering unit at the SLAF, Rajapakse is a Hotel School Graduate and presently a member of the prestigious Catering ManagementAssociation (FCHSGA,MIH.UK)

The Ceylon Hotels Corporation which is now under the flagship of its new owner The Galle Face Hotel, spear headed by Sanjay Gardiner.

Built in the 1870's as a circuit Bungalow for British Government Agents the Polonnaruwa Rest House where Queen Elizabeth stayed in Polonnaruwa during her visit to Sri Lanka for the first time in 1954 it was the most apt place that was thought to be fit enough for her stay during her visit to this royal seat of power in the past.

Since then it was refurbished before being handed over to the Ceylon Touristbureau and later to the Ceylon Hotels Corporation in 1968 to be operated as a Rest House right throughout.

The night I checked in, which was Christmas Day, I found the place to be full with guests, some locals and others were foreigners.

My room which was at the rear most wing which opened into a large terrace overlooking the Parakrama Samudraya, which is the vast water reservoir built by King Parakramabahu and covers some 6,000 acres of catchment area, it flows through 11 channels to irrigate farmland and paddy fields and fills up various smaller tanks for this purpose scattered around in adjoining villages.

The Rest House sits on the banks of this vast reservoir giving its guest a breath taking view of its surroundings. There are 10 rooms, all with air conditioning on standard and and superior levels with the only suite named after its VVIP guest Queen Elizabeth II.

Talking of royalty, if there is any place that can offer true evidence and meaning to that word it is Polonnaruwa.

The ancient city which sits on the opposite side of the road from the direction of the rest house has within its premises a multitude of interesting ruins, housing various statuettes and etchings. It is an experience by itself to be able to walk through such grandiose reflecting upon our past.

The large number of monkeys that one sees during ones walk through all these ancient ruins makes one feel that though it has been many many years ago where all those events took place and wilderness existed in close proximity with everything that happened and these monkeys which are a part of that wilderness still surfaces to appear before us walking through their familiar grounds.

This region of our country has remained a vast eye opener to our past, our heritage and our culture. And to imagine that such colossal efforts werepossible by our rulers during that era which has made us rich in many ways makes us nothing but proud.

After a long walk through the ruins I managed to return to the rest house for lunch, it was crowded as usual. If I remember? It was the same many, many years ago when I visited this same venue with my family as a school boy.

My father used to have a penchant to travel in these areas and we were always happy to spend our holidays in this part of the country. Even then I remember there were many people turning up to have lunch at this rest house.

As today, there was a waiting list as the dining hall at that time could only sit a limited number of persons. Today with its expansion I still noticedpeople waiting to secure a place for lunch.

It is a simple rice and curry meal using the right condiments proportionately with many accompanying dishes to pick from, which makes the rice and curry buffet quite popular amongst visitors. there is an A'la Carte menu too which one can order from.

There were many tourists breaking journey from their sight seeing tours to have their lunch at the rest house. The lunch time activity spreads out well through from late noon to early evening.

In the evenings one can watch the elephants visiting the Minneriya Tank but since I arrived here just following the heavy down pour the Jumbos decided not make its appearance at the tank. But the Wasgamuwa National Park, to the south of the Rest House offer visitors a leisure drive through its vast park throughout the year, where one can have a good glimpse of the wild elephants in herds.

Since history and the ruins of the ancient city are what attracts visitors to this area one can have an immediate glimpse of such related detail of the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya (The Council Chambers) sitting adjoining the RestHouse.

There is also the Archaeological Museum which was built not so long ago housing some of the rare artifacts of historical value unearthed during some major excavation work done within the cultural triangle.

Though I had previously visited the museum many times since its opening, it was not be so this time around. Owing to some damage done to parts of its roof by a branch of a tree which had fallen upon it, the authorities had decided to keep the museum closed for a couple of days, until things were cleared up.

The Rest House too promotes sight seeing tours if one is staying there and need to visit areas of interest. The cycle safaris to the Polonnaruwa ruins organised by them has been a popular event ever since it was started many years ago.

After your days travel one can relax at dinner time with a flamingo style 4 piece band serenading you while you dine. Dinner is mostly western cuisine unless you order what you want in terms of local fare.If you sit out in the terrace to sip your after dinner coffee and if you are out there till late, you may discover the most still surroundings that you have experienced in a long time.

Mornings are refreshing with the sound of birds in your ears and the scenic surroundings with the days light breaking-in onto the 'morning canvas' that has unfolded before your eyes.

The Polonnaruwa Rest House is an ideal place any time of the year for anybody who wish to unwind and if you are a lover of nature and believes in allowing your body and mind to relax and let nature take over to do the rest, then you have surely arrived at the right place to set that mood 27th morning, I began my journey to Kandy, another interesting kingdom from the past.

Though the driver was taking a De-tour via Giritale owing to the state of the route via Habarana (which was under immediate repair) I insisted that he drive a bit further so that I can visit a Rush weaving centre, nearby which I had noticed by the road side during my many earlier visits.

But this was the first time I actually stopped to visit the place called 'Pung Craft' Situated earlier on the right side by the banks of the tank, when one approaches Polonnaruwa from the direction of Habarana, they have recently shifted on to the left side of the road, probably owing to the recent over flowing of the tank during heavy rains.

This small workshop and sales outlet operated by a craft designer named Kanchana Wewalpanawa (who was not in during my brief visit) has a collection of unique creations by her using the medium of rush.

A lot of novel creations can be seen, beside stylish ladies hand bags and other accessories. Its a place well worth visiting, if one is interested in local crafts and also has the need to support it. Rescuing it from the present standards of detoriation.