The man who never left:

One man’s bond with Jaffna’s Naga Vihara

By Isuri Yasasmin Kaviratne

During the years of LTTE control his fluency in Tamil and status as a long-standing resident kept him safe. He often called himself Chandran to avoid revealing his ethnicity. Once the LTTE cardres asked him directly if he was Sinhalese or Tamil. “I told them I was Sinhalese but had been adopted by a Tamil and had been living in Jaffna since I was 7. They told me to live well and left,”he recalls with visible traces of fear and relief.

He sells lotus flowers by the Naga Vihara in the Jaffna town. He is also the only person who remained at the temple, the only Buddhist temple in the city, throughout the civil war. He maintained it to the best of his abilities, during both war and peace. His name is Chandrasena.

He has a long story to tell, about his journey to Jaffna and what his life has been since. Chandrasena was born in Ruwanwella in 1955 to a Sinhala family but at the age of 6 he was adopted by a Tamil police sergeant by the name of Thambiah. Sergeant, Thambiah was transferred to Jaffna and his family, including Chandrasena, followed him to the town.

The first stroke of ‘misfortune’ struck when the Sergeant passed away due to a sudden illness. “His family sold all the property they had and left the country. So I came to Naga Vihara, when I was 8 years old,” he said.

Young orphan

Meegahajandura Wimalaratnethera, the chief incumbent of the temple took this young boy under his wing. “I was told to work in the temple for a glass of milk, a bun and 25 cents a day,” thinking it was a good deal, Chandrasena says he agreed immediately.

Those days 25 cents enabled him to feed himself quite comfortably. The temple monks taught him to read, write and keep accounts. Not content to live on the charity of the temple in his teenage years the young orphan began working as an apprentice to a construction worker who paid Chandrasena one rupee for a day’s work.

For him it was a princely sum and after covering his basic expenses he was able to donate a part of his earnings to Wimalaratne Thera who would save the money for him. When he turned 18, Chandrasena was sufficiently skilled to work as a mason. In his own right – he was on the verge of starting an independent life.

It was precisely at that time that the armed conflict first occurred in Jaffna.

He recalls how the whole Naga Vihara premise was destroyed; all the buildings were flattened and the only signs that remained of the Vihara were the Bodhi tree and a mango tree beside it. During the years of LTTE control the temple was little more than a wasteland. “They cut down the branches of the Bodhi tree and used the area as a garage,” said Chandrasena.

Safety

Wimalaratne Thera was asked to leave Jaffna city during this period for his own safety. The monk left and would remain away from the temple for 10 years. Chandrasena however remained though he was not always resident on the temple grounds he says he visited the area daily even during the fiercest fighting.

During the years of LTTE control his fluency in Tamil and status as a long-standing resident kept him safe. He often called himself Chandran to avoid revealing his ethnicity.

Once the LTTE cardres asked him directly if he was Sinhalese or Tamil. “I told them I was Sinhalese but had been adopted by a Tamil and had been living in Jaffna since I was 7. They told me to live well and left,”he recalls with visible traces of fear and relief.

Once Jaffna returned to government control Chandrasena’s life became easier. He reverted to his original name and soon became involved in the reconstruction of the Naga Vihara. His benefactor Wimalarathne Thera also returned to the city and the two would work together to restore their former home.

Contractor

The contract for the reconstruction of the stupa was given to a contractor from Boralesgamuwa in Colombo. The contractor however was unwilling to commute regularly to Jaffna to oversee the reconstruction. So Chandrasena soon became the project coordinator. It was a lengthy project with the work starting in 1997 and completed only in 2002.

The significance of the reconstructed temple was such that the then president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was invited to place the ‘Kotha’ or spire at the very top of the stupa. However, as the President was unable to reach Jaffna on account of security concerns Wimalaratne thera decided to proceed with the function regardless and got the man who never left the temple to place the ‘kotha’.

Kothkerella

The tale of the man from Ruwanwella who ended up placing the kothkerella on Naga Vihara stupa in Jaffna hit the newspapers.

Among the people who read these articles were Chandrasena’s original siblings from Ruwanwella and They paid him a surprise visit at the temple, to reconnect after 51 years of separation.

“I’m very happy that I got to meet my family - even now - the memory of it brings tears to my eyes… We met… our children met… they had thought I was dead,” he says, visibly emotional.

Construction is still on-going at the Naga Vihara. A seven story building is being constructed as a ‘Sangha Vasa’, a residence for monks. Having been diagnosed with diabetes recently Chandrasena has stopped being actively involvement in the construction and instead overlooks the construction process from afar whilst selling flowers just outside the temple gates.

Pix by Saman Sri Wedage