Dreams shattered, buried under a landslide

by Ananda Agalakada, U. Wanasinghe Passara Grp Corr., and M.T.M. Faiz Hali-Ela Grp, Corr.,

The damage caused after the collapse of the earth mound which buried the three family members

The world is no doubt going through turbulent times. Newspapers present speculations galore while soothsayers are in the forefront. Meanwhile rumours spark speculation about the destruction of the world. Predictions are rife of a likely apocalypse. Natural disasters are in profusion.

In this backdrop we witnessed the sudden outburst of a kind of opening of heaven on Tuesday. Landslides, floods, road blocks and destruction followed.

In this backdrop comes the sad tale of a man and his two sons unravelled from the Passaara Pradeshiya Sabha Gonakele Estate area.

Mylappan Kanagasundaram

Dhilashan

Chrishan

Mylappan Kanagasundaram aged 52, from Gonakellewatta Passara was a mason. His eldest son Dinesh Kanagasundaram (23) was attached to the Railway Department in Colombo. He had two more children 11-year-old K. Chrishan and 14-year-old Dhilashan. Their lives were not a bed of roses. As a matter of fact they were poverty stricken.

Making ends meet was a herculean task for Mylappan. However, Mylappan never abandoned his efforts to bring up his children and he constantly reached out to his sons and he always told them to study well and created a new world before his children.

Mylappan a native of Matekale, Talawekele was married to Perumal Pegasorthi from the same area. They migrated to Gonakellewatta, Passara for better career prospects about five years ago.

Mylappan's dream was to build his own house in Passara. For his "home sweet home dream" a kind relative donated a block of land, at the base of hill in Gonekele Eastate. Mylappan worked hard to achieve his goal to build a house on this plot of land.

The hill behind their house had a beautiful view and was the background to their house and they put up a house at the base of the hill, because of its sheer beauty.

Mylappan managed in the meantime to find employment for his older son at the Railways which was a relief to him. He had high hopes for his other two children whom he sent to Gonahena Tamil Central College for higher education.

However, Mylappan had to face the reality of hardship. He was unable make ends meet. Poverty got the better of him. He always brooded about the future of his family. Mylappan had no option, but to send his wife overseas for employment. Destiny tore the poor family part. But one would never have imagined that this fateful incident would cause immense sorrow to this family.

December 17 saw a heavy shower fall over the island. Passara was no exception. Incessant rains fell mercilessly. Earthslips were reported in many places. SMS alerts, breaking news bulletins came in hundreds about many calamities of destruction.

It was in this backdrop that Mylappan and his two sons went to bed on that fateful night of December 17. Mylappan would have dreamed of a bright future for his two sons. He would have been thinking of his wife striving hard overseas to help her family. He would have had many hopes of a better tomorrow.

It was not till noon December 18 that the tragedy of the trio came to light. Passara Police Officer-in-Charge T.M. Ratnayake was busy on a case when a subordinate officer rushed to him saying some people had come to lodge a complaint about a tragedy.Ratnayake thought it was an accident. However, it did not take much time to realise that it was a serious incident.

Ratnayake summoned a team of policemen and rushed to the location.It was then that the gruesome incident started to unravel. On that fateful night, Mylappan had received a letter and cash from his wife. The children were overjoyed as they had heard from their mother.

They had written a letter to their mother thanking her. They no doubt mentioned their desire to see her at the earliest opportunity. But destiny had other plans in store for them.

The entire episode would have got buried under the huge pile of sand had Mylappan's friend Kanagasundarum not gone in search of Mylappan on the noon of December 18. Kanagasundarum in his wildest dreams would not have expected to see the awful sight before him. Mylappan's house was non-existent. A huge pile of earth had fallen over Mylappan's house killing Mylappan and his sons instantly.Could this trio be a reincarnation of a father and two sons who had be fallen this same fate in a previous birth? It is not an uncommon scenario for those who believe in the Sansara circle and reincarnation.