During one of my very first visits, I drove a rented car around parts of the island. We stopped and saw S.W. Wijerathne and some of his brothers near Polgahwela in around 1986. I learned to navigate along the side of the road that felt a little foreign. Over the decades, Jay and his friend shared stories and pictures by postal mail. Once, they weren't able to meet when we were on the island because his friend got and recovered from COVID. In Canada, last fall, Jay called and they promised to get together during this winter trip.
Jay tried calling but didn't get any answer after we'd got settled in November. His friend didn't use Whatsapp. By chance, before our December trip to Dubai, Jayantha decided to see if an old address found in a document would work. He sent off a letter trying to find out information. After two days, Jay got a call from his friend's sister-in-law in the family home in Polgahawela. She called to say that he had suddenly died of a heart attack on November 19th.
It seemed as though fate prevented their meeting by just days.
In Sri Lankan Buddhism, there is a funeral but there is also another important celebration of remembrance three months after the death. It is called an Almsgiving and clergy, friends, and relatives usually come to show respect. Some people hold a one-year anniversary remembrance as well but one that is coming up is the most important one. Through contacts, Jay got hold of one of his friend's two daughters to find out some specifics. The actual date comes up next weekend, yet that is too close to our departure for us to attend.
Today, we took a road trip around 85 kilometers to a tiny town called Udagama near Aranayake. Jay arranged for a local guy who drives his own van as a business. We headed towards Kandy, a famous, up-country city. We travelled the usual way to meet up with the Colombo-Kandy Road. It was a road that I'd seen dozens of time. Each time, I'm aghast with the increasingly crowded road. The larger they build it, the more cars use it. The first part of the trip was known territory. However, about 26 km before getting into Kandy, we turned off at Mawanella.
On Highway B278, the road's width decreased and started to twist and turn. We had a road and number but the last 10 kilometers was the opposite of GPS ease. We pulled to the side of the road when we saw folks, and asked the directions. The side roads are perfectly tarred but the width became only large enough for one car at a time. We found 225B. Not because there was a single house number, but because everybody knows each other in these tiny villages. Our trip getting there was around two and a half hours.
The house was old and traditional. It was set in a rather amazing location with views of the mountains and the type of wilderness not found in Sri Lanka around here. We found the wife and daughter. The daughter is married visits her mother on the weekends. They live not really very far from Minuwangoda. The wife is having a hard time because of the sudden nature of the unexpected death. She doesn't want to leave the peace and quiet to live with either of her daughters, at least yet!
We visited for around and hour and a half. You have to remember, we had no way to tell them that we were coming and had only chatted on via the phone a few times through intermediaries. They were gracious to a fault. We brought our obligatory Pereira & Sons cake. We were served extra sweet Sri Lanka tea. Old photos were found. Jay had brought the only two he could locate here at this house. It was our first time to meet them but a sort of closure for them and Jay for the unexpectedness of the death. They all knew the same man but in different ways during different stages of his life.
It might sound like an uncomfortable situation but it certainly was not. I feel privileged to have been involved in the trip today.
