The Island of a Thousand Mirrors

Thanks to my sister for recommending the book, Island of a Thousand Mirrors, by Nayomi Munaweera. I just devoured it, and was hoping it would be longer. Without even getting to the issue of the war in Sri Lanka, I found myself smiling every time she described a smell or a comment from a parent or a frustration - I just identified with much of that. Anyways, you should check it out. Gail had also mentioned it to me and about the NPR piece with the author.

Check out some more pics from my recent trip to Kandy. The last time I saw the Temple of the Tooth  - supposedly where one of Buddha's canine teeth is stored - was in 1993, before the 1998 bombing by the LTTE. A lot of the history around the tooth is wrapped in religion, wars and bloodshed, so I wonder what the future will be for it and the country. 

I wandered off into the Udawatte Kele (Kele is Sinhala for forest), which is directly behind the Temple. It was the old sanctuary for the Kandyan kings and queens, and was where they bathed and played, but also where they escaped when the city was being attacked. There were lots of cute macaques, of course. And tons of soldiers. There are rumors that the LTTE is regrouping in the North, and coupled with elections coming up (the LTTE rumors could be an electoral ploy), there is no doubt that the country is getting even more militarized. I'm looking forward to next week's trip to Jaffna and the North.

At one point, I walked up the Kodimale trail to the highest point of the jungle and sat on a rock to enjoy a delicious seeni sambol bun and a yummy banana. I felt a little prick on my arm, and instinctively slapped at the mosquito. But my hand came back a little gooey. I looked down, y qué coño, it was a leech. I tried not to panic, and I took a picture, because it's not everyday that you get attacked by a non-capitalist leech, right? I started downhill, thinking about how I would get rid of this guy (because they latch on real good), when I felt another prick on my right arm. They seemed to be falling from the sky. I looked down, and they were swarming on my shoes. It was like The Walking Dead. They blindly hustled across the loamy ground and attached to my shoes, then quickly raced up my socks. I was burning, stamping, kicking and ripping them off. The one on my left arm had already swelled up with my blood and grew from the size of a inch worm to a centipede in about 5 minutes. I quickly calculated and figured at that rate, I'd have a Siamese twin in 30 minutes. So I had to rip him off. I fled the kings' forest sanctuary, the little monkeys with their mouths in a big wide O at my panic. 

I visited another statue of Buddha way up on a hillside. Got suckered into giving a donation, and they asked me to write my name on the certificate, which stated: "The Fund accepts the sum of Rs.        100      donated by Mr./Mrs.      Donald Duck     of the      USA     to be used for all kinds of construction works..." It also stated that "Donations may cause the well-being of both this and the next births." May cause?! What a rip-off! I want guarantees, Buddha!

Oh, one interesting thing. I realized on the train ride to and from Kandy, that it appears that Sri Lankans like to scream out the window when the train goes through a tunnel. Each time we entered a tunnel, a loud howl started to rise. I thought it was the excited kids in front of me, but then I saw a young couple laughing and yelling out the window. It was awesome. I made a sort of muted monkey sound out the window. I didn't want to keep my mouth open too long as all the smoke from the engine was pouring in through the windows.

People are soooo friendly. People laugh and sing on the train. I offered my fellow passenger a banana, and they offered me sandwiches. A security man at one statue asked me to come and have tea with him. Even the military. They have a really hard look when you first encounter them, but then if you smile, and huge toothy smile is reflected back at you. It's hard to imagine such smiley people killing each other. Damn. 

PS: On a different note, I'm sure those of you on Facebook have seen this, but Alice told me about this article. About privilege in racist, sexist USA.