Sigiriya- Udawelayagama ('92)
Foreword:
I felt that it was worth sharing the experiences I went through during the years I served my difficult area service as a government teacher of English, with the rest of the world ;and specially among young teachers today. The tenure of difficult area service, specially, of a government teacher , was an indelible turning point in a teacher's life. Hundreds of literary works have seen their day based on the experiences of teachers gathered during this unforgettable chapter of their career. Perhaps, you may envy me and thousands of others like me who enjoyed that precious privilege.
Blogger Sajendra Kumara
The Year 1991
It was the year 1991. That was nearly three decades ago. I was only 21 by then and fresh after my A/Ls. Battered by the JVP led Youth Uprising which eventually had a gruesome end, I had thoroughly resolved to leave hometown.
The Letter of Appointment
It was in such a backdrop that I got my teaching appointment as a direct appointment based on the results of the English Teachers' Recruitment Examination held in 1990. It was like a divine gift; I felt a happiness a weary traveller on a desert would feel to see an oasis in the distance. I didn't want to know where I had been appointed to. At the beginning, the place of appointment did not bear any significance to me.
Frankly, I didn't read the full length of the letter. It was my mum who read it from A to Z. Then, it was passed into my father's hands; and finally, into my paternal aunt's hands. I had an idea of where I had to leave only after listening to their conversation. I was one who had not travelled much about the country. Father had no time to take us on a trip at that time.
Search for Sigiriya on the map
I gathered from their conversation that my destiny had been written to some school in the Sigiriya area. For the first time, I learnt that Sigiriya belonged to the Matale district. I had never been to Sigiriya. I had only seen the pictures of the huge rock in the school text books.
The excitement drove me to pick up an old map and search the area. I found that Sigiriya was located in close proximity to Dambulla and bordered Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts. The area was shaded green: forests reserves.
Father's visit to Galewela Zonal Office.
The name of the school was read as Ma / Ga / Udawelayagama Vidyalaya. Father decided to visit the location first on the advice of the two ladies: my mum and aunt. He arranged for the visit the very next day. His intention was to visit the Galewela Zonal Education office and meet the people there to get details of the school.
Father left home to Galewela early in the morning. I knew that he would bring some news by night. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the return of father that evening. By then, the news had leaked out to some of our neighbours and my girlfriend's home, too. The fact that I was going to be a ' iscole mahaththaya' was an unusual news for some of them.
Some may not have believed that I would ever become a school teacher. Only a very few knew that I was good at English. English was one of my main subjects offered at the A/L examination. Really, less than 50 students had sat for the A/L English paper in 89 and I had an 'S' pass. The 88/89 fear psychosis made my dreams gloomy. According to my teacher, Ven. Basnagoda Thero (now a professor residing in USA) it was a great achievement.
A teacher
A teacher was a person who earned the highest respect at that time. The fact that there was a teacher in the family was considered a great thing. Honestly , people rarely thought of the salary they got at the end of the month. Nobody shouted for it. My salary was only Rs.1200 plus the difficult area allowance. So, frankly , the salary was immaterial to me, too. I did not read it as well until my mother brought it to my notice.
Father's return home
Father returned home that evening with a weary look. I did not read any happiness on his face. He briefed us that the school was situated about 20 miles off Galewela, in close proximity to Sigiriya. He further said that according to the director it was a small village school surrounded by the forest. The director, one Mr. Tkiribanda, had told father that it was great meritorious work if one could go there and work for those children.
As father said, "Buses terminated at Sigiriya and the rest we had to walk." However, I realized , my mom was worried about my living in such a difficult environment away from home. She knew I was one who heavily depended on her. Another short document annexed to the letter of appointment mentioned what I had to take with me: a mosquito net and a torch stood prominent. I could form a glimpse of what my life was going to be by those two items. They really gave me a sense of adventure.
Breaking the news to my sweetheart.
I started the love affair with Kumari (Samanthi) , if my memory serves right , in 1994 . Then I was in Grade 9 😲. She is two years younger than I. She lived just a hop and jump from my home. I often visited hers, we played together and went to school together. I was really a brother to her sisters, older than her. Our affair ,gradually, grew up to be one of the strongest culminating it with our marriage. Today, she is the proud mother of two sons.
After, I resolved to accept the appointment , I broke the news to her. I still remember as if it were today how she broke down. By then, we had not entered the wedlock. I had to take a lot of pains to make up her mind. I still cannot understand as to why she sobbed to hear the news of my job appointment . Perhaps , she might have thought that with time I would change. Frankly, I never wanted to do so.
Sigiriya was farther from Veyangoda than it is today . It was a greater distance at that time. The road to Dambulla was a narrow one, it took longer for travelling. A bus took nearly five hours at that time to reach Dambulla. She knew all about this. Because of the distance and transport difficulties 'difficult area teachers' did not come home frequently at that time. Also there were stories of some teachers who did not return home; they got married and settled down there. It was similar to leaving home for some foreign employment. Even at that time, I believed time would make everything normal. I assured her , however , to visit home at long weekends.
We did not have telephones at that time. Honestly , I had dialed a fixed phone only a few times by then. The young at that time had no knowledge of telephoning; we had no interest in it, either .
Pre-service training.
I need to pen here a few lines about the preservice training that I received before the appointment. I had the preservice training in 1991 April at the Nalanda College , Colombo . It was a three week residential training. There we were educated on the basics of the public service and the ABC of teaching in schools plus its administrative system. We spent the 91 April New Year away from home, at Nalanda College. Late eminent Minister of Education Late Mr. Lalith Athulathmudali (asssinated by LTTE terrorists) sat with us at the 91 New Year table. It was the first and last time I had seen him. The speech he delivered on the use of 'English tag questions' still resounds in my mind.
Leaving home
It was the 6th of May, 1991. I left home to Udawalayagama with my parents, and paternal aunty (she and my father are no more now) . We left home early in the morning. We took a bus from Nittambuwa to Dambulla. It was about 10 a.m. when we reached Dambulla with my suitcase and the mosquito-net. From there we got into a bus from Dambulla to Sigiriya. It took about one and half hours for the bus to reach Sigiriya, the historic city.
The sight of the mighty rock
For the first time in my life I saw the awe inspiring mighty rock, Sigiriya or the Citadel of King Kashyapa. The very first sight of the rock made me feel a kind of strange feeling running through my body. I had seen pictures of this historic rock ; and for the first time I saw it right in front of me.
The small town of Sigiriya
Sigiriya was a typical small township at that time. There were a few kiosks with the traditional copper tea boilers in front. Most of them were Cadjan thatched boutiques. There were only a few people in the vicinity. The bus terminated there. There was no road on the tank bund at that time ; only a footpath. The road to Udawalayagama and Polonnaruwa (a popular short cut to Polonnaruwa- Minneriya road through the forest) started at the foot of Sigiriya tank bund. (Today you see more tourists than local at Sigiriya. )
It was quite hot when we got off the bus. Later, I came to know that it had not rained to the area for a long period. Signs of a long spell of a drought could be seen in every nook and corner. A strong dry wind with swirls of dust blew across the surrounding. The wind ,I learnt in the later years, was a natural phenomena of this part the country during the dry season. With time , however, I got accustomed to it.
The Kiosk
Father walked to one isolated kiosk and talked with the Mudalali. There were a few bare bodied villagers chewing betel sitting on an improvised long bench. I still remember their betel tainted innocent smile with which they welcomed my father. The harshness of the parched environment could well be read on their faces. However, I did not talk with them. I was a little panicked and was trying to gather what was going to happen to me.
The villager
When they heard that we were going to the village school , they promptly stood up and directed us to a tall sturdy villager who was walking along the road some distance away carrying a heavy sack on head. One of the villagers clapped at him and made him stop. They told us to go with him. Later, we found that he was from Udawelayagama. ( More details of the two villages Udawelayagama and Gedigaswalana will be explained later)
We started following him. He was a nonstop talker (Note; I do not mean to bring any discredit to that poor villager) . He continued 'his lecture' on the area without turning back probably because of the weight on his head. Only my father interrupted him at times. I walked quietly behind all of them.
Elephants
Half into the journey , the villager told my father , "Mahaththaya (Sir) the biggest problem for us come from elephants. They destroy almost everything. They kill even our people." I was terrified to hear these words. I saw my mom's and aunt's faces turn black. We all started looking around cautiously . The man , perhaps , having realized , his remark had instilled fear in us , stopped a while and said , " Don't get scared , the jumbos usually come out after sunset." My mom showered him with a number of questions about elephants.
After the villager dragged elephants into our conversation, it seemed I saw a pachyderm behind every tree and bush in the vicinity. Though I had heard about wild elephant attacks, I had not seen one in real life. To make matters worse, I noticed a few piles of elephant dung by the road. They appeared fresh. I also saw trees and branches knocked down by elephants. Really , they caught my eye only after the villager told us about elephants .
Closer to the school
We continued the rest of the journey cautiously without much talking. We passed a few thatched houses , and just one house with roofing tiles. The latter , as the villager said, belonged to a lady who provided indigenous medical services ( a weda nona) . We passed several deserted chena cultivations. I saw a tree house in each of them. This was proof of what the villager told us a short while ago. We passed a block of small paddy filed too. We met only a few people on the way.
I realized by observing the environment that we getting closer to a village. Just then I saw a group of little boys and girls appeared on the road right in front of us. The moment they say us, they turned back and disappeared. It was the first indication that we had come closer to the school. The villager stopped and having instructed us to move on turned to a by road and quickly disappeared.
Arriving at the school
As expected, soon the school appeared in front of us. There were just two buildings. (See pic. 1 above) One 20 x 60 building and an old dilapidated quarters. The office room was in a corner of the single hall. There was no playground. There were trees and bushes all around. The name board read MA / GA / Udawawelayagama K.V. There wasn't a divisional office at Dambulla at that time. At a distance, in a corner of the school I could see a tube well near a huge tamarind tree.
The time, if my memory serves right , was around 12.30 p.m. The principal ,a tall middle aged pleasant gentleman, welcomed us to the office. He had received a copy of my appointment letter . So he addressed me 'Jayaratne malli'. There were two young gentlemen (Mr. Wijitha, Mathale and Mr. Janaka, Mathale) and two ladies (Mrs. Dayawathie, from Audangawa a small village close to the school and Mrs. Bandaranayake, from Gedigaswalana , a village next to the school) on the staff.
The after warmly welcoming all of us , first of all, got me to sign in the attendance register. Then he made a quick log entry with regard to my assumption of duties. Perhaps , he might have thought I would turn back due to the harsh environment in the area. Several years later once one young lady who got her first appointment to this school did so.
While we were talking in the office, little children started peeping into the office. I soon realized that they were afraid of their 'lokusir' (headmaster ). The very sight of him made them run away.
Then Mr. Upali got the two lady teachers to make us all tea. After that the principal told my parents and aunt that it would be good if they could leave early before elephants got on to the road. He made arrangements for them to catch a bus from Hiriwadunna. There is a distance of around four kilometers from the school to Hiriwadunna . (Hiriwadunna is a village situated in the Anuradhapura district.) Also most part of the road falls through two small villages, Gedigaswalana and Indikolawewa.
Thus my parents and aunt left me in that 'hamlet' bordering the Wasgamuwa sanctuary. I had no way to contact them. It was an era people communicated mainly using telegrams and letters. The nearest post office was at Sigiriya or Habarana.
The two gents , I later came to know , were staying at a boarding house on the Dambulla -Trinco main road. I couldn't talk with them on the first day as it was nearly 1.30 when I finished my work on documents.
After 1.30, when all had gone, I felt a stange feeling of lonliness. I could hear only the occasional twittering of some wild birds. The heat was unbearable. The strong dry wind made my lips dry. The gusty wind made a great whooshing noise like a monster when it blew over the tree-tops. I had a lot of things to ask 'lokusir'.
👉To be continued
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