A bit of eye Kandy!

Cyrus Dadachanji & Mohit Midha
11^th April 2007

Today is the penultimate day of our rally. It’s a day tinged with sadness and anticipation, as the end of the rally draws near. We had an early morning start as usual from Tissamaharama town. As soon as we left the town, we started the ascent towards Kandy, 250 kilometres away. It was a beautiful misty morning, as we hit the winding hilly roads. Lush green tree canopies lit by the soft early morning light cast a magical spell on us as we climbed higher, slowly but surely.

Our first halt was at the picturesque Ravana Ella waterfall. This was the spot where King Ravana stayed in times of yore. The hills in this area are covered with lush green forests and a crystal clear waterfall plunges over a hundred feet into a gorge. We stopped here for a while all of us clicked innumerable photographs before being herded back to our vehicles. The temptation to scramble onto the rock face and get closer to the waterfall was too much to bear for a few members. So, we had pictures of a hillside dotted with yellow specks as the waterfall cascaded down in the background.

The road is a driver’s dream come true. It snakes its way through dense foliage and tea plantations lined with graceful Silver Oak and Eucalyptus trees. There’s a bend every twenty yards or so, keeping drivers alert and focussed on the road. After around two hours we drove through the picturesque Hagkala botanical gardens. Set on the periphery of the Hagkala Tea Estates at a height of around 4000 feet, this botanical garden is a feast for the eyes. We drove slowly through a circular path around the garden, feasting our eyes on impeccably laid out flowerbeds, century old trees and finely manicured bushes. We drove through the gardens feeling just a little guilty for bringing our humongous SUVs into this pristine pollution free zone. However, it was necessary simply because we did not have the time to walk around like most of the other picnickers in the premises. A stark reminder that we were on a rally and not a picnic.

The road towards Nuwara Eliya, a popular hillside tourist is much like the road from the plains. We passed mile upon mile of tea plantations, dotting the slopes on both sides. Everyone pulled out their cameras and started clicking away furiously. The road became narrower as we picked up speed through the plantations. The drivers had a field day, throwing the two tonne beast around corners with confidence, as the landscape melded into a green blur. Most of us were used to hammering away at our laptops while we were on the move. But this time the palette of green, speckled with tea pickers here and there kept all thoughts of work at bay.

While we were on our way to Nuwara Eliya, Ajay, our Rally Chief hit the ‘Rewind’ Button. Suddenly the car radios were alive with tales of the rally, impressions, reminisces and suggestions for the future. The sentiments were similar, but the voices and nationalities differed. Everyone spoke of the love showered on them across the countries complimented the organisational skills of the organisers and appreciated the bonhomie that had developed between participants. We climbed to a height of 6100 feet as we approached Nuwara Eliya, the City of Light. This was the ‘high’ point of our drive in Sri Lanka, literally.

After lunch at Nuwara Eliya, we headed for the plains. Over the next fifty kilometres, it was an up –down drive all the way. Hardly would we descend from one hill, that we would ascend another. We stopped off at another scenic spot, near St. Claire’s Ten Estate, overlooking a waterfall. The convoy could not decide between Devon Falls or picking up the finest Ceylon Tea from the Estate store. So, we simply did both before carrying on again.

Around 6 pm, we arrived in Kandy city. The first thing that hit us was the number of cars that there are in this relatively small city, with its narrow roads. Predictably, refuelling 28 cars in the middle of the city threw most of the traffic into disarray. The traffic had to be stopped for us, and parted like the Dead Sea to allow us to pass from the ‘Middle Path’. These references to Buddhist philosophy come naturally, as Kandy is home to the ‘Temple of the Sacred Tooth’. This erstwhile palace now houses a scared relic, a tooth of the Buddha. Buddhists from all over the world flock to this temple to pay their respects, so it was not surprising that the Nepali and Bhutanese participants were really looking forward to this experience.

In the evening hours, the white stucco palace with its tiled roofs is bathed in soft yellow light, giving it an almost ethereal feeling. If you walk around the complex, it’s impossible not to be affected by the spiritual ambience here. After the chaotic fuelling session, we needed a spot of peace to unwind, and this was just what the doctor ordered. The evening ended on a cheerful note, with a spot of impromptu singing in Hindi and Bengali by our Bangladeshi team members. To sum up the day in their own words, 'it was rocking!'