As you may recall from my blog posting in July 2009, I spent a year in 1971 with my parents at the famous Gal Bangalawa (Stone House) at Mahakande, Kandy. I was a small girl of only 4years at the time but I have many memories of the time we spent there. It was a carefree and happy period of my life. Overall most of the things I remember from that time are very pleasant. One unpleasant incident though that I still recall was when I fell down and hurt my knee on the gravel road leading back from a neighbor's house. I was wearing a red gingham dress and my knee was bleeding and I was crying.
I have put up a few pictures with this posting. Remember to double click on each picture to enlarge it.
Since we lived in the upstairs of this great big bungalow, my Father asked the University maintenance to add iron grills to all the windows for safety. I recall one day how our little black cat with the white nose, got stuck in the grills in the bedroom of my parents. Fortunately, my parents were able to get the cat freed. My Father was not keen on getting us a cat, as he thought that its fur might cause us allergies but after much pleadings he succumbed to our wishes.
The picture above shows me and my brother sitting on the steps of the front verandah of the bunglow.We are sitting with the two girls who were our household help. I am holding our black cat on my lap.
The picture above shows my brother on the verandah with a rattan basket full of vegetables.
For me and my brother who was three there were many things to explore in this house. The garden also was full of wonders. The immediate garden around the house had a lawn and on it there were certain weeds one of which had jagged leaves close to the ground and lavender flowers. I wish I knew what its name was. On the right side of the Bungalow, in the front garden I recall there was a little natural pond which was inhabited by tadpoles. Naturally, us kids found the tadpoles very fascinating and spent time observing them there and sometimes catching them in bottles when my cousins came to visit.
There were steps that led down from the garden onto the gravel road in front of the house which encircled a small hilly area of earth on which there were several anthills.We were told that cobra snakes inhabited the anthills where they probably went to eat the ants.
The pic below shows me standing there on the steps leading to the gravel road as a 4 year old. That is my Father's old car which he sold soon after. I am standing on the steps next to my cousin who is taller than me.
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Beyond the gravel road was the main flower garden of the house which was quite large. At the time, there were many different varieties of flowers growing there and the garden was well maintained by the caretaker, Martin who lived in the separate caretakers quarters located adjacent to the bungalow. Some of the flowers I recall are pink antignon, barberton daisys and a small tree with white flowers with pinkish centers. There was also a working water fountain at the center of the garden. Sadly, on my last visit to the Bunglow in July 2009 I found that the plants in the garden had long since disappeared and it was neglected and overgrown with weeds.
In the photo on the left you can see my brother and I
having a shower from the tap (water faucet) in the flower garden next to a bed of barberton daisys. I am squatting on the ground.Indoris is the boy standing there in the sarong. Indoris who hailed from my Aunt's village was with our househeld to help out for a short period.
I have other incidents that I recall at Mahakande Bungalow that hold a special place in my memory and about which I will be writing in the future. The subjects will be:
Visits from Relatives:
We had several visitors while we lived at Mahakande.
Vesak
Cod liver oil and Food memories
