| Mirror
Magazine |
||||
|
Soul-searching By Aditha
Dissanayake On Tuesday
evening during the lull between the news telecasts and the time
for dinner, I tell my family about this great desire. "I need
to discover myself," I explain. "It's time I found out
who I am. What I want from life, am I happy living the way I live?"
Dead silence
at first. Just as I begin to wonder if I should repeat myself, my
father gives the verdict. "Not alone." It takes time for
this to sink in. Then I ask, "Will one of you come with me?"
Dead silence, once more. But after much persuasion Nish agrees to
come, provided I cut down the number of days to four, start on Thursday,
end on Sunday, and provided we go in his Trooper and not in buses
or trains. The ideal place
to start our journey would have been from the centre of the country.
But the closest I can come to this is Talawakelle. On Thursday morning
we begin to head towards the southern coast via Ella. As we go,
I set down a list of let's-do's and let's not do's during the trip.
"Let's eat and use only products which have been manufactured
locally (because I have decided to be a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi!).
Let's not eat from big restaurants. Let's eat only from kiosks,
because this way we could help a poor Mudalali get rich than make
a rich Mudalali richer." I glance from
the corner of my eye at Nish. His eyes are on the road. I am not
sure if he heard me or not. Ten miles later when I feel drowsy and
suggest we buy a packet of chewing gum, I find he had, apparently,
heard every word. "We can't eat chewing gum," he reminds
me. "Chewing gum is not locally manufactured." We have tea,
instead, inside a small square concrete structure with a board saying
"D...'s Snack Bar". Another sign bigger than the first
has a white arrow and reads muthra kereemata (pee here). Yet another
signboard by the side says, "Pride rice and several types of
devils (fish, prawns and crabs) are served." They have "boofey
lunch" too. Inside, we find formica topped tables with huge
plastic bowls and glasses of water. Pieces of newspaper are used
as serviettes. We have two cups of tea and share an "Ispanji".
The bill amounts to fifteen rupees. Even though
the Registrar of Motor Traffic sees me fit enough to possess a driving
licence, Nish does not trust the wheel to me. But he agrees to switch
off the A/C. For, when the shutters are up I feel I am watching
TV. But when they are down and when the breeze plays havoc with
my hair and brings tears to my eyes, I feel I am a part of everything
I am passing by. And I am proud to be a part of everything, because
everything looks so beautiful. Paddy fields stretch far beyond the
eye can see, and look like massive slabs of chocolate. Here and
there, white cranes stand, slim and motionless, reminding me of
nuns in prayer. Under a blue sky hordes of buffaloes, wallow in
pools of mud. How I envy the look of calm contentment on their faces!
Suddenly Nish slows down and begins to take deep puffs of air. "Do
you get that smell?" he asks me. "The smell of mud?" We spend Thursday
night in the bungalow of a friend who is a Manager of a tea estate.
He gives me The Haunted Room - Appu, a butler who had committed
suicide by hanging himself comes in the night and shakes the bed,
he says in a dead serious voice. I am determined to stay awake to
see Appu but fall asleep. At six in the morning however, I wake
up when my bed begins to shake. It shakes so hard I feel the hinges
would come off. Just as I open my mouth to scream fearing the dead
Appu has come, I see Nish standing at the foot of the bed, grinning
from ear to ear. I pretend not to see him, cover my head with the
blankets and make snoring sounds. In the morning
we head towards Kataragama. When we pass a signboard pointing to
Vedihiti Kanda, Nish asks me if I might discover myself on top of
Vedihiti Kanda. "I have vertigo," I remind him. So, Vedihiti
Kanda is out. After miles
and miles of aimless travelling we end up at a beach resort in Yala.
The sea and the beach fascinate us. Passekudah is the best beach
we have seen so far. But, we decide this would come a close runner-up.
The sea looks like a blue sari with silver dust sprinkled on it.
The sand under our feet is the colour of honey. We walk on
the beach in the sun and get baked. We walk in the rain and get
soaked. We lie on our backs and stare at the underside of sea gulls
as they fly over us. We drag a huge piece of driftwood across the
beach for Madsy to grow orchids on, but give up half way through.
We chat with the fishermen living in the wadiya close by and learn
they are from Wattala, and have come here for the "season".
We listen to a bird whose cry is exactly like our doorbell back
home. And before we know it, it's Sunday, twelve noon - time to
check out with eight hours of driving before we reach Colombo. As for all
those soul- searching questions about finding myself, did I find
the answers? No. Perhaps George Moore was right after all. But all
is not lost. By writing this I learn when I am the most myself -
when I write. I discover "I write, therefore I am". So, what would it be for you? When are you a pure concentrated being, with no room for anything else? When are you the most yourself? Think about it. It would be fun to know. Think
you can outlast this challenge? For the 40
teams who were selected after a series of preliminaries, consisting
of running several laps while carrying a 'tackling' bag, pushing
an iron roller and rope climbing, the challenge is very real, as
they will be participating in certain activities for the first time.
From different
parts of Sri Lanka, all teams have members aged between 20 and 30
and are appealing for fair play as they prepare for a gruelling
contest. "It is not just our luck or skill that will be tested
but our endurance," says Dallas of Xibit. There's no telling
which team will win - almost all are amateur office workers, formed
mainly for this event. An outdoor
person, Michael from 'Rebels' says, "Our team needs to practise
as we have never been on a canoe or raft. We've just not had access
to such equipment." At the Kit
Challenge briefing last week, the teams who had to be present in
person for registration seemed both excited and nervous as they
looked forward to this first ever Sri Lankan version of 'Survivor'.
Sporting names
such as 'Lethal 6', Dare Devils, Mash Corps, Barracuda, Power Package
and Wolf Pack amongst others, the teams appeared spruced up for
this test of strength and courage. Maj. Gen. Gemunu
Kulatunga, Director Operations (Wild Holidays) explained that all
activities were connected to nature. "You can enjoy nature
while giving thought to protection and conservation of the environment,"
he said. For the preliminaries,
the challenge opens with a 'Tunamak Pilluma,' (Tri-athalon), its
final destination being Thotupola, the newly built eco-site of 'Wild
Holidays,' where the three events consist of two members of each
team competing in the cross-country run (9 kms), mountain bicycle
event (through swamps, rugged terrain and jungles) and kayaking
respectively. Tree level events such as the aerial rope, and the
archery contest, (skills of the Adhivaasi) will test the participants'
determination and the will to succeed in the face of challenges. "Participants
can expect an element of surprise," says Wild Holidays CEO,
Jude De Silva. "Being a leading company in Sri Lanka who handles
adventure and eco-tourism for individuals and the corporate sector,
we have a fully trained team to handle all activities of the Challenge.
Our safety auditor, trained overseas will ensure that everything
is checked 100%." Mr. de Silva
further advised all participants to abide by the rules and not be
over- confident, as even though they will look into all aspects
of safety, any adventure had an element of risk. "Get physically
fit - to keep you going and take on the challenge with a positive
mind set," he said. All equipment will be provided for the
events by Wild Holidays, including tents, rafts, canoes and even
life jackets. General Manager
for Marketing and Sales, Dialog GSM explained that a detailed marking
system had been drawn up and would be explained to all participants.
This would depend on the timing and completion of activity. The
ranking sheet prepared after the trials was available for team members
to know what areas they would need to practise and train on. As
every team had to have at least two boys or girls in it to make
up the six-member team, the girl boy balance had to be maintained
for all events. Although 40
teams will be in the fray, only four will reach the finals, for
the ultimate challenge - a 3 nights and 4 days event. The whole
challenge has been designed on a knockout basis which means each
team gets only one chance to make it through each stage. The winning
team - six tough guys and girls win a trip to Kenya for the wildest
of holidays. Providing islandwide
coverage of the Kit Challenge live will be YES FM. "We will
be there for you, recording your weakest and strongest moments.
Only teamwork will work," said Ramon Aniban, Programme Manager
(MBC) as he urged all teams to try to look good out there for their
families and friends who will be watching them. Anchor, the
energy and food drink will provide refreshments for the preliminary
and semi-finals. As participants
hailed the organisers for initiating and co-ordinating this unique
event, the biggest concern on their minds was safety. All participants
had to sign a declaration indemnifying all organisers and sponsors
of the KIT Challenge from all liabilities and responsibilities.
"After
all, we can be more courageous and try harder if our safety is assured,"
say Amila, Sanjay and Asanga (CTC) of 'Super Troopers' who have
started practising their water rafting and canoeing skills. Speaking of
the safety measures, Nushad Perera, General Manager - Marketing
& Sales - Dialog GSM explained that all the activities during
the trials were not really life threatening. "It is a challenge
- not kids stuff. A scratch here or there should not really matter.
First aid will be given at any given time," he stressed. The
organisers plan to operate a medical centre handled by experienced
paramedics with maybe an ambulance handy, according to Maj. General
Gemunu Kulathunga, when the events are in progress. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
questions
that have been haunting me for sometime now. 
