Make the best use of fruits - by Chandra Edirisuriya

Fruits have been the basic food of both herbivorous man and animal but not of carnivorous animals distinguished by their canine teeth.

Of course, both herbivorous man and carnivorous animals like domesticated dogs and cats have become omnivorous owing to necessity. Even the carrion eater of the jungles the fox is fabled to have tried to eat sour grapes.

The importance of fruits as the food of early man is symbolised in story of Adam the first man in the biblical and Kuranic traditions and Eve the Old Testament first woman, the mother of the human race fashioned by God from the rib of Adam.

The Buddha accepting a gift of a mango grove from Ambapali the courtesan is one of the earliest references to the mango fruit. Arhant Maha Mahinda, son of Emperor Dharmasoka who introduced Buddhism to Lanka asking questions about a mango tree from King Devanampiya Tissa to test the king's intelligence to see whether the king could understand the Buddha's doctrine is the second instance in Buddhist history where the mango tree is mentioned.

My first recollection of fruits was when I was a toddler. There was a mee amba (honey mango) tree in the compound of the Katupitiya Government Mixed School in the bungalow of which we lived, in addition to the cashew trees, the sour sop or anona (Katu anoda) trees and an orange tree bearing a large number of sweet fruits. In about the year 1945 when the Second World War was still being fought some foreign soldiers on horse back came to the school compound and asked for oranges.

When my father in his abundant generosity told them to pluck any number of fruits one soldier while sitting on his horse plucked oranges for all of them by bending the branches with his rifle. The surplus oranges from this tree numbering hundreds were sold by my father as he had leased out the land from the Government.

Thereafter when my father and my mother came on transfer to Kottawa we stayed the brief period of six months at a large old house with a portico, in a coconut, rubber and cinnamon land. There were white Columbian mango (rata amba) trees in the land owned by the land lady who was the sole occupant of the house because her son who was the Public Trustee at the time lived in his official residence in Colombo. Our family consisting of my father, mother, younger sister and younger brother looked after the old lady and when she got her labourers to pluck mangoes she gave us liberal quantities of the fruit.

For the six months we were there I attended Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya and part of the school compound was full of dan bushes. During the interval we of the 3rd standard plucked the ripe purple coloured berries. I first saw a damson tree full of the red and purple coloured plum-like fruits in the compound of the lady teacher to whose house I went in the evening for tuition.

Mangoes

Then in our own land at Gampaha where we lived for the next 46 years there were a large number of fruit trees there were about eight kinds of mangoes namely rata amba, betti amba, pol amba, dampara, villard, peter peasant, ambul amba (sour mangoes) and pilikuttu amba, a species confined to the area around Pilikuttuwa Raja Maha Viharaya which has now been declared a sacred area owing to the valuable ancient cave paintings there.

The Pol Amba tree in front of our house was about the height of a very tall coconut tree and the fruits in bunches were as large as medium-sized papaws. The fruit was bright yellow when ripe and contained a large quantity of delicious flesh as the seed was flat. My father used the 12 bore single barrelled shot gun he had for 35 years only once a year and that was to bring down a bunch of mangoes by shooting at its stem at the auspicious time to light the kitchen hearth on the New Year day, to signal my mother who was waiting to perform the rite. Unfortunately after the pol amba tree died I have not seen the like of this variety of mangoes anywhere else in the country.

In addition to mango there were orange, narang (tangerine), guava, avocado, lime, lemolime, pomegranate, uguressa, gooseberry, heart-shaped red custard apple, naminan, lavulu, beli, divul, ilama, papaw, banana and plantain, breadfruit, jak (both wela and waraka) trees, half an acre of kew pineapples and passion fruit creepers bearing red and yellow fruits in our garden. Later I planted one acre of Mauritius pineapples. Ilama is a big green custard apple with spiking buttons on the skin. This variety of anona along with the red passion fruit was brought by me from Nuwara Eliya but grew well in the warm climate at Gampaha. Our one hectare land was a virtual orchard with fruit trees that grew with little effort on our part.

In the late 1940s and into the 1950s most local fruits were hardly sold in the market and were not grown in plantation. Fruits were a home garden product. Only imported fruits like fresh grapes, apples and later Haifa oranges and dried fruits like raisins, dates etc were sold in the market. Nuwara Eliya pears came later. Now even Australian Kiwi fruit, plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines and imported grape fruits are available in super markets.

Jams

Marmalade orange, locquats, peaches, mulberry, strawberry are also found in our country as nature's bounty. Marmalade made of marmalade oranges and sweet oranges is a delicacy that is eaten with bread and butter. Mulberry that could be grown in any compound makes an excellent jam.

I can recall the day I first ate an apple. I used to accompany my father to the Katupitiya cooperative store when he went there to supervise its operations as the President of the Cooperative Society. There were sweet smelling green apples wrapped in tissue paper and green grapes in pinewood boxes with cork dust put in to prevent crushing, for sale there in addition to Australian IXL jams in tins. I ate the green apple which my father gave me but vomited later because as I learnt later raw apples with rind are too acidic and for that reason apples are given to young children peeled and cooked in sugar syrup.

Banana is the fruit that is most widely consumed. The more popular banana in the world is Peesang Ambon (ambun) that was marketed with the chiquita label, grown in the banana republics of Central America. Its origin is traced to Amboina or Ambon an island in Indonesia in the Moluccas. The raw banana is sliced and dried to make flour. A porridge made of it fed even to infants. The other species of banana are the sour plantains, ash plantains, kolikuttu, suwandel, puvalu, anamalu, rata hondravalu, nethra palam, etambura, mondan, alu mondan, morathavalu, kithala or seeni kehel, sudu kochchi, rath kehel etc. which are eaten ripe made into curries, fried as chips or eaten boiled with scraped coconut. It is sour plantation (ambul) that is eaten boiled with the peel intact, after cutting the two ends of the fruits, adding a little salt, with scraped coconut as the main meal. Ash plantains (alu kehel) contain the most proteins out of all bananas.

Once when I visited my mother hospitalised at the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital, Attanagalle, she had been served rice with ash plantain cooked whole, in coconut milk, with the peel.

Ash plantains are most nutritious when ripe. An Ayurvedic rejuvenative medicine (Rasayanaya) is made by mixing ripe ash plantain with kithul jaggery and after putting the mixture into a clay pot, covering its mouth with a cloth tied round its neck, topping it with a clay lid (moodiya) and keeping the pot buried under the fire place in the kitchen or buried in paddy inside a silo (wee bissa or pettiya) for three months. Rath kehel (red bananas) called merenda valu in Tamil because of its medicinal properties can be grown in the home garden close to the pit to which kitchen refuse is put. Once I planted a rath kehel sucker near the cow dung pit at our cattle shed and it bore a very large bunch of the prized fruit each about eight inches long.

I tried to grow a durian tree the king of all fruits. But it died due to prolonged drought. Durian is a large tree Durio zebethinus native to South East Asia bearing oval spiny fruits containing creamy pulp with a fetid smell and agreeable taste. Duri in Malay means thorn. It is grown as a plantation crop in this region. In our country durian grows roughly in Gampaha district in the low country wet zone and beyond Kadugannawa up to Kotmale in the inter-montane zone. However 90 per cent of the durian crop in this country is wasted owing to plucking when the fruit is not mature enough for quick ripening. Such fruits vendors try to sell in vain give out no smell and pallid in colour.

Only the uninitiated eat such fruits sold on the wayside.

Those selling it don't lose because it is purchased dirt cheap from the villagers. Traders at the stalls next to Manning market don't sell durian now because I enlightened them about it. Durian cream canned by a reputed cannery used to sold at grocers and super markets but not now.

So the connoisseur is denied the opportunity of tasting this ambrosial fruit which is classed as the best fruit in the world taste wise and nutrition wise. The last time I ate durian was five years ago when I stayed in a house in the heart of Kandy town in the compound of which there were three very large durian trees. Early morning I used to pick the fruits, fallen during the night. The taste of these tree ripened fruits was exquisite.

Best use must be made of the fruits produced in the country by seeing that only the mature fruits are plucked and as far as possible naturally ripened. Smoke ripening and ripening by applying chemical substances as ripening agents in quantities and in the manner prescribed by the Department of Agriculture, only, should be permitted. The agricultural extension officers should be made to see that immature fruits are not harvested. What happens today is that dealers go to the villages and buy the crop of the whole tree dirt cheap from the farmers and sell it to traders in the cities. More often than not excessive chemical treatment of the fruits to force the unmatured fruits to ripen quickly, all at the same, makes them tasteless, watery and of less nutritive value. These fruits also go bad in no time and a large proportion is thrown away. But the intermediaries between the producer and the consumer get a good profit because it is purchased from the producers at a very low price.

Mahaweli zones

It is because there is quality control in countries like the USA, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa that the fruits that we import from these countries are beyond complaint. The other consolation is that a quota of the fruits like cantaloupe and other kinds of melons grown in the Mahaweli zones, for export, are released to the local market. One cannot say this of the mango, papaw, avocado, bananas etc available in the local market except in the village fairs to which producers bring their produce directly.

For instance one seller at Kadugannawa where there is a Sunday fair sells good quality durian fruit. Good quality mangoes, avocados, bananas etc also could be had at this fair. This is true of other fairs held in towns.

Apart from the fruits eaten ripe, jak and breadfruit can be used as a substitute for rice and bread etc. made of wheat flour. Boiled jak and breadfruit is best eaten with scraped coconut, lunu miris with maldive fish and other curries.

Tender jak is made into a curry. Our family caretaker Peter Appuhamy who devoted all his life looking after us was also an excellent cook and the polos curry he cooked is unsurpassable. He used two coconuts to cook one tender jak fruit. He added the milk of one to the polos along with the paste of chillie, condiments, garlic, curry leaves, maldive fish etc. and the kernel of the other coconut cut into thin slices. The clay pot containing the mixture was put on the hearth to cook overnight to be eaten at all three meals the following day.

Breadfruit, a tree of the Pacific Islands was brought to this country by the Dutch who ruled us from 1656 to 1796 to make the villagers eat it and for them (the Dutch) to export the rice thus saved. Boiled breadfruit should always be eaten with a liberal quantity of scraped coconut to neutralise the acids in it. It is said that even elephants do not eat the ripe fruit fallen under the trees in the jungle. Breadfruit can also be eaten thinly sliced, dried and fried in oil coated with either chillie powder and salt or put in sugar syrup.

Mature jak pods cut into strips can be prepared in the same manner. Fruits are so prized in countries like America that selected fruits packed in cartons by the dozen can be ordered through the mail and sent as gifts. In India the mango is regarded as the king of fruits and mangoes of good quality are sold by the basket.

We export fruits of good quality including pineapples, confined earlier to the area covered by Gampaha district but now grown in other areas of the country too.

Papaws are also grown on a commercial scale and the most favourite variety is the red lady with the sweet deep pink flesh. As it earlier got spoiled in transporting owing to the thin skin. Improved varieties with a skin thick enough to withstand the rigours of transportation have been now developed. A kind of yellow fruit called lansi gaslabu in the olden days is cultivated now using only organic manure is available in super markets.

Kinds of anona like cherimoya and sour sop make the best sherberts in the world served in star class hotels. Most of the acidic fruits can be mixed with milk to make excellent drinks. Fruits are also used to make sundaes, ice creams and cocktails. Wines are distilled from fruits even other than grapes. Cider is made from apple juice. Jams of the IXL brand are made even from forest fruits.

Even in our country there are fruits that grow wild in the forest like palu, weera, mora, himbutu, ambul pera (sour guava) etc. Nature has been very generous to our country in giving us many more fruits like Kamaranka (star fruit or star apple) koholle lavulu, rambuttan, gadu guda, donga, ambarella, mangosteen, tamarind, gal siyambala, palmyra fruit etc some of which have spread from other countries. It is a pity that there is a scant respect for fruits as a commodity consumed by the common man. The ordinary man does not get his money's worth when he buys fruits of low quality and sometimes injurious to health.

Fruits - ambrosia of the gods - by Chandra Edirisuriya

Fruits are by far the most natural and the most valuable source of food of man because fruits can be eaten uncooked and cooking destroys the nutrients in most foods. The story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden apple is symbolic of the importance of fruits. It was very natural for man to pick or pluck sweet smelling ripe fruits that grew in the wild where man lived in caves. As long as man lived in the jungle in the natural setting fruits formed the principal diet.

Fruits could also be called the ambrosia of the gods, in the heavens or the astral worlds where, according to a recent article in the Sunday Observer by a medical doctor, human beings who do good in this world live in their youthful form and fruit trees bear extremely delicious fruits. This also tallies with a story in the Silumina some time ago where a girl of 17 years relates her previous life in heaven in which fruits are the food of gods and goddesses who are airborne.

Fruits available in this country can be categorised into endemic, brought from overseas and grown here and fruits imported. One of the earliest mentioned fruits in this country is the mango. The well-known questions arhant Mahinda asked King Devanampiyatissa, to test the king's intelligence were about a mango tree. Other fruits growing wild in the dry zone and wet zone jungles in this country include divul (woodapple), palu, weera, mora, kon, nelli, madan, goraka, tamarind, beli, koholle lavulu, timbiri, himbutu.

Fruits brought from other countries and propagated here include jak, papaw, bananas and plantains, gauva, pomegranate, avocado or alligator pear, mangosteen, rambuttan, cashewapple, jambola, tangerine, orange, pears, peaches, strawberry, gooseberry, mulberry, loquats, lime, star fruit, anona, passion fruit, pineapple, sapodilla, durian, rata goraka, breadfruit etc. Mulberry fruits when fully ripe make an excellent jam, a single tree in the garden will supply enough fruits to eat as fresh fruit also.

Breadfruit is not eaten uncooked. It is said even wild animals like elephants do not east the ripe breadfruit fallen on the ground from trees, in the African jungles because it contains some strong acid. It is because of this that boiled breadfruit is eaten with liberal quantities of scraped coconut or made into a mallum with scraped coconut and tumeric etc or into a curry with coconut milk and spinach, to neutralise the acid.

Breadfruit is also cut, sliced and dried to make a sweetmeat by frying in oil and coating it with sugar or treacle. Breadfruit was introduced to this country by the Dutch, from the East Indies, because they wanted to export the rice produced here. In Fiji, Tonga islands Hawaii and other islands in the Pacific ocean it is eaten roasted with pork. A pit is dug and lined with banana leaves. Peeled breadfruit and pork with salt etc. added, is laid in the pit, covered with more banana leaves and topped with soil. A fire is lit with firewood on the covered pit for the contents to be roasted.

Jak is a versatile fruit eaten as a curry when tender (polos), boiled and eaten with scraped coconut or pork curry or made into a curry to eat with rice, when mature. Tender jak mallun is also prepared with scrapped coconut, turmeric, black pepper etc also to eat with rice. Mature, cream or yellow coloured pods of the jak fruit are boiled and dried as atu kos, fried in oil and put in hot sugar syrup or treacle to make a sweetmeat.

Ripe jak as wela or waraka that was available canned sometime back but not now, is a delicacy. The ripe pods are usually golden yellow but waraka with pink coloured pods is also there. The mature jak seed is preserved in sand (veli koseta) to be eaten during scarcity. An excellent melluma (Niyambalawa) is made from jak seed so preserved. Raw mature jak seeds are also made into a curry with roasted and ground scraped coconut (Kalu pol maluwa). Jak seed can also be eaten boiled or roasted under embers in the fire place, with coconut. Aggala, a sweet meat ball is made from roasted jak seeds mixed with scraped coconut, sugar or jaggery, black pepper and salt to taste, pounded in the mortar with a pestle. Both jak and breadfruit are dehydrated now to make various preparations.

Divul (woodapple) is now cultivated as a plantation crop in the southern province, because this fruit has a big demand, to make divul kiri, mixing the pulp of the fruit with coconut milk, jaggery or sugar and salt to taste and to make jam on a large scale for domestic consumption as well as for export. It is difficult to get mature, well ripened divul fruit in the market because unscrupulous traders pluck the tender fruit and ripen it artificially. However good quality fruits can be bought from supermarkets, and reputed dealers at reasonable rates too.

The most common varieties of bananas and plantains grown in this country are ambul (sour plantain), ambun (brought from Ambonia, where porridge made from flour obtained by pounding sliced and dried ambun is given to infants), kolikuttu, anamalu (ripe anamalu with boiled eggs is given to those recovering from food poisoning) rath kehel (red banana) called merrandavalu in Tamil because of its medicinal properties, ash plantains (alu kehel) made into curry after frying or just raw but more nutritious when ripe (an ayurvedic rasayanaya is prepared by mixing ripe ash plantains and kithul jaggery and burning under the fire place in a clay pot), suwandel, seeni kehel, rata honaravalu, puvalu etc. Ati kehel grows in the wild. The high potassium content in bananas is said to prevent strokes.

Bananas and plantains are best eaten tree ripened or left to ripen in the shade. Smoking used to be the method of ripening in the villages when it was necessary to ripen large quantities in a short time of two to three days in view of festivals or wedding ceremonies. A pit is dug in a shed and burnt with dried plantain leaf and straw. Bunches of bananas are cut into combs and stocked on a layer of keppetiya, biling and caju (cashew) leaves held to the fire and covered with more such leaves.

The pit is then covered with planks, gunny bags and topped with soil. A hole is bored in the soil leading to the chamber where the fruit is to blow smoke into it, every six hours or so. Now traders use smoke rooms to ripen large quantities of fruits. Application of chemicals is now recommended by the Department of Agriculture to ripen fruits all at the same time on condition that the chemicals do not come into direct contact with the fruits.

But unprincipled dealers apply overdoses of the chemicals directly to the fruits to ripen immature and tender fruits quickly. Mangoes, papaw and avocado ripened in or mellun.

The papaw when artificially ripened by applying an over dose of chemicals or when immature fruits are ripened in this manner, is watery and bitter tasting. The avocado so treated is tasteless. These fruits sold at super markets and by some declared in markets like the manning market in Pettah are properly ripened.

Sometime back I bought a Red Lady papaw fruit weighing 02 kilograms for Rs. 100 from a dealer at the Manning Market. The dealer said he gets his papaw from Embilipitiya. We really enjoyed eating it with the sweet red flesh. The next time, as his papaws had sold out I bought two papaws, each weighing one kilograms, from another dealer close by.

The fruits tasted watery and bitter. Thereafter I again went to the first dealer and told him the story. He said "those are immature fruits treated with carbide" and gave me two good fruits and I continue to buy papaw from him.

Although Super Markets and some reliable traders sell good quality fruits but most people buy their fruits from wayside vendors who sell very low quality fruits that deceive the eyes. So only the discerning and the discriminating get the best fruits while the ordinary man gets the sum owing to unscrupulous traders mostly middlemen capitalising on the big demand for fruits and the weaknesses of ignorant people.

They buy fruits that look good from a distance and superficially because they have not even seen, properly ripened fruits.

Bananas are by for the most widespread fruits in this country. Matara Alawwa are famous for kolikuttu. Anamalu is confined to the wet cool areas in the hill country starting in the Rambukkana area. Ambun is cultivated in the wet zone both low country and up country.

Ambul plantains are grown throughout the country. Ambul plantains of record size used to be grown in Jaffna by the industrious Jaffna farmers. Rath kehel the most nutritious of all bananas needs very fertile soil. Puvalu and suwandel are delicious varieties found in the country. Every home garden can accommodate at least one kind of banana to advantage.

Mango is also one of the most popular tropical fruits. It is extensively grown and consumed in India. Mango juice and milk was the favourite and the only diet during the later part of the life of Mahathma Gandhi.

In our country mangoes have been eaten from time immemorial. Half a century ago there were only the indigenous varieties like ambul amba, etamba, walu amba, mee amba. Rata amba, pol amba, betti amba, gira amba, dampara, kohu amba, pilikuttu amba were propagated from seeds. Then there were the famous Jaffna mangoes like kartha kolomban, vella kolomban etc. All these kinds and the red villard are now also grown as budded trees in plantations mainly in the dry zone.

Pineapple is grown on a large scale in this country in plantations because it has a ready demand in the international market. Fruits like cantaloupe melons and water melons are grown in the Mahaweli areas, also for export.

Many other fruits like mangoes, bananas etc can be grown on a large scale for local consumption as well as for export. The export of passion fruit juice was thriving at one time but owing to inability to follow basic rules of quality control it had to be abandoned. The demand overseas for most tropical fruits exceeds supply. Imported fruits enjoy a good market here because of the stringent quality control exercised by authorities in other countries exporting fruits.

The country has much to gain by growing fruits systematically on a large scale both for local consumption and export. Jams are made from local fruits like divul, mangoes, pineapples, passion fruit etc and from imported fruits like apricots, strawberries etc.

Mixed fruit jams with a combination of those fruits are made. Jams made of fruits like plums, black berries, blue berries etc are imported into this country.

Mango, orange, lime, nelli and mixed fruit cordials are made here. Orange, mandarin, grapefruit, apricot, mango, apple and black current cordials and juices are also imported. Divul kiri also used to be canned by a reputed cannery but not now. Papaw jam is also not made now because papaw today is one of the most popular fruits eaten fresh. Fruits are best in their natural form rather than preserved.

Almost all kinds of fruits grown in the mediterranean and temperate climates can be had here. Apples take pride of place among imported fruits. In the 1940s and the 1950s there were only green apples.

They were very sweet smelling, each wrapped in tissue paper and packed in pinewood boxes. I remember the day when I first ate an apple in about the year 1945 at the cooperative store managed by my father, as the Head Master of the village school. Green grapes were also sold there. Grapes too came in pinewood boxes packed with saw dust. Jams made from apricots, plums, gooseberry etc came in tins with the IXL label.

Now, apples of different colours, dark green, dark red, pink and light green are imported from the US, Australia, China, India and Pakistan. Jaffna oranges came first and now oranges and tangerine come from Australia and Pakistan.

Red and green grapes come from mediterranean climates. Even plums, kiwi fruit, nectarine, and grapefruits are available at the super markets at a price for those who can afford to buy such exotic fruits.

Don Phillip, Don John and Dona Catherina of Sri Lanka

The Kingdom of Kotte was established by Parakrama Bahu Vl (1473-1480) who was also Emperor of Ceylon. The Kingship devolved on King Dharmapala (1557-1597).

The Kandyan Kingdom was established as an autonomous Kingdom in 1474 by Vickrama Bahu Vl, under King and Emperor of Kotte. Vickrama Bahu broke away and established himself as King of Kandy. Vickrama Bahu gave his daughter in marriage to Kiravilla the brother in Law of the King of Kotte. Kiravilla’s son Karaliedde Bandara was also known as Mahadasin to the throne of Kandy.

The Portuguese first made contact with Ceylon accindentaly when in ISOS Admiral Lorenzo De Almeida landed here by strong monsoonal winds but did not enter into any formal treaty. However, about 5 decades later the Portuguese came here to establish a factory in Colombo in the time of King Dharmapala. With the coming of the Portuguese the King of Kotte, nobles and warriors were converted to the Catholic faith and adoption of Portuguese, titles and names after conversion. Dharmapala was baptised as Don Juan Dharmapala.

Mayadunne and his son, Rajasinghe I of Sitawaka raised a rebellion against the Portuguese. Mahasin, Karaliadde Bandara the father of Kusumasena Devi fled Kandy with his wife and child as well as his nephew Yamasinghe Bandara for safety to Trincomalee as there was an attempt to capture his Kingdom by Sitawaka Rajasinghe. It is said that at Trincomalee he and his wife was affected by smallpox and died. Both Yamasinghe and infant Kusumasena Devi were advised to beseech the aid of Catholic Nuns in Mannar for succour. Yamasinghe was baptised as Don Phillip and Maha (pata) bandige Kusumasena Devi was baptised as Dona Catherina.

Dona Catherina was the sole child survivor of the smallpox epidemic which wiped out her entire family, the family of Karaliyadde Bandara. As an orphan she was brought up by the Nuns of the convent at Mannar.

Sitawaka Rajasinghe I together with his General Wimala Dharmasuriya (Sn) conquers Kandy and appoints his General Wimaladharmasuriya (the father of Konnappubandara) as Governor of Kandy. Subsequently King Rajasinghe I who was a diehard convert to Hinduism had ordered the Governor of Kandy, General Wimaladharmasuriya, to destroy the Buddhist Monks in Kandy. He did not carry out the orders but knew the possible consequences. So he sent his wife and son over to the Portuguese in Mannar and reported himself to Rajasinghe I Sithawaka. He was martyored by Rajasinghe I by stoning him to death for not carrying out his orders. General Wimaladharma Suriya’s son who was known as Konnappu bandara was baptized as Don John of Austria.

Both Don Phillip and Don John were trained in warfare in Goa by the Portuguese while Dona Catherina was named in the niceties of Royal etiquette and court craft.

The Portuguese decide to Conquer Kandy with Don Phillip to be installed as King with Don John as his General, who were both expected to marry Portuguese wives, so that they could have a control over them and were taken to Mannar for the expedition.

The Portuguese advanced an expedition to Kandy to conquer it with Portuguese General Pedro Lopenz and conquered Kandy and Don Phillip was installed as King. After a while he was poisoned by his General Don John of Austria who took over the reigns as King of Kandy (1592) better known as Wimaladharma Suriya l. He used the Portuguese Captives to reconstruct his Fortress in Kandy and his palace. Asgiri Talipot says that Konappu Bandara alias Wimaladharmasuriya (1593 - 1604 AD) was crowned by Rev. Devanagala Ratanalankara Maha Thero and Chief Sanghanayakes of up country. Meantime, he married the daughter of Udammita Brahmana Rala, a very distinguished officer of the Palace of Kotte. (Rajawali P. 160 - Suraweera) His newly married wife passed away as a result of a child birth. Being a full trained soldier he began the liberation struggle against king Rajasinghe I and Portuguese power both.

Rajasinghe I attacks Kandy but is routed by Wimaladharma Suriya 1 (Don John of Austria). Rajasinghe returned to Seethawaka and died. Jayaweera Banda the Treasurer of Rajasinghe I declares himself King of Seethawaka. Jayaweera Banda conspires with the Portuguese to conquer Kandy, with the hidden intention of marrying Dona Catherina and to become undisputed Emperor. Later Dona Catherina left Mannar with the Portuguese General Pedro to be installed as Empress of Ceylon in Kandy. The pole of the Palanquin in which Dona Catherina is carried breaks. This was considered as a bad omen by Donna Catherina, but General Pedro Lopes with her was not superstitutious and they decided to proceed to Kandy on the Expedition. The joint forces of the Portuguese and Jayaweera Banda took over Kandy which was tactfully deserted by Wimaladharma Suriya and installed Dona Catherina as Empress.

There were strained feelings between General Pedro Lopes and Jayaweera Banda. Pedro Lopes refused to give into the intentions of Jayaweera Banda to marry Dona Catherina. Wimaladharmasuriya I adopted Guerrilla Tactics and attacked Kandy, with the support of disgruntled Jayaweera who was promised by Don John to give him the lower Kingdom. Consequently, The Portuguese were routed and Dona Catherina was captured. Later, Wimala Dharma Suriya married Dona Catherina and became the undisputed Emperor of Ceylon with Empress Dona Catherina as his Queen. Jayaweera Banda was murdered by the Portuguese.

Dona Catherina begets by King Wimala Dharma Suriya I three children, namely a son Mahaasstane (the legal heir to the throne), two daughters Sunya Mahadasin and Cathan Adsain and lives in the old Palace in the premises of the present Kataragama Devale where the Palace Complex was within inner Fortress as indicated in the old Portuguese Maps. The well known Perahera of the four devales of Kataragama, Vishnu, Natha and Pattini was established at that time.

Demise of Wimala Dharma Suriya I lead to Dona Catherina taking over as regent to her son Maha Astenne who is heir to the Kingdom.

Later, Senerath, step brother of Wimaladharmasuriya, married Dona Catherina and begets three sons namely Prince Wijepala, Prince Kumarasinghe and Mahadasin. On 23rd August 1612 Heraditory Imperial Prince Mahastanne died suddenly. Dona Catherina suspected Senarath of Murdering him. Cremation Scene of Mahastenne at Mahiyawa (it is said the ashes of Mahastenne was brought by Dona Catherina to Welimantotta (in Kegalle) where the urn was kept within the Palace, which the Archaeology Dept. had found in the excavation of the Palace.) During this time she was also carrying another child by Senarath, However during her visits to Kandy she is reputed to have stayed in the Guest House in the Centre of the Present Kandy Lake (in the days of Senarath it was a paddy field).

Dona Catherina left the palace of Kandy after her second husband King Senarat poisoned her eldest son prince Maha Asthana - the heir to throne, in order to the pave the way to install his own son. She built this palace at Welimanathota, where she lived with her children after abandoning King Senarat. While at Welimantota she fell deliriously ill and summoned Prince of Migonne (Marcellus de Boschhouwer) and the Prince of Ouver (Kuruwitarala) and gave special custody of all her children and died, while incanting Catholic Prayers on 20th July 1613 at the age of 35.

Donna Catherina was buried on 21st July 1613 with all honors due to an Empress with Roman Catholic rites at her Palace Premises at Welimantota. It is believed that she was buried dressed in her Royal Regellia including a Pearl Rosary round her hands and the Bible beside. The Moseleum was built by the Prince of Ouva (Kuruwitarala) entombing herein a masolieum and a oil lamp was lit perpetually in her memory till recently.

King Senarath fell sick and summons the Council to decide on the Succession. Prince of Migonne (Marcellus de Boschhouwer) and the Prince of Ouva (Kuruwitarala) appoints Regents of Cumarasinghe Heriditory Prince during his minority with full authority to govern the relm and chosen for so great a task. In case of his death other princes to follow according to custom. King Senarath died in 1632 and left the Empire between his three sons. Ouva to Vijayapala his eldest, Matale to Kumarasinghe and Kandy to Mahastane the youngest. When Vijapala died Mahastane later became King under the imperial name of Rajasinghe II (Rasin Deiyo).

Dragon Fruit - a.k.a.Pithaya, Strawberry Pear

Round, often red colored fruit with prominent scales. The thin rind encloses the large mass of sweetly flavored white or red pulp and small black seeds. Some varieties are pinkish or yellow.

Description: A vining, terrestrial or epiphytic cactus, with fleshy stems reaching from a few inches up to 20ft long (in mature plants). The plant may grow out of, and over the ground or climb onto trees using aerial roots. Flowers are ornate and beautiful, and many related species are propagated as ornamentals. They bloom only at night, and usually last just one night where pollination is necessary to set fruit. In full production, pitahaya plants can have up to 4-6 fruiting cycles per year.

Hardiness: Will tolerate temperatures to 104F, and short periods of frost, but prolonged cold will damage or kill the plant.

Growing Environment: Dragon Fruit grows best in dry, tropical or subtropical climates where annual rainfall ranges from 20-50" per year. In wet, tropical zones, plants may grow well but sometimes have problems setting fruit reliably. The plants aren't usually too picky as to soil type, but because of their epiphytic nature, it is recommended to grow them in soil that is supplemented with high amounts of organic material. The plant has been grown successfully in sandy soils. Shade is sometimes provided in hot climates.

Propagation: By seed, or by stem cuttings.

Uses: The fruit is popular eaten chilled, out of hand. It is also used to flavor drinks and pastries. Unopened flowerbuds are cooked and eaten as vegetables.

Native Range: The exact origin is unknown, but is likely from Southern Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica. It is cultivated around the world in tropical regions.

Lahugala Kitulana National Park

The Lahugala Park was initially declared a sanctuary on 1 st July 1966 and then upgraded to a national park on 1 st October 1980. Although this is one of the smallest national parks in the country, this is a popular location for elephant enthusiasts and bird watchers.

There are 3 tanks within the park. They are, Lahugala (243ha), Kitulana and Sengamuwa. The water from these tanks flow in to the Heda Oya. These tanks are largely silted up and support an abundance of Beru grass, which is a delicacy for elephants. These lakes also support a large variety of birds, local as well as migratory.

Being in the dry zone, the land is generally flat with occasional boulder formations. In addition to the elephants, the park is home to the endemic toque macaque, common languor, sloth bear, jackal, rusty spotted cat, fishing cat, leopard, wild bear, Indian muntjac, spotted deer, sambar, pangolin and black naped hare. The tanks and the surround area has become nestling places for wetland birds like pelican, purple heron, painted stork, lesser adjutant stork, white bellied sea eagle, grey headed fishing eagle, common kingfisher, stork billed kingfisher and white breasted kingfisher. Endemic comb duck, rare red-faced malkoha and Sri Lankan Spur fowl too can be seen the park.

There is no accommodation in the park it self, but Pothuvil and Monaragala can be used as the base when visiting the park.

On the nor then edge of the park is the Magul Maha Viharaya, an ancient temple built by king Devanmpiyathissa in the second century BC. This is said to be the location the king married princess Vihara Maha Devi. The foundations of the “Magul maduwa” where the wedding ceremony took place can still be seen in the vihara premises. The entire Vihara complex had covered an extent of around 10,000 acres where ruins of a palace, moonstone, monastery, bo-maluwa, stupas, ponds etc. are found scattered all over. The moonstone here is said to be unique in the country as this is the only location where elephants are carved with their mahouts in the moonstone.

Location

Lahugala National park lies in the basin of the Heda Oya, 16km inland from the coastal town of Pottuvil in the Monaragala District. The Pottuvil-Monaragala trunk road runs through the south-eastern sector of the park. It is 2 km off the main Monaragala – Pottuvil road some 5 km from Pottuvil.

SRI LANKA PRACTICALITIES

Climate

Sri Lanka enjoys a tropical climate. There are no seasonal variations. The bi-annual monsoon rains provide the only seasons. Colombo and the South West experience rain from April to May and September to October. The East coast gets its share of rainfall from November to January. Being closer to the equator, the temperature is high throughout the year. The average temperature in Colombo is 27 degrees centigrade (80 degrees Fahrenheit). This is accompanied by high levels of humidity. However, in the different parts of the island, the temperature and the climate vary according to the terrain. The higher you go, the cooler it gets. In the mountainous regions of Nuwara Eliya, the temperature averages 16 degrees centigrade (61 degrees Fahrenheit).

History

The chronicled history of Sri Lanka dates back to over 2,500 years. It had established trade and cultural links with many ancient civilizations. Throughout history, it has been known by different names. To the Greeks it was Taprobane, to the Arabs it was Serendib, to the Portuguese it was Ceilao, to the Dutch it was Zeylan, and to the British it was Ceylon. Sri Lanka was the ancient name meaning "The Resplendent Isle".

People

The population number approximately 19 million. This multi-ethnic population comprises:

• Sinhalese - 72%
• Tamils - 19%
• Muslims - 8%
• Burghers (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese) - 1%

Religion

The four major religions are:

• Buddhism - followed by 69% of the population
• Hinduism - followed by 13% of the population
• Islam - followed by 8% of the population
• Christianity - followed by 7% of the population

Languages

The most commonly-spoken languages in Sri Lanka are Sinhala, Tamil and English.

Currency

The Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs.) is divided into 100 cents. The coins and notes fall into the following denominations:

Coins: 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 Rupee, 2 Rupees, 5 Rupees, 10 Rupees

Notes: 10 Rupees, 20 Rupees, 50 Rupees, 100 Rupees, 500 Rupees, 1,000 Rupees, 2,000 Rupees

* Please note that 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents and 10 cents coins are barely in circulation today.

Food

The staple diet in Sri Lanka is rice. It is eaten with curry and a variety of chutneys, pickles and sambals. The rice may be boiled and served with curries or it may be cooked with spices and in coconut milk, as 'yellow' rice. It is also baked in meat stock as a Biriyani. Meats, seafood and vegetables are cooked as a curry with a base of coconut milk.

Other special food includes:

Kiribath - Kiribath means 'milk rice' and is a traditional dish for festive or special occasions.
Hoppers - Hoppers (egg and plain) are made of a batter containing coconut milk and palm toddy left overnight to ferment. It is then fried in a bowl shaped metal pan which forms its shape. Simply breaking an egg into the centre of the plain hopper makes an egg hopper.
String Hoppers - String Hoppers are vermicelli made of rice flour and steamed over a low fire.
Pittu - Pittu is prepared with rice flour and shredded coconut and steamed inside a bamboo. It is eaten with a hot sambal and pol hodi (coconut gravy).
Lamprais - Lamprais is a dish of Dutch origin. The rice is boiled in meat stock and then the vegetables and meat are added then slowly baked wrapped in a banana leaf.

Desserts
The wide array of Sri Lankan sweets betrays the sweet tooth of the Sri Lankan.

Buffalo Curd and Treacle - Buffalo Curd and Treacle (kithul pani which is made from the kithul palm).
Juggery - Juggery is a hard, brown coloured sweet made out of kitul treacle.
Kalu Dodol - Kalu Dodol is made out of coconut milk, juggery and cashew nuts.
Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha - Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha are traditional Sinhala sweetmeats.
Watalappan - Watalappan is made out of boiled coconut milk and juggery laced with cashew nuts and raisins.
Rasakevili - Rasakevili are the sweetmeats eaten during the festive seasons.
Thalaguli - Thalaguli are sesame balls.
Halape - Halape are a mixture of coconut and juggery.
Aluwa - Aluwa is a fudge-like sweet.
Puhul Dosi - Puhul Dosi (pumpkin preserves).
Panivalalu - Panivalalu are 'honey bangles'.
Bibikkan - Bibikkan is a traditional Sinhala cake made from juggery, coconut, cashews and dried fruit.

Fruits
Tropical fruits are plentiful in Sri Lanka. There are various varieties of mangoes, bananas, papaya, pineapples, avocados, guava, melons, passion fruit and pomegranate.

Some of the special fruits are:

Rambutan - Rambutan is related to the lychee. It is coated with a soft red hairy skin, which is easily peeled to rach the sweet flesh of the fruit.
Mangosteen - Mangosteen is a dark purple fruit with luscious translucent segments within. Its flavour may be described as a combination between strawberries and grapes. They are seasonal and are available from July to September.
Durian - Although the skin of the fruit has a strong, sometimes unpleasant aroma, the fruit is rich, soft, and yellow custard-like on the inside. This is believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Wood Apple - Wood Apple is a hard wooden-shelled fruit. This can be made into a tasty drink or a rich pudding with coconut milk.
Jackfruit - Jackfruit is very large fruit and may be eaten fresh as a fruit or cooked as a curry. Within the coarse, green skin, there are hundreds of succulent orange/yellow segments.
Babyjack - Babyjack is a watermelon-sized fruit which is eaten cooked as a curry.

Fish and Seafood
Being an island surrounded by the ocean, there is naturally a huge selection of seafood.

These include:

Prawns, Tuna, Crabs, Mullet, Shrimp, Shark, Lobster, Skipjack, Large Tiger Prawns, Amberjack, Squid, Seer.

There is also a large variety of freshwater fish.

Sigiriya Frescoes

The King was known to have 500 concubines, of which he had frescoes painted. These frescoes have survived thousands of years and are still in amazing condition, mainly due to the natural pigments used by the artists..

The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area 140 meters long and 40 meters high. There are references in the Graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings.