Nagadeepa

The road and causeway to Nagadeepa is idyllic.  Vast open spaces of green and stretches of blue water greet me on this journey.  Beautiful aquatic birds are to be seen everywhere and for a moment I wonder if I am in a foreign land!  No one had actually mentioned how beautiful this drive was so I am pleasantly surprised and amazed.  Nagadeepa is the most famous of the islands off the Jaffna peninsular.  The Buddhist believe that Lord Buddha visited this island and hence pilgrims from all over the island consider a visit this temple quite special. 

While in the parking lot for the ferry I meet an enterprising young man.  He is actually a resident of the UK but has come back for his wife’s confinement.  He has visited many European cities and works in a fish and chip shop in London.  He lives in the south but has come up to Jaffna to visit his cousin and make a bit of spare cash selling maps to local travellers! 

There is only one way to get to this island and that is by taking the local ferry!  Well, were we in for an experience.  I was a little mortified when I saw the queue for the ferry but somehow after we had parked our vehicle the crowds had disappeared.  Well, mostly disappeared.Many of them were patiently seated and waiting  for the boat when we got there.

The good news is that life vests are provided.  The bad news is that to keep costs down the ferry is overloaded to about double its capacity.  This means that a boat meant to carry about 40 people, now has more than 80 crammed in!  I keep yelling up at the guys to stop sending any more passengers.  “Just two more lady”, they yell back as ten more passengers are somehow crammed down the hatch.  I am reminded of my days of taking the local public busses but that was on dry land..this is far more scary! 

Getting into the boat is no mean feat as you have to climb down some narrow steps into the bottom deck.  For many older people this is quite a challenge and I was quite nervous about both my mom and aunty Miriam attempting to do this journey! 

We land safely and our first stop is Nage Vihare, the historic Buddhist shrine at the temple where Buddha is reputed to have visited.  All temples on the island were destroyed when the Portuguese colonised Ceylon but have since been rebuilt.

Half the boat empties and the rest are ferried to Nagabooshani Amman Kovil, the other holy shrine here.  

Conventional Sri Lankans have specific colours for every occasions and if you violate this dress code, people can get quite cross at you :) !  There are colours you wear for funerals, colours you wear to the temple and this can vary quite drastically depending on your faith and religious persuasion! 

For example, Buddhist shrines are always white and devotees are always clad in white as well.  The Hindu kovils are in stark contrast to this.  They are colourful vibrant places with lots of noise, incense and colourfully clad women. 

The kovils seem to have lots of adornments and are extremely colourful both inside and out which I find quite fascinating given both these religions have their roots in India. After visits to both shrines it is time to leave.  We have to catch another ferry back but my mom decides that we will charter our own boat back to base. 

Aunty Miriam jokes that perhaps the old ladies could stage an attack of sunstroke and so the local ambulance might take us all back! Our pleas to the Navy also fall on deaf ears… and so we negotiate a price for our own personal ferry.  We are pleasantly surprised that the cost of our own boat is about AUD $15!

I wonder why the authorities can’t double the cost of the ticket (currently $0.2) so less people can be crammed into these boats. What are we willing to pay for the safety of our lives?  We have an enjoyable ride back and I get to ride on the top deck this time!

The trip to Nagadeepa has been truly wonderful.  We decide to try another local favourite for lunch – crab curry!  The curry is hot and spicy but the crab wonderfully fresh!  This experience of Jaffna has been truly eye opening and I am definitely coming back to visit. 

“When it is time to die, let us not discover that we never lived”  Henry David Thoreau