Kitulgoda. Swimming With an Elephant
This is my little mali (younger brother/cousin) Anouka, and his mom, Roni Punchi. We took a trip to my Achi’s house (grandma) in Kitulgoda.
Kitulgoda is a little village south of Colombo. Seeya (granpa) was born there, at the bottom of the hill. Seeya dropped out of school in I think 5th grade to help take care of his 7 or 8 siblings. He used to sew shirts and stuff in a little kadaye at the bottom of the hill. I need to check all of these facts with Amma. But you don’t know any better, I’ll continue.
This, that, a few hustles and he started working on timber contracts. He’d take trips upstate to harvest logs and bring them back to sell. With or without permits, depending on if the law was being dicks about it. One guy narced on him for not having a permit and when Seeya saw him on the street he beat him up. Upul Mama (uncle) still has the court documents from his assault trial. Eventually Seeya started getting construction contracts, and he brought the first CAT earth moving machine to Sri Lanka. He also built a gas station and did a lot of work in Kekirawa. Lal Mama represents that district in Parliament now.
Seeya married my Achi and built our house on top of the hill. Kids were born, including my mother. Seeya was running for the Parliament seat that Lal Mama now holds when some opposition people came by the Party Office and threw bombs inside. Amma was inside, I think she was about 13. Seeya and his men shot back and killed one of the shooters. Seeya spent the night in jail on murder charges (later dropped). It was election night. He lost by a handful of votes, which was bullshit. Soon after Seeya died, of Chicken Pox, which is quite hard on the immune system of an adult.
Anyways, I spent the day at Kitulgoda at the house that my Seeya built. His name was Gamage Don David (David Gamage, said in the Portuguese way). His picture is in the entry, and we bow to it before we leave.
These are the paddy fields at the bottom of the hill. They’re more beautiful than my shitastic camera phone can capture.
We went swimming at this little dammed up area in the village
This elephant and her mahout were travelling through and the elephant wanted to bathe.
Then she took a dump in the water and we left.
I put a photo gallery of the day here. It was a long day.
Today on the 
Janith has updated 
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Your family has such a beautiful home – Paradise! If I were you, there would be great probability of not returning to go to stinky school. It snowed again last night. It keeps snowing. Chris told me is cost 31 million to clean up after the first dump.
I like elephants. I have a greater attention span when images are involved.
Have a great time. I wish your family all the best.
Those pictures are so wonderful. It was so nice to see elephants, one of my most favourite animals. The children, the kids and the picture of the baby sleeping….just wonderful. Have a great new year, enjoy nature at its finest and being with your family. Its a great feeling….
vinita x