Adam's Peak, The Sacred Mountain of Sri Lanka

Now the island of Serendib lieth under the equinoctial line, its night and day both numbering twelve hours. It measureth eighty leagues long by a breadth of thirty and its width is bounded by a lofty mountain and a deep valley. The mountain is conspicuous from a distance of three days

 and it contains many rubies and other minerals, and spice trees of all sorts. I ascended that

 mountain and solaced myself with a view of its marvels which are indescribable and afterwards I returned to the King.

 (Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor, from The Thousand and One Arabian Nights)

What excites a traveler to take all the pains of 

travel? What makes him leave the comfort of his home and wander in the wilds? What drives his excitement to take risks of his own life? Sometimes it is only a picture that he had seen somewhere and he than dreamt of reaching that place.

 Sometimes, the unfold history makes him travel thousands of miles and sometimes it is only 

the danger associated with the place that challenges his adventure soul to get on another journey that could be the last one of his as well.

My journey of Adam’s peak was inspired with one of its picture that I found while googling on the

 web. The picture that I saw showed the pyramid shaped peak during sunrise with the complete trek glowing with bright yellow lights that seemed to be the torches. Another reason for my journey was the historical perspective of it as this is the only mountain which is considered sacred for almost all religious communities, as they consider the imprint on the rock of the summit as the footprint of their religious figures (Muslims believe it’s of Hazrat Adam; Buddhists believe it to be of Lord

 Buddha; Hindus, Lord Shiva and so on). But the fact is that this place is being visited by people from ancient times. Nowadays, the peak season or the pilgrimage season is from December till

 April.

It was an unexpected trip arranged in no time and 

till the last moment I was not sure of climbing it that night. We left Colombo in the morning, lodged in Maskeliya; a small town near Hatton which is the base camp of Adam’s peak. The normal practice is to hike after midnight (around 2am), to reach the top at sunrise (timings throughout the year are

 between 6:15am to 6:45am). So we decided to follow the same. We left the hotel around 1:00 AM and reached the starting point in 10 minutes. There was a life out there as it was a full moon night being considered sacred among Buddhists, and also, the next day was the holiday. 

We started hiking around 1:45am. The trek had started with relatively small steps passing through short cliffs facilitated with electricity throughout the trek. There were different food stalls, proper washrooms built after certain distances, shaded areas with benches so that people may rest on their ways to summit (people were even sleeping there as well); even rooms were available and a massage centre where you can get foot massage especially after a hectic hike; spring water pipelined so to get you refreshed; somewhere bathing areas were present as well.

It is taboo to talk about how long it takes to climb to the top. When pilgrims meet, they always exchange greetings "karunawai" - "peace". Some groups of pilgrims reduce the monotony of the climb by singing folk songs. Every pilgrim is expected to toll the huge bell at the summit - once for each time they visited. As the deep and solemn peals resonate, the pilgrims become ecstatic.

The trek that was relatively easy at the start, after an hour or so, becomes almost steep. You raise

 your head and you will find unending series of stairs going straight into the heavens. Climbing up is not an easy task. It gets truly painful to climb nearly 4800 uneven and totally steep stairs. Our legs are still paining after 3 days.

As it was full moon night (that day being the Poya day), so there was more public. We had seen people with ages ranging from 1 month babies to 80 year olds; some climbed bare-footed just to please their lords. It was not that much cold although the summit is at the height of 7359 feet (2,243

meters). The beauty of the clouds with the moonlight was breath taking. At one point, I thought of walking over the clouds, the stunning sea of clouds was all around me and it was glowing with the moonlit.

The last portion of the trek is really leg and nerve-breaking. We saw people resting at every step. Even our own condition wasn’t good. We have been climbing for the last four hours and at one point, we thought that we could not make it before sunrise as we could see the brightness towards the east.

At last we reached there just before sunrise. There is a Buddhist temple at the summit that has the imprint and where all the Buddhist rituals are performed every morning. The summit was totally covered with the crowd but somehow we got the chance to watch the beautiful sunrise from the 

edge of the distant cliff. This was even more stunning that the sun was rising from the east, and the moon was setting in west, the half light n dark combination was superb.

One more unique thing about Adam’s peak is that its shadow is a perfect triangle when the sun rises and it remains in the air for sometime. This is something really amazing to watch as none of the mountain has such a perfect triangular shape. The sides of the triangle are well in-line, just like the walls of a prism. A number of people associate this thing with its sanctity.

Unfortunately, the imprint itself was covered with a cloth. So we just saw the depression from the cloth. But we got this opportunity to enter the small temple when their rituals were just started. The offerings were being made to Lord Buddha statue in the presence of a monk and a couple of other people and only we were allowed to get in, being privileged to be a foreigner. We didn’t stay there much as there was a long way down so we started walking again.

Descending was even trickier, we had to exert too much force against gravity. It seemed like our knees and ankles will cramp. In the middle, we had a kind of naans or paratha (whatever your assume it, Sri Lankans call it Paratha anyways) and tea.

Despite of all the hardships it was a great trip. Some lucky people in the world get the chance of sighting the wonderful views from the creation of our Lord Subhanahu wa Taa’ala, and we consider ourselves among those. It is advised to those who are visiting Sri Lanka to go to Adam’s Peak. It’s a once in a life time experience. Certainly!!!!

In the end, I would like to quote the words of Ibn-e-Batuta when he made a visit to this legendry mountain in 14^th century. 

"We saw it from the sea when we were nine day's journey away, & when we climbed it we saw the clouds below us, shutting out our view of base. On it there are many evergreen trees & flowers of various colours, including a red rose as big as the palm of a hand. There are two tracks on the mountain leading to the Foot, one called the Baba track & the other the Mama track, meaning Adam & Eve. The Mama track is easy & is the route by which the pilgrims return, but anyone who goes by that way is not considered to have made the pilgrimage at all. The Baba track is difficult & stiff climbing. Former generations cut a sort of stairway on the mountain, & are fixed iron stanchions on it, to which they attached chains for climbers to hold on by. There are ten such chains, & the tenth is the "Chain of the Profession of Faith", so called because when one reaches it & looks down to the foot of the hill, he is seized by apprehensions & recites the profession of faith for fear of falling. From the tenth chain to the cave of al-Khidr is seven miles; this cave lies in a spacious place, where there is a spring which is also called by his name; it is full of fish, but no one catches them. Close to this there are two tanks cut in the rock on either side of the path. At the cave of al-Khidr the pilgrims leave their belongings & ascend for two miles to the summit of the mountain where the Foot is. The blessed Footprint, the Foot of our father Adam is on a lofty black rock in a wide plateau. The blessed Foot sank into the rock far enough to leave its impression hollowed out. It is eleven spans long. In the rock where the Foot is. there are nine holes cut out, in which the infidel pilgrims place offerings of gold, rubies & pearls..." 
Ibn Battutah

 

Palestine Massacre and Muslim Leaders!

As the Israel’s aggression in the heart of Gaza continues, as the sorrows and the sufferings of millions of Palestinians increases, the feelings of pain, grief, disgrace and anger increase in my heart with every passing moment. Muslims were never been disgraced like that in their history. They had never been that much power-less as they are now. They have never been un-united before as they are now. 

I am not furious at all about what Israel is doing, because it is in their instinct that wherever they went, they brought destruction and mischief with them. It is always expected from Israel to kill hundreds of people just on the name of ‘safeguarding Israel’. As they had literally killed the prophets sent towards them by Allah, and they had killed them knowing the fact that they are the messengers of God and it will bring none but the wrath of God on them. So killing the ordinary Palestinians is just a small sin in their eyes as compared to what their fore-fathers have done before. 

 But as I said earlier, I am not furious about what Israel is doing, but I am furious about the inactiveness of the Muslim leaders, specially the Arab leaders. Are the Palestinians non-arabs? Are they not like their own brothers? Which thing has stopped their tongues to speak even a word against Israel? Are they all blind? Are they unable to perceive the growing outrage against Israel among the Muslim masses? With every bomb that explodes on the streets of Gaza, the hatred of Israel and USA rise among the Muslims and other communities of the world. If the Muslim leaders still not realize, and if they still not act, I am sure that they will be thrown out from their thrones very soon, and their American friends will be unable to support them against their own people, as America was unable to support the Shah of Iran during the time of Iranian Revolution.

The awakening wave is gaining momentum across the Muslim world and even in the West where all those people whose conscience is alive are gathering together and raising their voice against the on-going genocide carried out by Israel. Muslims in particular, have to wake up from their dreams, and have to start a struggle against the corrupt regimes of theirs. A brave and genuine leadership that speaks the language of their people is the need of the time. The sooner it arrives, the better the position of Muslims will be.

Ye daur Apne Ibrahim ki talaash may hay

Sanam-kada hay jahan, La ilaha illallah…

Hard Facts

It is almost a month since I have been staying in Sri Lanka. A month time is enough to have a general observation about the country, its people, system and the culture. So in this article, I would be giving my own observations about the life here in Sri Lanka and would be comparing it with Pakistan.

Let us first talk about how did a common Pakistani thinks about Sri Lanka. Well, normally a common Pakistani doesn't have much about Sri Lanka except few names of its Cricket team like Jayasuria, Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. But people here in Sri Lanka generally know a lot about Pakistan. Most of them know about famous Pakistani leaders, current political situation, and they are quiet concerned about the things happening there in Pakistan. Pakistan and Pakistanis are quiet respected here as all the arms and ammunition for Sri Lankan army comes from Pakistan. Pakistan had always supported the Sri Lankan government in its war against Tamil Tigers whereas India’s role was not more than a lip-service. Sri Lankan is a good market for Pakistani products as their stores and super-markets have Pakistani Basmati rice, chakki atta, onions and potatoes. I have also seen Shan Masalas in most of the stores.

It has been raining here since last 10 days but I have never seen water sanitation problem here. Heavy downpours leave no water stranded on the roads. Neither have I seen power cuts during rains. People generally obey the traffic laws and the signals. That is why they don’t have long hours traffic blockades which are common in Karachi. I also don’t see vehicles coming from the wrong side, nor dad I hardly seen people shouting on each other while breaking the rules by themselves. Roads are also much better in condition. I haven’t seen open man-holes, garbage mountains, shattered foot paths etc. Still I wonder why the Colombo City mayor was not included in the top mayors list.

Load shedding is not a problem in Sri Lanka. They used to have it a decade ago but they have maintained the demand supply ratio at par. The electrical distribution system is much better than KESC distribution as the entire distribution network is underground. But still I don’t see roads being dugged for maintenance purpose. KESC should have learned some lessons of effective distribution from Colombo Electric Authority.

Education had always been a top priority among Sri Lankans. And you won’t believe that top schools here are run by government whose standard is equivalent to Cambridge based schools. It is much harder to get an admission in government schools because of tough competition among the candidates. Literacy rate is almost 99%. Education is free in schools. Schools also provide free books and uniforms.

People are not happy with the politicians but they don’t look forward towards Army as well. Democracy prevails here although corruption exists among the elites. Education and health indicators are not at the developed world level but still they are better than Pakistan.

The best thing about Sri Lanka is that the people always smile whenever you look at them. I haven’t seen the faces of tension, depression and anger which is quiet common in my beloved country. Most probably, they don’t have to worry about water or electricity. Neither do they need to worry about the safety of their mobile phones and wallets while walking on the roads, as crime rate is quiet low as compared to other South Asian cities. Although inflation here is highest as compared to other South Asian countries, even than you hardly find a beggar on the streets.

Seafood

Being in Sri Lanka and not eating Seafood is just like being in Pakistan but not exploring Lahore. As being said in Panjabi "jiss nay Lahore nai waikhia wo jamia nai". Same could be said for "O jinn nay Ceylon may seafood nai khai wo jamia nai" :). So, we went to Mount Lavinia, a tourist district just south of Colombo on Galle Road as there are many good hotels and restaurants there that offer fresh seafood right on the beach.

So we chose to go to Mount Lavinia hotel, a grand hotel built since Colonial times. They have a fish market concept just, you go there and choose your own seafood items, from lobsters to sharks and from cuttlefish to crabs, everything is available. We selected deep-fried medium sized prawns and cuttlefish curry with fried rice for our dinner. Cuttlefish is the speciality in Sri Lanka and its delicious in taste. Don't go on its original shape otherwise you can't enjoy it. Its flesh is white in color and it tastes similar to mushrooms. Pictures of original cuttlefish and grilled one is attached herewith.

So all seafood lovers specially anwar bhai and rashid uncle are invited here. One more thing, dry fish including bombil is quiet common here. Nearly every lunch in my office cafeteria has dry fish. So all bombil lovers of our family are invited here :)...

Trip to Bentota

Diary of a Vagabond

Trip to Bentota,
Saturday 8 November, 2008.

Images link: http://flickr.com/photos/54723740@N00/

Our first outdoor trip in Sri Lanka was arranged by the department colleagues to famous west coast of Sri Lanka. The West Coast of Sri Lanka is most developed and most tourist-oriented. Hundreds of European tourists head for the West Coast to spend the sunny winter in the warm and golden sand beaches. The West Coast from Negombo, North of Colombo to down south at Galle is backed by the rows of palm trees leaning over the golden sands with the fine highway running parallel to it. One can find hotels and guest-houses of all sizes and standards throughout the West Coast.

Our destination was Bentota, a beach resort 70 kms south of Colombo where he have booked the company owned guest-house. All the towns on the West Coast including Colombo are connected by the famous Galle Road. It is therefore, one can find all the major markets along this road which creates heavy traffic during the daytime, specially weekdays.

Although the distance was just 70kms, but it took us nearly two hours to reach there. We passed by some famous towns like Kaluthara, famous for its Gangatilka Temple, the largest temple of Sri Lanka and the river “Kalu Ganga” or “Black River” whose expansive mouth is crossed by a long bridge from where there are tempting views of calm waters and thickets of palm trees inland. Beruwala is another town that we passed by. It is the oldest muslim settlement of Sri Lanka.

Our resort borders the railway line that goes the southest part of Sri Lanka, known as Dandra. Crossing the railway line, and now you are in the rows of palm trees creating a heavenly atmosphere. After passing by the palm trees, now you are at the golden sands beach where the crystal clear waves of water are waiting to embrace you. Our resort was right beside the five-star hotel Taj Exotica, therefore, there were lots of opportunities to cool-off the thirsty eyes :).

We came back to our resort where Cricket was being played. They were playing Cricket with a tennis ball but without tape as here in Sri Lanka there is no concept of playing Cricket with tape-ball. I told them how fast paced tape ball cricket is and I have promised them that next time I ll coach them how to make a tape ball. After Cricket and lunch, we had a little nap and than we were ready for sea bath.

Here in Bentota, the sea waves are quiet high. I watched live surfing for the first time and I can understand why all the western people are so crazy about it. Standing on a one or two metre long board and riding over a craziest wave is a daring experience. The weather was quiet pleasant at the moment as there were thick dark clouds on the sky warning us from the upcoming thunderstorm.

It was just before maghrib that we moved back to our resort and it is the time when I really observed it. The guest-house was full furnished with AC rooms, TV lounge with a dining table and the 26” TV with cable, neat and clean bathrooms with proper lighting facility. The guest-house roofs, walls and floors were made of expensive wood which creates a comfy atmosphere. It has a wide balcony with sofas and chairs where we had dinner and karaoke later on. We were served egg burgers with “halal” chicken drumsticks as my colleagues were unsure about chicken sausages. There were “all” kinds of beverages as well.

After dinner we enjoyed with karaoke. Although most of the songs were in Sinhala which I couldn’t understand but being said that music has its own language, so I enjoyed with them as well. I was asked to sing Indian songs so I chose to sing famous song “Chayyan Chayyan”. They danced on it and later on mix one of their own song after which they sing in chorus “Chayyan Chayyan”.

It was a good experience of having get-together with department colleagues who were there with their families. Every body seems to be taking care of each other kids and families, and everybody enjoying like they are all from one family. It was so successful that now they are planning for a trip to Nuwara Eliya as company has guest houses there as well.

About Sri Lankan Food!

About Sri Lankan Food
I am pretty sure that the best meals in the whole world are from Pakistan and specially from Karachi. If you are used to of Pakistani food, it would be much difficult for you to accept any other food. So what about Sri Lankan food? I won’t say it is similar to Pakistani food, although in some respects, it is. Sri Lankan food is more spicy, less oily, roti less food. Whatever food you order at a restaurant, there must be some bowls of chutneys along with the main course.

Rice is must in lunch. By the way, their rice is also different and it is not like the Basmati one that we use in Biryani. By the way, Basmati Rice is available in super-markets but it is really expensive.

They can make all types of meat but chicken and fish is more common. At most of the places, the meat is halal as most of the butchery business is being run by muslims but it is always recommended to ask before ordering any meal.

The best thing that they make is lentils (daal). Be it any kind of daal, you ll find it according to your taste buds. Their masalas are much better in aroma and in taste and in fact cheaper than Pakistan as well.

The best Sri Lankan food to try is String Hoppers. String hoppers are like namkeen sawayyan that is taken with a curry just like we took roti. Than there is another item to try known as only hoppers. Hoppers are slightly crispy papar like stuff shaped in the form of bowl and have something at base. Most common is the egg hopper where a fried egg could be found at the base of hopper bowl. You have to eat an egg along with its bowl. Hoppers are available in other flavors as well like fish, chicken, spicy, vegetable etc.

Life in Colombo

Diary of a Vagabond

Colombo, Saturday 1 Nov. 2008:
Life in Colombo is slow, not fast like we used to have in Karachi. People tend to wake up early. Normally, I leave home for office at 8 AM, and at this time, except wine stores, all other shops are open. Similarly, it is hard to find any shop that is open after sun-set. Night life is literally not present here. Right now, it is 10:30 PM while I am writing this email and my apartment is on one of busiest roads of Colombo and I could hardly hear the noise of vehicles passing by. I am just thinking about the night life in Karachi, where on the weekend, some roads must have been choked with traffic by now.

People usually respect the time and most of them are on time. I have observed this in my office as well as with others whoever I dealt with. Late sittings are not common here. Load shedding is not a South Asian problem anymore. I asked my office colleagues regarding this and they literally could not understand what I am asking. Than I asked them about the power cuts and they said they used to have it in 90s but not now. Roads although by max in two or three lanes of width, but they are in good condition, and most of the time, I have found people obeying the traffic laws.

Colombo walls are free from all sort of khattati. May be, as there is no Amil baba or Sanyasi bawa present here. Surprisingly, I haven’t found any huge, ugly and life-threatening bill boards here. Bill boards do present here but they are small in size and do not pollute the look of the city. Cigarette and Alcohol marketing is banned here.

Although, inflation is quiet high here, but people still tend to make a smile. In fact, smile is the common gesture throughout Sri Lanka and it shows the friendly nature of them. Begging is not common. The only place you find beggars is the mosque J. Another surprising fact is that Sri Lanka is a country where you can proudly say that you are from Pakistan as they respect Pakistan. This is due to the reason that Pakistan had helped their Army a lot in their fight against the Tamil Tigers.

Rests of the problems are similar like Pakistan. Sri Lanka is also fighting hard to maintain its currency value and foreign exchange reserve. Just on the last trading day, its rupee value depreciated 1.5%. Oil costs are considerably high here and they haven’t brought it down. People blame the government for that whereas the government has their own reasons. By the way their annual budget is due next week.
Indian influence is visible on their media but not in their culture as they have preserved their language and their strong commitment with the Buddhist religion as nearly 69% of Sri Lankans are Buddhists out of which 95% Sinhalese are Buddhists. 95% of Muslims here speak Tamil.