A weekend in a suburb of Colombo

Like a theme song, “Paradise lost” is on everybody’s lips. Yes, we’ve lost a lot but not all of our wondrous nature, so I do not subscribe to that view. If you look around there are bits and pieces of paradise left. You don’t have to go far out of town to see that.

We were invited to spend a weekend at a friend’s house not far from Colombo – in Jayawardenapura. We got in rather late so we didn’t see much of the surroundings the first evening. It was a very rural setting. No grandiose houses around, instead very beautiful old- style homes with well tended gardens, verandahas and trees. It looked like what Sri Lanka did 50 years ago, serene and beautiful. The icing on the cake was the man-made lake around which this attractive residential suburb has been developed.

Next morning we opened our eyes to this incredible sight of a large expanse of blue water surrounded by tall trees with emerald green leaves; pink lotuses intersperses with another blue water flower which I assume was nil manel. There were a few storks standing patiently for the next fish to catch. Many birds flitting here and there looking for their next meal What a sight for tired eyes!

We have not totally lost our paradise and must learn to value what is left of it. Wordsworth wrote the “host of golden daffodils” he came about “all at once.” We have our pink lotuses.

Padmini Nanayakkara,Clombo-3.