Remembrance of things past: Sri Lanka has just emerged from decades of civil war, causing the deaths of 100,000 or more citizens. On top of that, the 2004 tsunami killed over 30,000 in one day. Wherever you look, there are reminders of the past and efforts underway for reconstruction. Near the sea end of Rumasalla Peninsula, where we have been staying in the Glass House, there is a large statue of Hanuman, the Hindu Monkey God, erected during the civil war and dedicated to the hope for ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka. Hanuman is connected to Rumasalla in the Hindu epic the Ramayana. Many different versions exist about what Hanuman did, but one is that when Lakshman is severely wounded in the battle of Lanka, Hanuman is asked to get the medicinal herbs to cure him.
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