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Published: September 9th 2013
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My Pal Anand Calcutta
Anand Calcutta (meaning Happy Calcutta), the astrologist visiting his daughter and grandchildren in Galle, took us for a long hot walk around Galle, showing us the various neighbourhoods and the craft workshops. Taken for a walk by "My Pal-Cutta":
It was a poya day, the monthly full moon Buddhist festival day, so most people had the day off work. That meant we were left to our own devices so we decided to have a look around Galle. We got a tuk tuk to the town centre (Lesson: Never get a young tuk tuk driver who's out to strut his stuff. Instead pick an older guy who's slowed down and is still alive.)
We were on a mission. We hadn't had a decent coffee in 5 weeks and we were on a quest for a cafe that would serve a recognizable cuppa and a bit of cake. As we headed on foot toward the Galle Fort in the already hot morning sun, up from behind us came an elderly man on a bicycle. He hopped off and began to chat, asking where we were from and telling us we shouldn't be going toward the Fort because nothing was open there yet. He said he'd never met people from Australia before. Had we seen the canals yet?
He said he was also a teacher--of astrology--who worked most of the time in Calcutta,
Hindu temple refurbishment
This old Hindu temple was being given a facelift and maybe more. India, but had come back to Galle to visit his daughter and grandchildren and would soon be heading to visit his son in Toronto and the new grandchild there. "Come with me," he said, he wanted to show us around his town. He told us he was 68 years old and his nickname was "Anand Calcutta", which means "Happy Calcutta" because he was a happy person who worked in Calcutta.
Perhaps we should have said, "Where is the nearest cafe?" But we were swept up with his enthusiasm. He was talking up a storm, walking his bike next to us, steering us back toward the main city area. And we were all sweating up a storm.
First he showed us the Hindu temple that was being renovated. Then he took us up a hill to see the old Catholic Church, and down the narrow streets past the Catholic school and convent. "The Catholics live in this neighbourhood," he informed us. Next we went past a Mosque. "The Muslims live in this neighbourhood." We wondered, "Is the city really divided into de facto religious sectors?"
He wanted us to see the best gemstone display in the city. Though
Catholic church Galle
The Portuguese brought the Catholic religion and set up churches, convents and schools. This part of the city is inhabited by Catholics. we weren't specifically interested in gemstones, we're willing to have a look at most things and as it turns out, Sri Lanka is very famous for gems. We got to the factory in a back street well away from the madding crowd, a place we would never have found on our own, and outdoors watched men smoothing and polishing moonstones. Then we were led inside to the "museum" which could more properly be called a shop because most everything there was for sale. There were two floors of fabulous jewelry, and Phil was given the hard word to buy his wife something. Hmmm, when was the last time I wore a jewel??? Anyway, we spent a long time inside in the airconditioning, admiring the amazing collection of beautiful gems, including exquisite ORANGE sapphires, and expecting that our Pal-Cutta would have left by the time we came out. But there he was grabbing his ricketty bike, and expounding another great idea. Did I like batik? Did I like handmade lace? Yes, well I do, very much. Then he would take us to the craft factory.
Will it be open today? We will see. Yes, the Buddhists weren't there, but the
Mosque Galle
No very far from the Catholics live the Muslims. A street or two in Galle marks a vast difference in neighbourhood culture. Muslims were, and ready to sell us anything we wanted. At good prices. Very nice things. Actually, we had thought we might do some shopping, so we did. It took quite a while, but our Pal-Cutta sat and waited, cooling off quietly on a side bench in the aircon till we had unloaded our wallets and were ready to leave.
"We really want to get a coffee," I insisted. "We would like to buy you one too." But most every little roadside shop was closed. We ended up having a juice. Then Our Pal-Cutta led us to a wood carving place just down the road. But Phil's caffeine requirement was taking over. We suggested that Pal-Cutta's daughter would wonder what had happened to him since he'd been gone so long on his 1-hour morning bike exercise. And we were all getting toooo hot. So he hailed us a tuk tuk which took us back to the town centre and soon we were heading on foot into Galle Fort on our resumed quest for a coffee.
WE FINALLY GOT ONE! Genuine French press. At the Amangalla, the renovated, very posh hotel which was once the grand New Oriental Hotel.
Polishing moonstones
Sri Lanka is famous for moonstones. Here at the gem factory men were using two polishing methods to get them ready for sale in the showroom next door. We sat on the cool verandah and had a good rest, reviewed our morning adventure so far, and ate some cake served by extremely polite men in white uniforms. The bill was a whopper, but we agreed it was worth it once in a while.
An hour or more later, after heading back to the town centre, Phil was inside a tiny booth struggling with a rupee-oriented ATM and I was trying to figure out where we could go for lunch, when who should stream past on his bike again but Anand Calcutta! I called out to him and asked him where would be a good place for a seafood lunch. He thought for a bit, because, as he said, most places were closed, but then he got another good idea. He called in another tuk tuk driver and told him to take us to the Closenberg Hotel, which was indeed open and provided us with one of the most scenic and pleasant lunches I've ever had.
Phil doubts most of Pal-Cutta's story, but we enjoyed his spirited tour and the places he took us to, and he never once asked us for money (unlike a smooth scammer
Batik craft
This elderly gentleman makes his living by explaining the craft processes in this factory, which include batik, jewelrymaking and lacemaking. we met later). Although he did have a cheap place we could rent if we needed one.
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HZ
non-member comment
amazing Sri Lanka
did you manage to see any cricket games? Fantastic view from the hotel