On Nugegoda Tenderly .................................

( Nugegoda is a memorable city in my life. I think this city has many things to be shared with the outside world. Its excitements, elegance, connectivity, relationships with other cities, changes over years, its history and the present, unwritten stories, busyness,  each and every side of this city has something unique like many other cities in the world. Therefore I decided to write a few pages specifically allocating for Nugegoda and the lives around this city. I will try my best to add ‘accuracy’ in to this page viewing the city with a wide open eye, listening to the original views of its people as much as possible. I may not follow a specific pattern in viewing or sharing ‘my thoughts and realities’ of this city. Like sometimes it is difficult to think or start something in life as to where to begin. 

Today is a full moon poya day (nikini pura pasaloswaka). 1^st of August 2012.  The last day of the Randoli  of the Esala Maha perahera, the parade of Peace and unity. 

Kandy is my home city and this sacred city is never a stranger to me . I guess I will have to write a huge book on that particular city.

But before that I thought of sharing my personal views and understanding on also a good friend like city ‘nugegoda’.………………

This is part one from that series of essays and this is to be continued for until sometime in future …………….

On Nugegoda Tenderly …………………………..  

(I am not very good in creating very attractive titles for my little essays. I like some of the attractive titles that some of the writers use. Mr. Malinda Seneviratne is one of them. I remember reading one of his beautifully titled articles ‘on eggs tenderly’ so this inspired me to create a title for my collections of ideas on ‘Nugegoda’) 

I like ‘cities’, towns, ‘villages’, shanties, slums, different communities mainly because they are different to each other and shows different ‘identities’ and all of them are ‘unique and are the parts of the big society or the country. None of the cities or the communities is unimportant or irrelevant or less valid but has some importance or significance. Like every person is important every community or village or a city is important because it holds and bears ‘people’ and their sorrows and happiness, tenderness, arrogance, kindness or the unkindness.

Sometimes a city is the place that brings people from different backgrounds, cultures in to a one specific place if you think of their objectives coming in to cities may differ, social, economical or political or other wise. So you have the chances to see different people with different abilities or talents etc. I have heard some say that ‘the villages’ have become ‘isolated’ due to this reason. ‘Youth’ specifically after completing their school education they think of coming to cities to fetch opportunities of living. Things were different in each and every decade of our past.  The number of youngsters who like to come to cities has it increase or decrease because of the some of the opportunities that has arose in their own cities I have no idea and I do not know whether anyone has done a survey or a research on this particular subject. I can sure of one thing that compared to past both in private and public sectors there is some changes to see.

So when people come from villages to cities they bring some things from their own villages or from their own communities that is also true. Sometimes those things may get mix with the qualities or the experiences they collate at their work places, peer groups cities. We need to accept that the total number of people in a village is bigger compared to some of the cities. Person may get a huge chances to meet or interact with many number of people compared to their interactions with people in their own villagers. 

It is hard to understand the ‘underside of cities’. It is like an iceberg. It is hard to imagine or get an accurate picture of a beneath of an iceberg. Visiting the very deeper side of something is not easy at all. Each an every organization of a city private or public has their own ways of maintaining or working. The resources they have ( both human and other) may different to each other. 
  

Few weeks ago …….. I just wrote the word ‘Nugegoda’ on a page of my note book. And right now I have no clue as to what to write about nugegoda to begin with. If you have too many things in your mind to write  about one particular thing it is little difficult sometimes to organize your mind but it is good to give it a try to organize your thoughts in to a particular order listening to the commands of your own mind for a moment. I find it little difficult to concentrate on one particular aspects or a component of the city at this very moment but I am sure I can continue this page for a certain period.

Nugegoda’ is not the country’s largest or this city may not be the world’s most beautiful city. But I like to think that like I mentioned earlier it has some significance or some specialties in comparison to all other cities in the world. 

This is not like ‘London’ or like ‘Constantinople’, Athens, Mumbai, Male, Amsterdam, Nagasaki or Tokyo this is ‘Nuegegoda’. The city plan, the available resources, facilities may slightly differs or those things can be totally different to one particular city if you compare this city with that city or the same city with all other cities in a same country. 

I like the ‘Design or the architecture of the District Secretariat office building in Galle  more than I like the DS’s building or the kachcheri of Kandy. ‘Novelty’ of something will bring little changes in to the exterior or interior of something. What is most important here is that the ‘interior’ or the work or the things that release from the ‘inner side of something or a building. If my memory is correct I guess ‘Galle District secretariat office is one of the offices of the government maintain buildings which has won ‘Paladaitha Sammanaya’ (following Five ‘S’ concept). 

 I don’t know the time that city goes to sleep or wakes up generally. I can hear the sounds of moving vehicles even after mid nights.

I don’t like to compare ‘Kandy’ with ‘Nugegoda’ or the people in Nugegoda with Kandy because I know that it ‘ridiculous’ it is not just the city which sharpen or design ones mind or ones heart there are other things too. Adding different ‘designs or architecture’ in to your mind needs to be handled carefully everything that you may see or encounter may not suitable or relevant to you.    

I don’t see any relevance in comparing people with cities sometimes. People are different you can find various people with various attitudes or shapes and sizes of minds even within a same city and therefore we need to learn to respect this truth. 

You may meet ‘Sopakala’ ‘ ‘angulimaala’, ‘Vishaka’, ‘ Janapada Kalyani’, ‘Yashodara’, Dhathusena, Elara, Dharmasoka, ‘Anula or Leelawathi’s of our past in present societies or in any city………………..

To be continued ……………………………