Jaffna!

Jaffna, capital of the Northern province was not accessible by land from south for more than a decade because LTTE controlled a vast stretch of land in-between. The civil war ended in May 2009 and the land link, route A9, was opened a few months ago for civilian traffic.

Jaffna became a very popular attraction for people from the south, about 200 bus loads visiting daily. We joined the multitude for the April holiday season. We joined a four-day organized guided tour, our first in Sri Lanka, because this is very much like visiting a distant (260 miles) foreign country with different language,.religion and culture.

The signs of war were every where, roofless houses, top less palmyra trees and land-mine warnings. People were very friendly every where. Everyday life seemed almost normal. We saw very few cars. People ride bicycles everywhere, which is very practical in the flat terrain.

Miles of causeways linking islands, vast farming areas in Kopay, Hindu kovils in Nallur and Vallipuram, Buddhist temple in Nainativu by boat, reconstructed Jaffna public library, Dutch fort, bottomless well in Puttur were all part of the tour. We even saw the house where LTTE leader, Prabakaran was born and raised. This house was destroyed a few days later!

Jaffna seems about 20 years behind rest of the country but will catch-up soon. It was good to see before everything changes.