God Lives Under The Bed

Piyusha Atapattu	10:05 PM (8 hours ago)
to

lovely -please read to the end slowly

email from Piyusha Atapattu      I think this is perhaps one of the BEST email 'forward' I have ever read.  I hope you will enjoy it half as much as I have!!        Don't start reading this one until you've got more than a minute to just 'scan' over it.  It deserves some time for reflection. GOD  LIVES UNDER THE BED  I envy Kevin.   My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed.   At least, that's what I heard him say one night.  He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are you there, God?', he said. 'Where are you?   Oh,   I see. Under the bed...'  I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.  He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.  He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will.  He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the s pace under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.  I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?  Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite  macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.  The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child. He does not seem dissatisfied. He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.  He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner,  and he stays up late twice a week to gather our  dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.  And Saturdays – Oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger  inside. 'That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! 'Kevin shouts as he claps his hands. His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights. And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips. He doesn't know what it means to be discontent..  His life is simple. He will never know the entanglements of wealth or power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met. He never worries that one day they may not be. His hands are diligent.  Kevin is never happier than when he is working.  When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.  He does not shrink from a job when it is begun and he does not leave a job until it is finished. When his tasks are done,  Kevin knows how to relax. He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others.  His heart is pure.  He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.    Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.  Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to God, he comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God is his closest companion.  In my moments of doubt and frustrations, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.      It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.  It is then I realize that pe rhaps he is not the one with the handicap.     I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care. Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn?   After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God. And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that  God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed. Kevin won't be surprised at all! When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful.   Just send this to other people, please. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards.  FRIENDS  ARE ANGELS WHO LIFT US TO OUR FEET WHEN OUR WINGS HAVE TROUBLE  REMEMBERING HOW TO FLY

Singapore.

 email from jks weerasekara

Why does Singapore top so many tables?

Singapore is a small nation with few of its own natural resources. Yet in the past 50 years it has transformed itself into one of the world's economic powerhouses. Here, Tenna Schoer, a Danish journalist based in Singapore, counts some of the measures where the country comes top of the class.

1. Low crime rate
Take a ride on the subway in Singapore and you'll quickly notice that it is only the tourists firmly holding on to their bags. The locals are very relaxed about their belongings and show no hint of fear that somebody might snatch their smartphone. Unsurprising perhaps when you consider that Singapore has one the lowest crime rates in the world.
Crime has fallen in each of the past three years. Last year had the lowest recorded crime rate in more than two decades - there were 80 days in which not a single robbery or "snatch theft" was recorded.
Not only do you not need to worry about your belongings, your life isn't in very much danger either.
According to UN data, Singapore has the second lowest murder rate in the world (Data excludes tiny Palau and Monaco.)

Only 16 people were murdered in 2011 in a country with a population of 5.1 million. Compare that to similarly sized Norway which had 111 murders and Slovakia with 96 murders in the same year.
You don't have to look that hard to discover why this might be, though. The little city state is well known for its harsh punishments for crime, even for low-level offences. Recently, a security guard was sentenced to three months in jail and three strokes of the cane for spray-painting "democracy" on a war memorial.
The police are also putting in place a network of cameras that will eventually cover all public housing blocks and car parks. In Singapore there are seemingly few concerns about "big brother is watching" when it comes to fighting crime.

2. The healthiest people in the world

Keeping fit and losing weight is official government policy

When the sun is up, so are Singaporeans, doing their morning exercise. Take an early stroll in the beautiful Botanical Gardens and you'll find young and old, men and women jogging around the pond or doing tai chi.
Maybe that's one of the reasons why Singaporeans are ranked as the healthiest people in the world. Based on health-related indicators from the United Nations, World Bank and the World Health Organization for 145 countries with at least one million people, one survey placed Singapore in an overall first place with a health grade of 89.45%.
However, like most developed countries Singapore is also seeing an increase in obesity. So, in order to shape a healthier workforce, the country's Health Promotion Board recently announced the "1 million KG challenge".
This campaign is trying to get Singaporeans to collectively lose one million kilograms within the next three years through more physical activity and healthier eating behaviours.

3. The easiest place to do business
Roughly, half of those living in Singapore are here on a temporary basis, working for the many foreign companies that have a regional office in Singapore.
These businesses didn't just choose the city state because of its convenient location close to the rest of Asia and the Pacific.
Last year, Singapore was named by the World Bank for the seventh consecutive year as the best country to do business in. The bank highlighted Singapore's standards for trading across borders, dealing with construction permits and protecting investors.

4. The largest manufacturer of jack-up oil rigs

Singapore is a leader in the construction of jack-up offshore oil rig platforms

Singapore doesn't have a drop of oil to its name but it dominates the oil industry in one crucial sector: it is the world's biggest maker of jack-up rigs, the platforms used for off-shore oil exploration and drilling.
Since the 13th Century, the country has benefited from its strategic location at the confluence of major shipping lanes through the Strait of Malacca. Today, it remains a magnet for the world's shipping industry.
Until recently, when it was overtaken by Shanghai, Singapore was the largest port in the world.
Out of its shipping heritage grew two giants of the oil industry, the local conglomerates Keppel and SembCorp, which have been transformed from humble ship repair centres to global leaders, helping Singapore command 70% of the world market.
The Singaporean marine and offshore industry employs some to 75,000 workers and had a total output of 12.9bn Singapore dollars (US10.3bn, £6.42bn) in 2011, one of the fastest growing sectors in the country's economy.

5. One of the least corrupt countries in the world
Situated in a region where corruption is sometimes a part of life, it's notable that Singapore scores as well as it does in the international rankings for corruption, currently number five on the list of least corrupt countries in the world.
Most Singaporeans praise the Republic's first and long-serving prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, for building an environment almost free of corruption. But several years before Mr Lee took office, Singapore decided to fight corruption by establishing the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in 1952 in order to attract foreign businesses to invest in their land.
Today, when it comes to any kind of corruption the country doesn't distinguish between white or blue collar crime. It tries all cases according to Singapore's stringent penal code, with long-term jail terms and large fines up to 100,000 Singapore dollars (£50,000).
Singapore also keeps the salaries of politicians and civil servants high in order to repress economic incentive to engage in corrupt activity.

6. Where millionaires are minted in the shortest time

Conspicuous wealth is rarely hidden away in Singapore

Take a walk in almost any residential car park in Singapore and you'll find a handful of luxury cars such as high-end Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, a couple of Jaguars, and at least one Ferrari or Maserati.
This luxury doesn't come cheap in the first place, never mind after adding a car sales tax rate of 150% plus the 84,000 Singapore dollars ($42,000) it costs to obtain the certificate to own the car. (Not to mention the 90kph/60mph speed limit in Singapore.)
But wealthy Singaporeans don't mind spending several hundred thousand dollars on a luxury car. Why? Because they can.
According to a recent wealth report from Barclays Bank, over half of Singapore's wealthy people have taken less than 10 years to accumulate the majority of their wealth, the quickest rate across the globe.
Not only does money grow fast, the concentration of millionaires is also among the highest in the world. With 8.8% of the population with a private wealth of at least one million US dollars, Singapore comes in as number five on that list.

7. Top of the class

Education is a top priority for government, with teachers held in high regard

In 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew created the master plan behind the modern Singapore, a "first-world oasis in a third-world region", as the now 90-year-old Mr Lee has put it.
Having few natural resources, Singapore invested heavily in education in order to build and maintain a well-educated work force. Currently, approximately 20% of government spending goes into education.
According to the latest OECD report on education performance around the world, it seems like that effort is paying off.
Based on rankings achieved in mathematics, science and reading literature, Singapore comes second in the overall results, just behind Shanghai. Some 12.3% of students in Singapore attain the highest levels of proficiency in all three assessment subjects.
Students work hard and do more hours of maths and science than the OECD average. Not only do the students feel a notable pressure from their "tiger parents" as well as the society in whole, there's also a sharp focus on the teachers.
Teaching in Singapore is a highly respected profession. They are selected from the top third of each cohort, and to keep them on track with the newest teaching techniques they are entitled to 100 hours of professional development every year.
The country's education system is often criticized for not producing "out-of-the-box" thinkers, but efforts are being made to change that. The Ministry of Education recently cut academic content to create space for schools to develop critical thinking.

8. The lowest drug abuse in the world
Most places in the world have a neighbourhood known for its drug problem, but not Singapore. The country has the lowest level of drug abuse in the world when it comes to opiates, cocaine and ecstasy, and the second lowest for cannabis and amphetamines, according to a UN World Drug Report.
Punishments for possessing drugs are harsh - possession or consumption of cannabis can earn you up to 10 years in prison, a 20,000 Singapore dollar (£10,000) fine, or both. And the zero-tolerance approach can also mean a mandatory death sentence.
Getting caught trafficking 30 grams of cocaine or 15 grams of heroin will put you on death row, where some 34 people are currently facing execution.

9. The third-largest gambling market

Singapore's casinos now contribute significantly to the economy

The quick moves of the slim hand reveal both anxiety and routine as the young woman places her bet on the roulette. In front of her are stacked several piles of tokens worth more than 5,000 Singapore dollars.
It is Thursday night and the giant casino is buzzing. Singapore legalised gambling only three years ago and licensed two large casinos to attract more tourists. Visitor numbers have jumped nearly 50% since.
What's more, the casino industry paid 2.2bn Singapore dollars (£1.1bn) in tax and contributes an estimated 1.5-2% to Singapore's GDP.
There is a long tradition of gambling but to keep scandals (and suicides) to a minimum, locals have to pay an entrance fee of 100 Singapore dollars, whereas a foreign passport gives you free access to the glittery machines and freedom to win or, more often, lose money.
Singapore's casino industry pulled in an impressive US$5.85bn in 2012, up 8% on the year before, putting it in third place globally. That's close to Las Vegas' US$6.2bn, but some distance from the world's number one gambling market, Macau, which generated US$38bn.
Though the Singapore casinos have seen a decrease in visitors as the novelty factor fades away they still attract around 17,000 people a day.

10. The most unhappy people in the world
In Singapore you can find almost anything you desire but one thing in short supply, apparently, is happiness.
A recent Gallup report revealed that Singapore's wealthy population is the unhappiest, or least positive, in the world, less happy than people in Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan and Syria.
When asked if they had been well-rested, treated with respect, if they had smiled or laughed a lot, and had done or learnt something, only 46% of the Singaporeans replied "yes".  

Hedwig Kiesler

---------- Forwarded message ----------
 Lesley Sirimane

Very Interesting ...........   In 1933, a beautiful, young Austrian woman took off her clothes for a movie director. She ran through the woods, naked.  She swam in a lake, naked. Pushing well beyond the social norms of the period.     The most popular movie in 1933 was King Kong. But everyone in Hollywood was talking about that scandalous movie with the gorgeous, young Austrian woman.   Louis B. Mayer, of the giant studio MGM, said she was the  most beautiful woman in the world. The film was banned practically everywhere, which of course made it even more popular and valuable.  Mussolini reportedly refused to sell his copy at any price.   The star of the film, called Ecstasy, was Hedwig Kiesler. She said the secret of her beauty was "to stand there and look stupid." In reality, Kiesler was anything but stupid. She was a genius. She'd grown up as the only child of a prominent Jewish banker. She was a math prodigy. She excelled at science. As she grew older, she became ruthless, using all the power her body and mind gave her.   Between the sexual roles she played, her tremendous beauty, and the power of her intellect, Kiesler would confound the men in her life including her six husbands, two of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century, and one of the greatest movie producers in history.   Her beauty made her rich for a time. She is said to have made - and spent - $30 million in her life.   But her greatest accomplishment resulted from her intellect, and her invention continues to shape the world we live in today.   You see, this young Austrian starlet would take one of the most valuable technologies ever developed right from under Hitler's nose.After fleeing to America, she not only became a major Hollywood star, her name sits on one of the most important patents ever granted by the  U.S. Patent Office.   Today, when you use  your cell phone or, over the next  few years, as you experience super-fast wireless  Internet access (via something called "long-term  evolution" or "LTE" technology), you'll be using an extension of the technology a 20- year-old actress first conceived while sitting at dinner with Hitler.   At the time she made Ecstasy, Kiesler was married to one of the richest men in Austria. Friedrich Mandl was Austria 's leading arms maker. His firm would become a key supplier to the Nazis.   Mandl used his beautiful young wife as a showpiece at important business dinners with representatives of the Austrian, Italian, and German fascist forces. One of Mandl's favorite topics at these gatherings - which included meals with Hitler  and Mussolini - was the technology surrounding radio-controlled missiles and torpedoes.   Wireless weapons offered  far greater ranges than  the wire-controlled alternatives that  prevailed  at the time.   Kiesler sat through these dinners "looking stupid," while absorbing everything she heard.   As a Jew, Kiesler hated the Nazis. She abhorred her husband's business ambitions.  Mandl responded to his willful wife by imprisoning her in his castle, Schloss Schwarzenau.   In 1937, she managed to escape. She drugged her maid, snuck out of the castle wearing the maid's clothes and sold her jewelry to finance a trip to London.   (She got  out just  in time. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria. The Nazis seized Mandl's factory. He was half Jewish. Mandl fled to Brazil. Later, he became an adviser to Argentina 's iconic populist president, Juan Peron.)   In London, Kiesler arranged a meeting with Louis B. Mayer. She signed a long-term contract with him, becoming one of MGM's biggest stars. She appeared in more than 20 films. She was a co-star to Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and even Bob Hope. Each of her first seven MGM  movies was a blockbuster.   But  Kiesler cared far more about fighting the Nazis than about making movies. At the height of her fame, in 1942, she developed a new kind of communications system, optimized for sending coded messages that couldn't be "jammed." She was building a system that would allow torpedoes and guided bombs to always reach their targets. She was building a system to kill Nazis.   By the 1940s, both the Nazis and the Allied forces were using the kind of single- frequency radio-controlled technology Kiesler's ex-husband had been peddling. The drawback of this technology was that the enemy could find the appropriate frequency and "jam" or intercept the signal, thereby interfering with the missile's intended path.   Kiesler's key innovation was to "change the channel." It was a way of encoding a message across a broad area of the wireless spectrum. If one part of the spectrum was jammed, the message would still  get  through on one of the other frequencies being used. The problem  was, she could not figure out how to synchronize the frequency changes on both the receiver and the  transmitter.  To solve the problem, she turned to  perhaps the world's first techno-musician, George Anthiel.   Anthiel  was an  acquaintance of Kiesler who achieved some notoriety for creating intricate musical compositions. He synchronized his melodies across twelve player pianos, producing stereophonic sounds no one had ever heard before. Kiesler incorporated Anthiel's technology for synchronizing his player pianos.  Then, she was able to synchronize the frequency changes between a weapon's receiver and its transmitter.   On August 11, 1942, U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 was  granted to Antheil and "Hedy Kiesler Markey,"  which was Kiesler's married name at the time.   Most of  you won't  recognize the name Kiesler. And no one would remember the name Hedy Markey. But it's a fair bet than anyone reading this  newsletter of  a certain age will remember one of the great beauties of Hollywood's golden age ~Hedy  Lamarr.   That's the name Louis B. Mayer gave to his prize actress. That's the name his movie company made famous.     Meanwhile, almost no one knows Hedwig Kiesler – a/k/a  Hedy Lamarr - was one of the great pioneers of wireless communications. Her  technology was developed by the U.S.Navy, which  has used it ever  since.   You are probably using Lamarr's technology, too. Her  patent sits at the foundation of "spread  spectrum technology," which you use every day when you log on to a wi-fi network or make calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. It lies at the heart of the massive investments being made right now in so-called fourth-generation  "LTE" wireless technology. This next generation of cell phones and cell towers will provide tremendous increases to wireless network speed and quality, by spreading wireless signals across the entire available spectrum.  This kind of encoding is only possible using the kind of frequency switching that Hedwig Kiesler invented.   And now you know the rest of the story.

1910 Ford

email sent by Piyusha Atapattu.

Make sure you read all the statistics under the photo.

This has only been 103 years ago...Amazing!!!

Show this to your friends, children and/or grandchildren!

The year is 1910, over one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

***********************************

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

And a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools,

Many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

There was no such thing as under arm deodorant or tooth paste.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2, Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

(yes, people have changed)

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years

"Udarata Menike".

email forwarded by Piyusha Atapattu 

 

Leyrisse's email unlocked the floodgates of memory, and I wrote an article about the "Udarata Menike".

 

Bernard VanCuylenburg.

 

My Dad was on Carolina Group, Watawala for 27 years, and  before he retired, he planted in Bandarawela for four years. Carolina was a huge estate of 2230 acres. By a topographical twist of fate, the railway line from Colombo to Badulla went through one of the divisions of Carolina called Mt.Jean. In fact the Watawala railway station was located on Mt.Jean division! Our bungalow on Kadawella division was some distance away from the railway track, but each day around 1.30 pm. we could hear the sound of the horn and the throbbing hum of the diesel locomotive as the "Menike" slided on ribbons of steel on her onward journey uphill amidst spectacular landscape on the way to Badulla. The blast of the horn would echo through the green hills and in the solitude of an estate bungalow it was a reassuring sound.

 

When the "Udarata Menike" was first introduced in 1954 it was powered by two British diesel locomotives. Before this, the train to Badulla was hauled by two steam engines which meant getting flecks of coal in one's eye, when looking out of the window ! And with the puffs of smoke blowing all over, the journey was not very pleasant. The introduction of diesel changed all that. A new set of carriages were hitched onto the diesel locomotives on her maiden run, and thats how it remained as long as I remember. The icing on the cake was the gift of twelve Canadian diesel locomotives under the Colombo Plan in the late 50's  - an outright gift from the Canadian government under the premiership of Pierre Trudeau. These diesels were a joy to behold, and I still remember the names of some of them, on either side of the locomotive gleaming in silver and blue. They were "Alberta" "Montreal" "Sasketchwan" "Prince Edward Island" "Vancouver" "Manitoba" "Toronto" and "Ontario". Out went the British locomotives  - at least on the up-country run, and in came one Canadian diesel to take their place. I later picked up some trivia about the Canadian locomotives. The distances they covered in Canada were at times over a thousand miles, and apparently the distance from Colombo to Badulla was insufficient for such high powered diesels of 2500 horse power. So after the "Menike" reached Badulla around 6.20 pm each evening, the locomotive had to be kept running for some hours after that, even though the journey had ended ! Apparently, one locomotive could provide electricity for an entire town ! After Dad went to Bandarawela, I used to travel by the "Udarata Menike" several times whenever I came to Colombo, and the return journey was one which I always anticipated with joy. It was not the train per se, but the incredible journey and the terrain of the track.

 

In the the low country from Colombo to Rambukkana it was a smooth run. But once the train reached Kadugannawa the climb began, and if you sat on the right and dared to look out of the window when the train skirted the ridge called "Sensation Rock" you risked a nervous breakdown because a thousand feet below, you could see the roofs of thatched village houses and expanses of paddy fields  - all in minature. There was no protective barrier along this length of track and the train was travelling on the edge of a sheer precipice ! Once this nerve shattering climb was negotiated, the terrain evened out to a level run upto Nawalapitiya. It was past Nawalapitiya that the real torturous climb began all the way to Nanuoya and from there to a spot on the track between Ambawela and Pattipola which is the highest point on the railway. After this it was 'downhill' all the way in the plains of Uva to the terminus at Badulla. On one of these trips I happened to be in the compartment up front behind the locomotive, and a very friendly guard took me into his section of the compartment from where I could see the driver in his cabin and observe this Canadian powerhorse in action. I was introduced to the driver, Mr.Wadugodapitiya an old Trinitian, and a senior driver in the Ceylon Government Railways. It was he who gave me the trivia I quoted earlier on the Canadian diesels.

 

I have done many trips by train in other countries and can tell you that the trip from Colombo to Badulla should be classed as one of the great train journeys of the world. Apart from the spectacular scenery through which the track goes through, specially in the hill country, just consider the near impossible gradient which the train traverses.......In fact there is a place called for some unknown reason, "Soda Bottle" bend on the line between Kotagala and Great Western which is an engineering marvel. So steep is the gradient that at a certain point on looking out of the window if one is seated on the right side of the train, one can see the railway track in two tiers below -   a graphic indication of the height the traveller has just passed through. And then there is the engineering masterpiece of the Demodera loop ! Once the train leaves Demodera station (two halts before Badulla) it goes full circle and at one stage passes right under the station which it has just left, on its way to Badulla ! Imagine leaving a station and then after about five minutes looking out of the window - or rather, looking up  - to find the station you just left is right above you !! Talk about the realms of fantasy ! It is a matter of regret that the name of the engineer who devised this masterpiece has not been recorded for posterity. On the return trip past Nanuoya, one gets a clear view of Adam's Peak in the distance - weather permitting -  until one reaches Talawakelle.  At Nanuoya - and this is addressed to old Anthonians in particular  - there is a little hill near the station, with a neat little bungalow on its summit. This was the home of Freddy, Paddy, Gerry, and Merry Guneratne when their Dad Alec Guneratne  - an old Anthonian and legendary soccer star of a bygone era - was stationed in Nanuoya during his service with the Ceylon Government Railways. I once walked with Royston and Basil Hyde from their home on Scrubbs Estate, Nuwaraeliya to the Guneratne home at Nanuoya  - a distance of four miles. We were entertained with cordon bleu home made delicacies by Paddy's Mum   - it is still a warm memory that never fades and sparks nostalgia for a happy time and place...... But I digress, so I had better get back on track........ 

 

From Ohiya station upto Haputale the track seems to defy gravity ! It is cut on the side of a mountain and runs at the edge of a precipice with heart stopping views of the little villages far down below. It is a hair raising experience which I term as death defying ! You have to sit on the left of the compartment to get your hair standing on all ends ! If you wish to play it safe, just sit on the right and all you will see is the side of a cliff. But the scenery which greets the traveller will live in memory forever. A panorama of deep valleys, green hills and lush countryside where nature has run riot with her paintbrush painting the land in colours of every hue......This kaladescope of nature's bounty penetrates your very soul to inspire and nurture the spirit........It is a photographer's delight and an artists paradise........and the bracing mountair air gives one a near supernatural sense of well being. The scenery on this entire journey is a nature lover's delight. From the lush hills on the Kadugannawa climb right upto Nawalapitiya, and then the beautiful tea country all the way to Nanuoya.

 

There were no luxury compartments. There was 1st, 2nd and 3rd class, and an excellent Restaurant Car staffed by uniformed waiters. The catering was done by U.K.Edmund.  For Rs.1.50 you could enjoy a delicious rice and curry and the tea was the nectar of the Gods. There was no Observation Car.

 

I think today the "Menike" is powered by a German Henschel locomotive and has some Rumanian compartments. In my humble opinion the Henschel diesel does not in any way, shape or form look as sleek, majestic and inspiring as her Canadian counterpart. During my last visit to Sri Lanka in 2000, I was pleased to see some of the Canadian locomotives still riding the rails. On a trip from Haputale to Colombo in the "Udarata Menike" we crossed the "Podi Menike" the younger sister of the "Udarata Menike" which I observed was hauled by a Canadian diesel locomotive, "Montreal". With that I shall conclude this email. But the "Menike" - 'The Maid of the Mountains' or, as I prefer to call her 'The Maid of the Mists', will forever travel the corners of our minds in the realms of memory on a journey that has no end...

 

Bernard VanCuylenburg. 

 

Bernard turned 70 on the 25th February.