Tales of an Enchanted Boyhood

Alupola to Jaffna 1940-1960

The waterfall at Alupola was the centre of my childhood existence. Its subdued roar and 'white water' gave one a sense of peace and tranquility. Bright sunny days would light up the entire valley. The cry of the Brahminy kite wheeling in ecstasy high up in the blue sky would enchant us.

Local tea estate workers of South Indian origin, claimed that on misty moonlit nights, the seven mythical 'Karthigai virgins', came to the pool below the second waterfall, to frolic and bathe. This story added a fairytale beauty to the Alupola Falls. Often, walking past it on moonlit nights with my father, I would peer through the mist and thunder of the waterfalls, looking for the 'Seven Karthigai Virgins'. I never got a glimpse of them. The locals claimed that anyone who did glimpse them would be struck mad by their beauty. Then he or she would roam the earth looking for another sight of them, abandoning all worldly pleasures.

Maybe it was my luck not to see them.

The third outstanding memoir by Dr Veerasingam which lovingly chronicles days gone by.