Ranjit Hulugalle

With Ranjit Hulugalle and what was left of our Cannonball Tree (Couroupita guianensis ) after the tornado

HALGOLLA PLANTATION HOME – the unique sri lankan experience –
november 2019

Too often we appreciate people who give of their time and energy for the betterment of Sri Lanka but we don’t go the extra yard of publicizing their contribution as widely as we are able. The picture that is at the top of this month’s newsletter is an attempt to make amends in that regard by acknowledging the contribution that Ranjit Hulugalle is making in the matter of defending a Sri Lanka that is under serious threat of major environmental degradation. Thank you, Ranjit, for your “no punches pulled” defence of what is our national heritage!

The rains continue and despite the rampant soft-weed growth, we will continue to live up to our promise of not complaining about the weather after the years of terrible drought that we have experienced around

For November, as in past months, we’ll continue our
“Surprise Basket of HPH goodies,” which appears to delight our guests as they take their leave of us!
Acknowledgements of HPH’s Excellence
■ Certificate of Excellence from Trip Adviso

■ Rated as Best Home Stay in Sri Lanka
■ Recommended by Bradt Travel Guide for Sri Lanka

here. If anything could make ordinary citizens into those derisively referred to as “tree-huggers,” the global–warming we’ve experienced over recent times would do the trick! We have begun harvesting our very small vanilla crop and the first installment yielded a fraction of last year’s as was to be expected, given the fact that we had about 1/3 the blossoms we did in 2018. Not much one can do when Mother Nature decides to act up! The unfortunate part is that selling prices remain at last year’s levels!

Entry to HPH at night

While we have previously included photographs of HPH itself, we haven’t reproduced any that were taken after nightfall such as the one on the left, taken by Arlene’s son, Shehan, who paints for a living and, typical of someone with an eye for beauty, takes excellent photographs as well. The enhancement of the humble walking sticks on the right hand side of this page is an example of the application of anotherMadawela’s talents.

This time the ornamentation is by Shehan’s (artist) wife. Tell us what you think of their efforts. Arlene’s taken a long-overdue break “down south” by the sea but has returned to HPH onlyto contract the grandmother of colds!

“Short” Selvarajah, by virtue of his becoming quite the expert on vanilla cultivation and maintenance, is in the process of setting down a new vanilla plot on coconut land in Kurunegala in the North- Western Province. The trulystrange “fact is stranger than fiction” part of this narrative is that the land that he is planting once belonged to yours truly prior
to the government of Sri Lanka taking it over in the 1970s!

Druvinka, Arlene’s daughter, has, during her current visit to Sri Lanka from her eyrie in the Himalayan foothills , lifted the collective spirits of those domiciled in and around HPH with the assistance of her younger son, Drona. Appropriate to an artist such as she is, the access to her home is via a footpath meandering about 2 kms up a steep hillside near the last town of any consequence on the way to Ladakh in the Himalayas. While Druvi is planning on anexhibition of her work at 706 Gallery in Colombo, Drona is pursuing his interest in the rap music industry as the probable route to a livelihood.

Needless to add, yours truly is “all at sea” with newfangled endeavours such as this, though I think I can distinguish “rap” from other forms of popular music!

Well, it’s time to bid our readers adieu again with the perennial request – PLEASE let us know what you’d like to see in our monthly newsletter.

And don’t hesitate to let us know if it bores you to tears, either!
Much affection
Arlene & Emil