Comments on: The Other Side https://groundviews.org/2016/03/30/the-other-side/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-other-side Journalism for Citizens Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:31:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 By: Sanchay https://groundviews.org/2016/03/30/the-other-side/#comment-60699 Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:31:00 +0000 http://groundviews.org/?p=19365#comment-60699 I have visited my hometown Jaffna in 2011, after 21 years exile and after the end of the war. I found the life in Jaffna was in full surge. Everywhere new restaurents and hotels, ople were trying to make a new and free life. Most places I found was rather congested with new buildings. I had trouble to find the small house where I grew up, and after remembering few landmarks I found the place, where the house was used to be. The house in which we lived doesnot exist anymore, the only building existing was the toilet with the pit belonging to it. there was a new well and a security post to give security to the NGO office in the rear plot. But as I saw that the mango tree, which stood behind the house was not anymore there I started sobbing. It was the significant symbole of my childhood: I came home from the school and climbed on it to eat mangoes or to sit on top and read any books or angered my sibilings and hid myself between the branches or even tested a self made climbing gadget which I constructed out of ropes and an old bicycle and so on… and it was all erradicated to nothing; just by falling my mango tree. I felt sombody intruded into my childhood and tried to manipulate it. It was mine and now someone has taken it away without my permision and I was deeply hurt. I showed it to my children and wife and told lthem the wonderful stories time I had there even during the war and I was crying and realized that things are changed. The mango tree was mine and somebody has taken it away from me.

]]> By: Dilantha Gunawardana https://groundviews.org/2016/03/30/the-other-side/#comment-60694 Fri, 01 Apr 2016 02:23:00 +0000 http://groundviews.org/?p=19365#comment-60694 I love this poem – a very nice account of rekindling what was lost. I too was inspired to write a poem on this topic. My take (poem) on this can be seen here (I love writing about Jaffna too)

https://meandererworld.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/no-longer-blind-jaffna-on-google-maps/

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