By the clouds

By the clouds

April 26, Sunday. 7:11 am. Date and time capture something. Years don’t.

As I walk around the Kandy Lake, I am reminded of Rumi poetically mentioning the vastness of this world.

I am also reminded of the necessity of travel for a person like me. I seem to have an uncurious mentality when it comes to seeing the world. And I don’t travel unless someone or life pushes me to do it. And when I embark on such a journey, I am filled with awe and wonder and also feel a bit silly that I don’t travel often. I should try to live by the simple axiom — the main ingredient for travel is courage.

And there is so much to see and so much to experience.

Misty morning and birds singing and flying foxes resting at the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka.

A male Yellow Bittern at the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka

It was a rather simplistic walk around the lake in Kandy that leads to the main Buddha temple — the Temple of Tooth. But even in this un-dramatic experience as I see the Sun as a white dot long away and shielded by the chilly morning clouds, I hear the murmurs of birds welcoming the morning and Geckos saying farewell to the night. As I step out from the hilly guest house, I see the birds stirring in their nests, schools of black fishes gather near the edge for their morning meal. As I walk further, the slow sunrise across the lake looks like a calendar shot. For the local morning walkers, it is just another Sunday. They see what I see, though I am not sure they feel the same awe — or maybe seeing it every so often ceases their wonderment.

Black billed Egret at the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka

As I walk across, I see a familiar image, but this time, it towers above not just the buildings but also above the morning clouds — it’s the face of a meditating Buddha. I stare at the image for a while. I look around and see walkers, bored traffic policemen, few school students, nuns and monks. It’s what they are used to seeing at the traffic stop — as you walk or drive to your office or breakfast — you are greeted by Buddha in the sky.

A beautiful morning at the Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka. Look closely to see a hint of Buddha.

Buddha towering above the clouds, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Getting closer to The One.

I am at the last lap of my walk and soon I’ll be off to breakfast, meeting friends and driving away. I was lucky to take a few good photos using the morning light, lucky to have seen the local birds, fishes, lizards, monks and even the noisy school children.

Muddying the waters first thing in the morning.

No matter how far you go, he’s hard to miss, even in the mist.

But before I do all that and feel all that, I needed a moment of reflection. It has often been said that ‘write what you know’ and ‘leave home to become a writer’ — both seems to ring true at this moment.

The world is vast and there is so much to see. Seeing Buddha’s face towering over the clouds is a meditative stop of the journey.

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka.