Roads have now been built to the villages in the remote areas of this country, which were called remote areas a few decades ago. Electricity has been received. Even if there is no government bus, at least they have transport facilities with three-wheelers. They get used to the busy life of the people who are running around by incorporating modern technology for most part of their daily life like farming. (Sri Lanka Latest News)
Even so, you may be surprised to learn that there amidst ‘Nukals’ wilderness a pleasingly isolated village that still rich with the old village smell, and glimmer of the old rural beauty. But it is true. Galamuduna village belonging to Minipe Divisional Secretariat still remains like that. There are currently around 40 families living in Galamuduna village, an isolated village comes under the Minipe Divisional Secretariat.
Located in the middle of the forest, seven or eight miles from the main road, there is a footpath through a thick jungle to reach this village. Even though the construction of a road to the village has been started, the majority of people in this village still travel through the footpaths which are infested with wild animals such as wild elephants and bears.
There are small and large streams in some places along the footpath that stretch amidst trees and rocks. We also heard about instances where the people of this village had to be confined in their own village because of the stream floods which are very active during heavy rains.
The genuine smile of these villagers makes the village even more beautiful due to its location away from the busy society of the city. Most of the houses in the village are still made of mud and thatched with ‘iluk’, ‘mana’ or thatch.
None of these houses use gas or electric stoves, and all cooking is done with the help of firewood. While many people still keep the darkness at bay with the light of bottle lamps, we heard that only a few households use solar panels.
The kitchen in these homes also a perfect place. On one side of this kitchen is a large corncob. We got to see how they have packed the maize, corn, etc., which is the main way of life, in these barns in a wonderful way. The villagers say that due to the constant ripening of the smoke emitted from the wood stove underneath, these grains get their unique taste and they kept preserved until the next harvest season.
Rice, corn and ‘talapa’ are their staple food, and in this village where there are no paddy mills or grinding machines, all of that is done with the help of mortars, millstones and chili stones. They often use natural methods for farming, and agrochemical fertilizers are used very little.
The use of artificial materials including plastic is at a very low level, and leaves, barks, vines etc. obtained from the greens of the Russa forest are used for many activities in the homes.
There is no use of cement for the houses, and the walls and the ground are coated with clay mixed with cow dung or soil like ‘Makulla’ soil.
Various types of bushes growing in the forest are cut and tied together to make a basket called gotta made of betel leaves is used for fetching water.
Various types of vines spread on the ground in the forest and the threads woven together are used to make cloth vines for weaving in the houses. Cattle are also tied using a vine called kalavel.
Vattis, boxes, mats and rugs made using coconut leaves and palm trees are widely used for home use.
There are no playgrounds or other facilities for the children of this village to play, and the fields of the village that have been harvested have become their playground.
Clocks, televisions, radios etc. are foreign to this village. Apart from the fact that the day begins just before sunrise, half of the day is over when the sun rises, and night dawns when the sun sets, these people are not too busy to think about anything beyond that.
These villagers, who work side by side with the earth from morning to evening, take a bath from a small water hole or pihilla in the village, eat something, and go to sleep when it gets dark around them.
There are no other special duties assigned to these villagers, apart from the gathering of a few people in a house to talk about the information, eating betel nuts together, and they have a very limited amount of work. That’s why instead of quarreling and quarreling with each other, there are qualities like collectivity, helping each other, living as one family in the village, looking after the happiness and sorrows of others.
Textiles, telephones, modern fashion, footwear, transport services, security, modern facilities, internet, face book, etc., are stranger things, and the vast majority of these villagers occasionally or rarely come to a main road. It is usually to cure a disease that cannot be cured by the village doctor or to take some salt and pepper.
The road to this village is difficult. The seemingly monotonous and difficult folk life in the city is boring for us. But the villagers of Galamuduna are isolated from the world and still lead a very simple life in the midst of this great jungle.
