Jayasuriyagama & Atapattugama: Villages born Anew after the Groundswell of the Tsunami in 2004

Reminders for us fortunate souls from the camera of an intrepid British bike rider … http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1687848

  …..“As it happened, later on I saw a sign pointing to ‘Sanath Jayasuriyagama’ (‘gama’ means ‘village’). It’s one of two villages set up by cricketers (the other being Marvan Atapattu) that provided homes for 100 families whose houses were destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Having a bike meant I could detour to visit the village (pic), whose streets are all named after cricketers.”

Sri Lankans are a friendly, smiley people, and keep waving to me and saying hello as I pass them on the road. This lovely family in Sanath Jayasuriyagama (who must have lost their house in the tsunami) were no exception. The children were gigglingly delighted to ask me questions about my trip, and they asked me in for coffee. There was no question in their mind who was Sri Lanka’s greatest batsman………In the evening, outside my beachfront hostel in Tangalla, there was an informal cricket match going on with a tennis ball and a chair for the wicket between some Australian backpackers and Sri Lankan locals. I was corralled into batting for the Australians. I wasn’t as good as Sanath Jayasuriya, but I did show the Sri Lankans something they very rarely see: a forward defensive. 

There was cricket being played on many places elsewhere. This is the nearest your typical Sri Lankan batsman gets to a forward defensive. No wonder Geoffrey Boycott never settled here.