Hikkaduwa Chronicles

 Bala Malli– is a creation of Bennie (Bhasura) Kirtisinghe — what this generation would call an avatar.  Bennie is my father and his letters were signed by Father B or  by his avatar Bala Malli.   Cool is what he was.  Some of the stories will be by Bala Malli, some by me.

 Bala Malli has been the fly in the wall at the family house  of the Kirtisinghes  called “Siri Niwasa.”  It was built by my grand father K.H Bastian by the coral reefs of Hikkaduwa. I hope this blog will give a glimpse of a past where life was easy and flowed gently — there were no TV’s, i-pods, Internet or email  but a house that was always full of interesting visitors  – some were even famous –in a day and a time when there were no hotels and Hikkaduwa had only a small government rest house and we  had a freshly washed beach to do geometry!! I won’t argue that it was the best time but it was pretty unique. 

It is dedicated to the many generations of Kirtisinghes and their extended families . It is specifically dedicated to my two nieces Annemarie in Melbourne, Australia and Eshanie in Vancouver, Canada.  They have taken the time to read the past blog entries – when there were not many.  There is also my nephew Ushantha who just remineded me that I didn’t have any new blog family stories.  I hope their thirst for news of their family roots will be met somewhat and it will encourage the globally dispersed cousins to meet in blog space and even contribute and introduce the 3rd and 4th generation.  Some I have met only on Face Book.  As Father B would say “such is life!” — we now no longer meet at family birthday parties, dane’s (alms givings) or even at funerals. 

And also I hope it will spur my akka- Bennie’s eldest daughter Yasoja - a techno phobic to get on the net to read the blog. She has an old fashioned very orderly scrap book of family history –  but then she and I were always different . …