A list of 14 reasons to visit Galle by “MidnightKnight” had 25 Gaveliers fired up for the annual excursion of the Gavel Club of the University of Colombo. After some meticulous planning by members of the Executive Committee, it was time to embark on a journey to make memories that would last a lifetime.
A cheery bus ride on the Southern Expressway to Galle commenced at about 6 o clock in the morning on the 1st of April. Gavelier Malin and his guitar entertained us all the way amidst attempts by Gavelier Sri to make each member of the group defend their WhatsApp statuses. The group landed at Unawatuna beach and after a short walk, we settled into a restaurant for breakfast. A plateful of chips ordered by Gavelier Paba was the highlight of the breakfast table.
The next destination was Jungle Beach in Rumassala. With most of the gaveliers eager to jump into the water, it was a mad rush to get into our swimming gear. Soon, we were splashing among the waves. Gavelier Warren took it upon himself to ‘initiate’ the new members including Pasan, Binara and myself by thrusting our heads into the water followed by an intense water splash. Attempts to build a human pyramid and even a swimming race ensued while some of the better swimmers dived in to search for corals. The fun and games continued until about noon, when Madame President Gavelier Vimukthini called us all out of the water for lunch.
Lunch was served in the bus with Gavelier Harith yelling out “You’re not a person!” to every vegetarian. Meanwhile Gavelier Kashmir went out to buy lime juice for all of us, as the intense heat of the sun was becoming unbearable. “It’s just because of the people! I wouldn’t bear this heat if it weren’t for the people I’m with today” was a thought echoed by many.
The next destination was the famous Galle Fort. After taking the customary official photograph, we strolled along the rampart while engaging in light hearted banter. Certain Gaveliers (names withheld) were scared out of their skins by the sight of a man holding a python across his shoulders. Finally, we made it to the open area where we decided to play a football match. Gaveliers Sri and Kashmir took their respective teams to battle head to head on the green grass of Galle. The two goalies Gavelier Vimukthini and Gavelier Sathya were at the heart of the action in a match which ended at 1-0 in favour of team Kashmir.
Although it was getting late, chief organizer Gavelier Kashmir had one last trick up in his sleeve. He took us to his beach house for tea. Everyone enjoyed the sandwiches and cutlets prepared by his mother. It was an act of hospitality that would never be surpassed.
After tea, we left Galle for Colombo, with our minds full of the wonderful memories we just had. In addition to all the fun we had, we learned a lot throughout the trip. Even the conversations we had were educational.
Personally, for me, as a fresher from the Faculty of Science, this trip gave me my first sense of belonging to the University. The image I had about seniors was gone as every gavelier was treated lovingly and equally as usual. I was staring at daylight after a long walk in a dark cave.
Gavelier Uditha Weerasinghe | Faculty of Science | University of Colombo.
Image courtesy : Gavelier Malin Ranwala.
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