The Veddah leader of the Girandurukotte, Hennanigala area has reached a milestone in his life by attaining the age of 107 years. His hearing and eyesight are still excellent and he still attends to his daily chores without assistance.
The tribal leader is known as Thalawarige Kalu Appu. He and his wife Thalawarige Lokki (80) left Dambana, home to many Veddahs, and migrated to the Mahaweli “C” area with a few other Veddah families 25 years ago in search of a better life.
Kalu Appu is the leader of 116 Veddah families in the Hennanigala area. He has nine children and 15 grandchildren. He has cultivated paddy after he migrated. He says that he is still fit enough to do his own work and that he has never taken any medicine in his life.
“I am still as fit as ever and I am sure that if I were still living in Dambana I would have been able to live another 20 years. I miss my ancestral village, but I am now too old to go back,” he said.
Mr. P.Dharmasena, the Grama Sevaka of Hennanigala, said that Kalu Appu was a very good hearted person and was still steeped in the culture of the Veddahs. He said he still respected the traditions of his tribe although the society around him had changed a lot.
“He and his wife are undergoing much privation these days. His wife is in poor health. They are still living in the house given to them by the Mahaweli Authority many years ago. It does not provide enough shelter from the elements and the roof leaks badly,” he said.
He said that he intends to renovate Kalu Appu’s house, at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 and to conduct an adult indigenous felicitation programme on August 5 in his honour..
“When I told him that we intended to organise a felicitation programme for him, he demonstrated his simplicity by saying that he only needed to have his house repaired so that he could end his life without soaking in the rain,” he said.
DM
The tribal leader is known as Thalawarige Kalu Appu. He and his wife Thalawarige Lokki (80) left Dambana, home to many Veddahs, and migrated to the Mahaweli “C” area with a few other Veddah families 25 years ago in search of a better life.
Kalu Appu is the leader of 116 Veddah families in the Hennanigala area. He has nine children and 15 grandchildren. He has cultivated paddy after he migrated. He says that he is still fit enough to do his own work and that he has never taken any medicine in his life.
“I am still as fit as ever and I am sure that if I were still living in Dambana I would have been able to live another 20 years. I miss my ancestral village, but I am now too old to go back,” he said.
Mr. P.Dharmasena, the Grama Sevaka of Hennanigala, said that Kalu Appu was a very good hearted person and was still steeped in the culture of the Veddahs. He said he still respected the traditions of his tribe although the society around him had changed a lot.
“He and his wife are undergoing much privation these days. His wife is in poor health. They are still living in the house given to them by the Mahaweli Authority many years ago. It does not provide enough shelter from the elements and the roof leaks badly,” he said.
He said that he intends to renovate Kalu Appu’s house, at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 and to conduct an adult indigenous felicitation programme on August 5 in his honour..
“When I told him that we intended to organise a felicitation programme for him, he demonstrated his simplicity by saying that he only needed to have his house repaired so that he could end his life without soaking in the rain,” he said.
DM
