Martin Wijesinghe, for many Sri Lankans would only be another
name…………but to those with a knack for the wilds, the environment, and
the Sinharaja Forest…. the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka: Martin is a dear
friend and a loving companion.
Martin for that matter is now an authority on Sinharaja……..
It all began in a very humble way. As he narrates he was born
in 1940 in the village of Pethiya-Kanda located within the outskirts of
Sinharaja. Things didn't go right for him at school and was out at the
age of 15 completing the 8th standard. This was considered a sufficient standard
of literacy then and was good enough to pursue a carrier of skills. Having tried
his hand at carpentry, masonry and various occupations in the rubber estates and
not happy with either he gets into marriage at the age of 19 from the village
Kudawa in Weddagala and starts life together. It was then that occupation came
to his door step when the project for selective logging of Sinharaja was to
commence to feed the massive plywood factory that came up in Salawa, Kosgama.
By 1970 Selective Logging commenced and the destruction to the
untapped Sinharaja was immense. Selective logging creates the immediate of a
felled tree to total destruction and is devoid of a forest canopy and the ground
is exposed to the elements. This open area needed to be planted with saplings that
would catch the sunlight through the forest canopy and grow fast to bring back
the forest cover. The Forest Department initiated a programme to plant these
expanses with indigenous saplings and Martin found occupation in this programme
as a charge hand; supervising the re-forestation programme.
Dawn breaks across Martin,s Lodge |
The detailed research was entrusted to the University of
Peradeniya. However it was the organization March for Conservation [MFC] a group
that was formed to rescue Sinharaja that first established a center for research
in a make-shift log cabin alongside the current research center.
Sinharaja was now frequented by senior academics from Peradeniya
assisted by young academics from the Colombo University and other interested
groups and organizations.
Artist impression of the MFC cabin-
Curtsy Singharaja A Rainforest in Srilanaka –
Neela de Zoysa and Ryhana Raheem
|
Martin was now idle again with his team of tree planters having
had to abandon their occupation which would have had to continue only with the
deforestation.
The make shift research facility was in dire need of a person
to care and run in the absence of the research teams. Being a person from Kudawa
Weddagala and now living just outside the Sinharaja forest in a wattle and daub
abode; opportunity opened for Martin once again;....... who now became the ubiquitous requisite
and the all-purpose man.
He was absorbed in the carder of the Forest Department and was
enlisted as the caretaker of the research facility. It was here that he says he
was exposed to science…. having left school in grade eight, it was more like
going to school again for him working with the researchers.
Professor Balasubramaniyam from the University of Peradeniya
taught him botany while the eminent Museum Curator Mr. P.B. Karunarathne taught
him zoology, says Martin. There was then the young academics who assisted the
seniors………the likes of Dr Sarath W Kotagama, Dr. Nimal and Savithri Gunathilake,
Ms Neela de Zoysa and Ryhana Raheem [an English scholar but a leading activist of MFC ], Mr. M D Dissanayake, and Siril Wijesundara
and Mr. Mark S Ashton to name a few who was more closer to Martin, who in return
continued and helped them with the research work in their absence in the field.
Today an automated unmanned weather station sends data all the way to Colombo |
Time goes by and Sinharaja is now in the world map as a
biodiversity hot-spot in Asia / Sri Lanka. The high endemism in the Flora and Fauna in Sinharaja was exposed to the world. International authorities on
Natural Science and other interested environmentalist and naturalists show up in
Sinharaja and the visits become numerous. Birders, Zoologists, Botanists come
over to see the fascination that the scientific publications signified. These
visitors needed interpretation and guiding in the forest and moreover they
needed a place to stay overnight close to the forest. It was again the
ubiquitous Martin who came to their assistance.
Scientific studied conducted to advance level students-assisted by the FOGSL |
These educational programmes were organized by the Field
Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka [FOGSL] of the University of Colombo spear headed
by Dr Sarath W Kotagama. March for Conservation [MFC] had by now ceased its
activities with much of their research completed.
By now the Forest Department finding the great potential
in the local visitor to Sinharaja also puts up dormitories and regularizes guide
assisted day tours in the forest and commences educational programmes.
However Martin was the most sought after person to the overseas
visitor. His small library with bird guides and tree guides enhanced the
interest of the visitor and Martin was by now world renowned.
Eco-tourism caught up with Sinharaja in the 90‘s and the annual
birdwatching tours always came up to Sinharaja and now “Martin’s Lodge” was the
overnight stay or the lunch stop in the forest. Martins Lodge was now in the
World Wide Web and became an economic entity in the Eco-tourism industry in Sri
Lanka.
Morning Birding by the breakfast table at Martin's Lodge |
In 1994 Martin Wijesinghe is honoured with the title Sri
Lankathilaka for his service for assisting in the scientific research in
Sinharaja by President D B Wijethunge. This is regarded as a national
recognition a lay Sri Lankan could achieve in a lifetime.
The family takes the chores in running the Lodge |
Going by the trip reviews “Martin’s Lodge” is commented as not
the place with the best bed and towel in Sinharaja….but for the ardent
birdwatcher it is the best location to be in the forest at the crack of dawn.
The dinning area |
A row of rooms with basic finishes and facilities |
However the Lodge and the facilities need to be looked at in a
different perspective. It is housed with basic necessities. The beds are of recycled
timber. The mattress is of average foam rubber. The water in the faucets is
tapped in the running stream and its pressure derived from the run in the river.
Hot water is from solar energy. It’s not for luxury that you pay in this forest
facility but for the logistics.
If one is to look at the facility in a different mindset it
could be interpreted as the way of Buddhist monastic dwelling. The furniture in
the room is also limited to a simple open cupboard with a screen type furniture
where the monk laid his robe. If one thinks of his stay here in line with a
monastic recluse ………I’m sure his stay at Martin’s Lodge will definitely be a
novel and a memorable one.
The monastic type living |
Unfortunately there is no interpretation of this simplistic lifestyle that one pays for at the “Martin’s Lodge” highlighted in any of the tour guides or
reviews.
Martin today is 76 years old and wears three stents just short
of a bypass surgery. A feeble but active personality……….how would things be at the
Lodge without Martin is a question that the organizations making use of the
facility today will have to workout..... in-order to sustain this facility for the
future generations that would come here to see Sinharaja………
Author with Martin |
A good write up of a special person
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Uditha for revealing such an enthusiastic person vith an eye of nature focusing!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful article. I remember my stay at Martin's lodge when I was about 12. It is truly one of my most memorable experiences. I remember, Uncle Martin told us that we were the future and it was our responsibility to love and to protect this serene and biodiverse environment. In many ways, his words have shaped my choices in life as I pursue a field in geology. I have to thank him and hope to go visit him again someday. Thank you very much for this article; it has brought back great memories.
ReplyDeletenice one Uditha Aiya
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article....thank you, Uditha
ReplyDeleteVery informative article Uditha. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Uditha for writing this excellent article. May he attains the Supreme bliss of Nirwana.
ReplyDeleteVery valuable and informative article...... Thank you very much Uditha
ReplyDelete