Ehelapola: ‘Prince of Kandy’ in Mauritius

By Lal Keerthie Fernando

(March 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We drove from ‘Port Louis’, Capital of Mauritius, going North about 18 km. Once you enter the town, Arsenal, we continued, another 500 metres and at the end of forest by the side of the dual carriageway, a monument I wanted to visit - Monument of Ehelapola.

Reasonably maintained, needing a coat of paint, the monument had its abode since 1829. Mauritian National Heritage Law, cares it well... A short fence which surrounds the monument, reminding us that this ‘Prince of Kandy’ is alone. From the large forest at the back, now and again, a light wind..., which embraces, the monument and them, who are there to pay homage and remember.....!

The odd tourist, usually a British, on his way to the beautiful North of the Island: the coast, dotted with Beach Resorts of repute; where the wealthy and the well known remain in solitude...., would drop by at the monument, to get a glimpse of the British past and history. One or two Sri Lankans, now having stayed in Mauritius for almost three decades, would drop in, on April 24 at the monument; once again to remember....

They would light a candle or a Hadunkooru, on that day, where Ehelapola’s body was laid to rest, in the year, 1829. And..., according to Mauritians - British had collected the ashes after the cremation of Ehelapola, also according to his wishes and Buddhist traditions and placed in a pot made out of copper which was buried beneath the monument. It took me sometime to get over my instincts, as I peeped closer to look at the inscription in English on a faded epitaph, in the sturdy monument.

There it was: “Sacred to the memory of Ehelapola, Wijesundara, Wickramasingha, Chandrasekara, Amarakoon, Wahala Mudianse, late First Adiga or Prime Minister to the King of Kandy, who died on April 24, 1829 - age 57 years”..... It took 133 years for Lanka to have another Prime Minister after the 1815 rebellion! Remaining silent for a while, I was far keener to look around this magnificent monument.

The back of the monument, faced the forest and it was here and to my amazement, I was able to read.., the Sinhalese letters so clear, even after 179 years, inscribed on marble stone. It was a translation of what was on the epitaph in front of the monument. British rulers that time had the inscriptions done in Ceylon and had the plaques shipped to Mauritius.

The Sinhala letters are clear but the style could be easily traced back to the Kandy area, where the inscriptions, probably done by local stone masons. The respect given to Ehelapola, by British rulers willfully eloquent and were to remain, as years passed by.... for others, probably very few to read.

Mauritius was a British colony that time and was known as the ‘Penal Colony’, where British subjects of ill repute and others were deported to Mauritius, from various colonies of the British Empire. Was Ehelapola a traitor or a despotic leader? It is not heard of that British rulers built and preserved monuments for such persons. Or was he just another victim of the British political astute of the bygone period during Governor Robert Brownrigg (1812-1818), Kandy in turmoil?

Ehelapola lived in Mauritius for seven years, probably, arriving there in 1822, as persona non grata, in his own home country but never lived as prisoner confined to four walls but known and well written about him in Mauritius, as the ‘Prince of Kandy’. He lived in style and was in residence at Chateau Mon-Plasir, a mansion, architecture of French Renaissance period.

It was built by the French, by Count Mahe de La Bourdonnais (1735), as Mauritius was a French colony before and the British conquered the island in 1810. It is now owned by wealthy Franco - Mauritian family. It is open to the public; an exclusive restaurant added to its past glory. Ehelapola, must have been at home in such surroundings, reminding him of his own ancestral past and home, ‘Ehelapola Wallauwwa’, the present folklore and Gem museum, at Ratnapura.

The distance from the monument to the traffic congested dual carriage proceeding North is about 10ft. The local Municipality has its plans for development and road widening. Is time running out for history - and for them, who are more keen to know, what historians of varied colour differed?

Sometimes, it is better to see the truth, rather wait to read?

Between Kandy and Matale is the Hamlet - Ehelapola.. Probably, thousands await, not knowing what they should have known! Air Lines of the two countries have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U) for the inauguration of flights between the two countries, Mauritius/Colombo and was headlines in Mauritian media, sometime back.. In the successfully completed SAARC Summit in Colombo, recently, Mauritius held observatory status. As it is said: What “was” ours - “is” ours.

(The writer can be reached at media.fernando@ webspeed.dk) -Sri Lanka Guardian