The unthinkable happened. Wilpattu National Park, closed for several years, was opened to the public in May 2003. Eighteen long years ago, in 1985 the LTTE used Wilpattu as an escape route after attacking Anuradhapura. Several Wild Life Department staff were killed. The park was abandoned. Wilpattu was closed to the public. This land of wilas became for me a land of memories.

Then last year scenario began to change. The ceasefire and negotiations between the Government and the LTTE facilitating a slow return to normalcy. A few weeks ago the Park was declared open and we revisited Wilpattu early one Sunday morning in May 2003. And as we drove into the park lots of memories flashed through my mind - memories that date back to the early 1970s and to which memorabilia, no memos have been added since 1984.