Kalpitiya - The wind is winding!

It was gloomy. I saw two hefty ones, they were really dark and bulky, like almost a kilometre long, each. It seemed thunderstorm. This was wrong time to move out of the house, may be. I checked my watch soaked in the ocean salt: 4.00 pm, Caffeine time! And what better than a hot coffee alongside nature’s showtime. I walked out of the balcony straight to the kitchen. We scored some really good Sri Lankan coffee (that’s what the department store guy mentioned). In my world, Instant coffee’s a rage, brewing beans is restricted to the café masters, not that I can do it, but there’s a term ‘effort’ tagged here and it really takes a lot to own this tag for just 1 cup. I spent 15 mins in making what I’d rate: a mediocre dose. All set and prepared to enjoy this tropical thunderstorm, I moved back to the balcony.

Wait! It was bright and sunny. The dark hefty ones were almost 4–5 kms away towards the right of the lagoon. I could feel the strong tropical sun on my forearm which already tanned me 2 shades darker than when I got in here first: 6 days back. Hot coffee? Thunderstorm? This was strange, shouldn’t I be seeing some lightning by now? It should’ve been pouring? Shit! I made a hot coffee, drinking this would feel fresh lava from a volcano in this heat. I checked the sky, no further hefty ones. okay! Change of plan, I went back to the kitchen to convert my hot brew into a cold one. The house fridge had ice trays that weren’t taken out since 3rd century B.C., ‘effort’ had to be taken. It took me 20 mins to recover 3 cubes which just made my brew come back to normal temperature. I went out to the balcony again to enjoy the sun. (This is a difficult statement to make when you’ve just come out of Indian summers)

WTF! Gloomy again. I saw 3 hefty ones now, larger and bulkier than the previous set, this time it looked tornado. The wind was much stronger, it was enough to move my 95kg of earthly mass by a foot aside. Wait! I had a pseudo cold brew on me now! It was funny/irritating. Those 3 bulkier ones seemed to be my last bench school colleagues, they were trolling me. It’s like they said, ‘Go refurbish your coffee and we’d make you do it again, you fool!…’

Enough! Offence taken, I kept the coffee aside, my blood circulation spiked enough (thanks to 40 mins. of being a brew master) to demand caffeine anymore.

My eyes were now stuck with the kite surfers in the lagoon. At least 30 of them creating a pseudo mesh along a large water scape. A couple of them taking a few seconds flight in the sky and landing back with some swag poses rushing through the wind. It was such a treat to watch them all, but, at a distance. It did require some serious skills and practice to be doing what they do. The intensity of their actions could validate the point that this sport could very well be a part of the 2020 Tokyo olympics. And this place is simply in one word: ‘heaven’ for them.

A mix of 14 different islands, Kalpitiya, is located in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, spread across 17 sq. kms. This coastal town literally champions the art of being ‘diverse’, from people, their habitats to the marine lives around. Walking down the lane, you’d get a sense of the Dutch colonial era, the old architectural style with broad gambrel roofs with flaring eaves that extend over the long sides. And you know! While you’re lost scooping the infrastructure around, you’d bump into the locals, one of the most humble set of people on planet earth. They would not only be curious about where you are from? But also help you identify/explain/analyse with what you’re doing within that moment. I’ve had so many interactions with the locals, specifically the fishermen community which is one of the largest in town, understanding their lifestyles, the ethnographical angle of their existence, trust me! It’s a different world out there. On the ocean bit, it houses vast mangroves swamps, sand dune beaches, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, whales and the most generous of them all: the dugong.

Go along 20 mins on a Tuk-Tuk ride from the town and you’d find one of the most upcoming tourism eco-systems. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kalpitiya would be on your bucket list within the next 3 years. The rich flora and fauna, combined with serene beaches, the beautiful sky (shit! I totally missed mentioning this, the sky’s mesmerising here), the warm human souls, the pumped-up kite surfers and their routines — it’s just all you’d need to unleash with nature.

Sunset, by the beach.

I met Dil, as he is known, Dilsiri Welikala co-owns Kite Surfing Sri Lanka, a kitesurfing camp cum resort which is the oldest in the region. Dil himself is a stalwart kite surfer and has a super interesting story to how he started this camp with his French counterpart — Léo Moret, a keen practitioner of the sport himself. Over a quick chat, Dil mentioned about how the place has evolved with years and now hosts surfers from varied countries. The place has some serious vibe, be it to ‘chill’ or practice the sport. Everyone in the camp follows a routine with even breakfasts, lunches and dinners have identified schedules for everyone. It houses a kite repair shop run by one of the cutest Lankan couples I’ve ever met. It also has an apparel shop, a yoga space and a backpacking couple that is helping the camp go sustainable with environmental conservation in sight. Margriet Hospers and Michiel Hoekstra from the Netherlands have joined the movement to help conserve and create the green eco-system in & around the area involving locals withholding various initiatives.

On spending time at the camp, I once bumped into Dil with his gear, heading out for a surf ride, I had this short walk assuming he’d go to the lagoon (as every other surfer in the camp does), but this gentleman went straight to the ocean, the blunt open wavy front of the beach, geared up like a boss and while we chat, he disappeared in the horizon. The way he preaches this sport and the vibe everyone shares here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a champion Sri Lankan kitesurfing team in the Olympics soon.

P.S. — I felt the heat on my forearms again! The 3 bulkier ones were gone again. Chuck the coffee, this place effectively requires me to get the timelapse mode of iPhone — ON!

Let the wind by winding!