Lunch at Lunuganga

All these while, Geoffrey Bawa's works had been architecture textbook stuff.  End of August this year, I finally had the chance to experience his works first hand, when I went to Lunuganga, Sri Lanka, with a few close friends.  Others will be snapping away at their idols' homes in Hollywood, but here I was, awestruck, surrounded by the works of the person who had inspired many successful architects and designers.

It was surreal and I had the chance to bask in its awesomeness while awaiting lunch on his porch overlooking the Western Terrace.  So, I sketched ...

This majestic frangipani tree was first tended to by Mr Bawa himself.  The branches were weighted to achieve the horizontal spread.

Lunch was quite the spread of well-prepared Sri Lankan delicacies.  After the soup, there were green beans curry, cucumber curry, stirfried greens, chicken curry, spicy prawns, beetroot in coconut sauce, ambarella chutney, popadam, stirfried eggplant, dhal, green bananas done like fries and 2 types of rice.  Dessert was a sinful portion of biscuit lined chocolate cake with vanilla icecream.

It must have been the appetite we worked up from the stroll during his garden tour, because I had additional helpings.  In between stuffing my face, we had fantastic time recalling our favourite framed moments of his scenic and serene 15-acre estate.  

This was a trip worth every breath of sigh in awe ... I have to come back.