For toys, Chandi and her siblings did not play with computers and mechanical gadgets. Instead it was with all-natural coconut husks, stones, the soil and plants. They preferred being outdoors, swimming in the river and running about in the paddy fields. Her one goal was to escape from her overprotective aayaís (nannyís) ìclutchesî by hiding in the nearby shrubs!

An unforgettable aspect of Chandiís village was the silence. At sunset, everyone had completed their daily chores and the only sounds one could hear were the distant ringing tone of a blacksmithís anvil, and her fatherís clerk chanting the bana poth (Buddhist teachings). Those mild sounds too would die down and one could listen to the various nocturnal animal sounds like the night heron and cricket, and observe the flickering fireflies. ìThe silence was gorgeous. I now live in the suburb of Nawala and silence no longer exists there. Iím constantly looking for peace and quiet but have come to the conclusion that I will only find it six feet under the earth as Sophocles said.î

The property in Belihul Oya that Chandi still flees to in search of peace and quiet comprises a thorny jungle which once had a water channel flowing through it, and is surrounded by picturesque mountains, Horton Plains and Haputale. The Hirikatu Oya flows at the bottom of the garden. This piece of land was the only thing that Chandi requested from her mother. However her mother felt she was completely insane to ask for what is a useless plot when compared to more profitable rubber or tea estates. Unfortunately the University of Sabaragamuwa has now been built just opposite and with it has come all the trappings of economic growth, disturbing Chandiís tranquil rest.

Hence with Chandiís love for flora and fauna, it is fitting that a stunning yellow and pink orchid, created after cross-breeding by Sri Lankaís number one orchid grower is named after her ñ ëDendrobium Irangani Serasingheí.

She cannot comprehend how Sri Lankaís ethnic conflict escalated to such destructive proportions. She describes a line from Macintyreís play that she will appear in later this year, which has references to the Sinhala and Tamil ethnic rivalry. In one scene, one of the characters remarks, ì... In Sri Lanka, in a great many cases only a fatal ëMí or ëNí separates a Tamil from a Sinhalese ñ Dhanapala and Dhanapalan, Navaratna and NavaratnamÖî

Amidst much ridicule, brave Chandi initiated Rukrekaganno (meaning ëthose who guard the treesí), a society to protect trees in Sri Lanka. She is a founder member of the legal arm of Conservation Environmental Foundation Ltd that is comprised of chiefly lawyers. This organisation offers a legal clinic for those seeking advice and legal intervention with problems relating to the environment. She is also a member of numerous other conservation societies like the Soil and Water Conservation Society, Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society, and the Natural History Society.


During Chandiís young schooling years, there were four extraordinary teachers called the ëJayasinghe sistersí who left a notable impression on her and enriched her imagination. She recounts, ìBishopís College had enormous and unusually shaped trees in the vast gardens. These sisters would tell us stories and we would imagine the trees as castles or ships. They also told us that there were fairies living inside the trees. We would use chocolate wrappings to make little containers to keep food for the fairies, and pressed our ears to the tree trunks to hear them. One can certainly hear movements within a tree when you listen closely, but whether they are fairies is not known. But it was all so real for us. Our imagination was awakened. Nowadays children are in a competitive environment, taking notes and studying so much. All their leisure time is spent in going to tuition classes or staring at the television. Where is the time to imagine or fantasise? I feel todayís education system is all wrong.î

Albeit Chandi was always fond of nature, she became truly conscious of its vulnerability because of an assertion made by her colourful aunt Florence. This aunt was great fun and kept her audiences spellbound. However the children were not allowed to listen to her conversations and were generally sent to their rooms after dinner. ìOne evening when I was about nine, we were listening to the adults through the keyholes as usual when I heard those words that I still remember so lucidly. Aunty Florence declared, ëWe have turned the ordinances of nature upside down; we have changed night into day and day into night.í I didnít know what ëordinancesí meant so the next morning I grabbed a dictionary to find out. After much pondering in later years, I began to realise what she meant - humans are exploiting nature and dangerous consequences will result. That statement grew on me and inspired me to become an environmental activist,î she elaborates.

Iranganiís mentor, her English Professor Ludowyke incited her passion for the arts, particularly theatre. He and his wife Edith were a great influence in her life.

Born a Christian, Irangani went on retreats organised by the school in her youth that involved sitting in isolation under a tree to pray, read religious books and reflect. Those retreats had a great effect on her and even today she yearns for periodic solitude which she feels is essential for every human being. When she wishes to be alone, Irangani heads to her rest in the village of Pambahinna in Belihul Oya. However many people in the village cannot comprehend why she would want to be alone and why her house does not face the main road but is instead hidden by trees. After her sonís death, Irangani began following the Buddhist teachings as they helped her to understand life and deal with her immense sorrow.



Chandi has three serious passions that have never left her since childhood ñ Kandyan dancing, elephants and rivers. She reminisces:
ìIn the village, our family celebrated everything with Kandyan dancing, whether it was a marriage or festival or simply visiting relatives, and those dancers would perform zestfully till morning. Iíve been hearing the bera (drums) since I was a baby and whenever I hear it, something happens inside me. I regret that I didnít begin dancing at a younger age and become a dancer but we werenít allowed at that time. Only during my university days did I learn Kandyan dancing at the Chitrasena Found ation.î Her only dance appearance was in Pageant of Lanka, a celebratory show to commemorate the countryís independence, where she danced as Sita to Chitrasenaís Ravana and Vajira was the deer.

The name ëIranganií has no known precise translation in the Sinhala language but incidentally Iravana was a mythical king elephant. ìAs kids, we had elephants at home so I always loved the gentle giants. One in particular was Vasana. Superstition has it that one becomes very brave when they crawl under an elephantís stomach. So one day, in a rather bold and irresponsible act, I carried one of my baby nephews and crept under Vasanaís belly! I thought it would make him courageous. Now I think how dare I do that to someone elseís baby.î

ìThere was a river in front of our family home and on most days my siblings and I would have refreshing river or well baths. We would dance in the nearby paddy fields and end up covered in mud. We would cling on and travel with the rafts that carried goods down river to Kelaniya, which would terrify our aayas (nannies). Those were the joys of life.î



Elephants, leopards and horses
(ìI always wanted to ride a horse into the moonlight.î)
 

Irangani feels strongly that Sri Lankaís growing population is too heavy a burden on our environment. She says, ìThe population has grown out of control. The immense demand on resources especially land and water has led to soil erosion and devastation of flora and fauna, and pollution is now a global issue. When I was young, I used to write in essays that the population of Ceylon was six million. Today it is nearly 20 million. We had so much water at one point that we wanted to export water to India. But we donít have enough for ourselves now. Analysts have predicted that the next war will be one over water.î