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NILGALA FRONTIER – by Ranil Bibile NILGALA, where Raja Singha, Lord of the Tun Sinhala, vanquished the man-eating crocodile, was a dead end. ONCE, many years ago, whilst exploring this roadless terrain on foot, I came across the remnants of an ancient hewn-stone fortress. It was situated on a rocky rising rib of land between the roaring river and the brooding peaks of Ulhela and Berayahela, and half buried amidst the tumbling boulders and man-high mana grass of this place. I had just begun to investigate the crumbling battlements when a herd of elephants approached me, forcing me to retreat towards the waterspread of the Senanayaka Samudra. Though I longed for years afterwards to return to this remote ruin, to touch the stones once again and feel them come alive with the history they must have known, it was not to be. As the years went by, I passed oft ...