Dambulla Mudalali's story of humanity

Purse with 5 lakhs inside ....
found from cctv cameras
Dambulla Mudalali hands over money .... to foreigner

     An incident where a purse containing cash was forgotten and left behind by a foreigner at the Pulasthi farmhouse in Dambulla was once again handed to its rightful owner was reported sometime ago. Though this appears to be a normal and simple incident because the aftermath of the incident bears a value of importance great enough to carry a message to the world about the message of humanity of a Sri Lankan. The person was subject to the incident was a Mexican national who had come to this country.

      The Mexican had come to this shop last 10th and had bought a bottle of purified water and a bottle of cool drinks; on turning to go back had  noticed a collection of local coins for sale there and after buying the coins, he had walked away. He had left behind his purse behind bear the counter of the shop ... maybe because he had forgotten it as he it as he was pulling out his bags in the process. Though there were the wife of the owner of the shop and a few workers in the shop; all of them had noticed the purse after the Mexican had left. Because it was a place where local and foreign customers frequent most often, they had been unable to detect as to whom the purse belonged to. They had then left the purse on a side for about 15 minutes and had anticipated whether anybody would come to claim the purse without opening it. However nobody had turned up to collect it.                                                                                  

       Later, the shopowner too had come to the shop and they had opened the purse and found a sum of approximately 5 lakhs of visa cards inside it. They were thus made to understand that the purse that the purse belonged to a Mexican national from the identity card which was there.  On checking the cctv camera in the shop they were able to observe that it was a foreigner who had forgotten his purse and had left it behind in the shop and they were also able to identify the face of the foreigner.  

      As such, the businessman R.B.K. Udaya Kumara and his wife Nilanjani Chanaki decided ... not to keep it for themselves on the sly ... but to find the foreigner somehow or other and hand it over to him. They then took steps to send some workers in the shop to the town with the purpose of locating the foreigner concerned. Since the original incident had taken place around 6.30 in the evening ... they had been unable to locate the foreigner as night had set in by that time.

      Their efforts had been in vain though they had searched till night because the foreigner had disappeared. Udaya Kumara and Chanaki had begun to think of an alternative in the night. What they then thought was that it would be a clever thing to inform the bank where the foreigner had lost it in case he had by some chance thought  of going to the bank.

       The following morning too Mr. Udaya Kumara had taken much effort to track the foreigner ... even to the extent of setting aside his duties at the shop. He had sent 10 workers from his shop to various points for the purpose of finding the foreigner and was awaiting a response of some sort. In the process, they were very happy because of some glad news that a worker happened to bring them.

      The news was that a white man with dishevelled hair was loitering about the town and that he was akin in appearance to the Mexican national they were seeking for. As such, the said worker had approached him and after speaking to him had managed to bring him to the shop.   
     
       It was with great happiness that he identified the purse as belonging to him. It was understood that he was loitering in the town because he had virtually become destitute ... without any money about him.

      After checking the purse thoroughly, he had admitted to the shopowner that all the money that had been in it is intact and that his card too was there. He had then said that he had no reason to fear. Saying so he had gifted the 5 lakhs which was there to Mr. Udaya Kumara.

      The latter of course had refused to accept it saying "no thank you" and had declined to accept it in spite of forcing him. Later he had praised the Shopkeeper and had exclaimed that people of Sri Lanka were so good. He said that he was overjoyed over this and also that he would inform this news to the media of his country.
    
      He had thanked everyone in the shop for having found and given him his purse; before he left. People of the calibre of Udaya Kumara and Chanaki who set an honourable example by this act in not accepting this unlimited sum of money of the white-skinned person and also when they could have easily retained it, also refusing to accept the 5 lakhs  given was certainly a credit given to this country and such people are indeed rare. The couple who carry on a business of ornamental fish and food for fowls named Pulasthi are definitely an asset to the country.