Scenes from Kurikaadduvaan to Pannai, Sri Lanka

Palmyra trees bordering a paddy field

A fence made of palmyra stem and leaves

A residence which would have seen better days

Boats

The return from Nagadipa - Nainathivu, Sri Lanka

'Nagapooshani Ammaal' temple, 'Nainathivu' - 'Nagadipa', Sri Lanka.

Entrance to the temple

'Gram-sellers'

Invoking the blessings of the Goddess

The 'Gopuram' as seen from the entry point to the 'Nagadipa Vihare'

This temple is associated with the legend of 'Manimekalai' a Tamil 'Kavya' -epic, claimed to have been written about the Second Century AD. I heard that there was a stone inscription attributed to Parakramabahu the Great, of the line of Sri Lankan Kings.

'Pansal' on a hillock, past Rambaewa, 'Isinbaessa Gala' on the A9 road, Sri Lanka.

'Mihinthale', Sri Lanka.

'Mihinthale', a few Kilometers from the ancient city of Anuradhapura, has a strong religio-historical tradition in Sri Lanka. It was the hillock on which the King Devanampiya Tissa out on a deer hunt, met the son of King Asoka - the Rev. Mahinda. After an oral IQ test which was administered to Tissa and which Tissa passed, he was given instructions in Buddhist philisophy. This happened more than 2000 years ago. This place is a place of pilgrimage to Buddhists in the Island.

The Rev. Mahinda later an 'Arahant'  was born to a lady of the 'Vaisya' (trader) cast, when the young Asoka was the Governor of Ujjain (present Bombay,) during Asoka's fathers reign. Mahinda's mother could never become the Queen, because of the difference in caste. But Asoka the Emperor did not forget his son in Ujjain. When he started his missionary activities he chose his son the now Rev.Mahinda to lead the mission to the distant and famous Isle of Sri Lanka. There he became a legend in the establishment and propagation of Buddhism.

An exhibition of 'drift-wood art', Maligawila, Sri Lanka.

These are some pictures I took of a one-man exhibition of drift-wood art, near the entrance to the Maligawila Monastery Complex at Butthala, Sri Lanka.

'Ahas Gala' -Sky Rock - Sithulpawwa, Sri Lanka.

A rocky mountain visible from Sithulpawwa monastery complex. It is claimed that there are remains of three dagobas on the top of this rock. It had been used as a Buddhist meditation center in ancient times. 

Tissa Wewa, Tissa, Sri Lanka.

The trees on the banks of Tissa Wewa. A grey Heron under a tree foraging.
Click on web link to see a video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EEFA7KMNOc

Birds on the banks of the Chanrikawewa, Sri Lanka.

An intermediate Egret and a Red-wattled Lapwing building their nests on the bank of the Chandrikawewa, Sri Lanka.

Sankapala, Sri Lanka.

'Sankapala' is a Buddhist monastery complex dating back to the Second Century BC. Its boundaries were set by  marking the area where the sound of a blown conch-shell - 'Sankha' S, 'Sanku' T, were heard. This area was donated to the Buddhis Sangha by Pussadewa a warrior of King Dutugemunu. It lies by the main road from Pelmadulla to Embilipitiya. It consists of a collection of rock caves converted as temples and meditation cells. The pictures above show a wall frieze and a statue in the complex.

'Brown Shrike', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

We saw this 'Brown Shrike' - Lanius cristatus - also called the 'Philippine Shrike' at the edge of the Sithawake free trade zone, Avissawella, Sri Lanka. I used a Fujifilm HS20 EXR with a 30X zoom to capture these pictures.

The Kelani Ganga at Aswaththe near Puwakpitiya, Sri Lanka.

People bathing in the river at Aswaththe, Sri Lanka.

Two 'Moon stones' - 'Sandakadapahana' S, Kelaniya Vihare, Sri Lanka.

The stepping stone is quite common at the entrance to quite a few 'vihares' in present day Sri Lanka. The 'Moon-stone' was an object of veneration for the adherents of the 'Mahayana' sects in the early days of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It represented the progressive advancement in the circles of existence till the center of Nirvana was reached. This object of veneration was symbolically degraded as a stone to step on, by the Theravada purists, according to the Mahayanists. But it still survives as an aesthetically pleasing piece of stone sculpture. I saw these two pieces at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara being stepped on, by devotees on the way to the inner sanctum.

Tsunami Memorial, Yala, Sri Lanka.

When a Tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004 on the 26th December it caused severe devastation. A group of Japanese tourists who were camped at this place - Patinagala in Yala were swept away. The photo shows 'Patinagala' - the stony outcrop on the sea-shore. The vertical sail like structures near the foundations of the devastated building, is the memorial erected in memory of the dead. Photo by Queenie V

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Kosgama, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

I took this picture in heavy vegetation close to a house at Kosgama, Sri Lanka.

Tea fields and road past Haputhale on the road to Bandarawela, Sri Lanka.

 

A tea-factory and a planter's bungalow - remnants of British Colonial rule, Haputhale, Sri Lanka.

Scenes at the entrance to the Rest-house, Belihul Oya, Sri Lanka

I picked out these scenes looking straight ahead, looking to the left and looking to the right coming out of the Belihuloya Rest-house. You can see the variety at every turn.

On the Bandarawela - Haputhale road, Sri Lanka.

The distant hills are seen in the background of a tea factory in the morning hours.

Unawatunne beach and glass-bottomed boats, Galle, Sri Lanka.