A visit to Wedagama off Pugoda, Sri Lanka.

President Premadasa during his tenure of office as President of Sri Lanka, created a village off Pugoda and named it Wedagama. He built 25 houses with a well for each house and settled 25 'Vedaralas' (Ayurvedic Physicians) practicing in various specialties, in each of these houses. He specified that these houses could not be sold. The above pictures show four of these houses.

The inside workings of a 'Wesak Thorana', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

A 'Wesak Thorana' is a huge bill-board depicting one birth story of Lord Buddha - A 'Jaathaka' tale. It takes almost an year in preparing. The various stages in the tale are depicted as serially numbered painted pictures. The most important part however is the lighting up of the 'Thorana'. A large drum with interrupted copper strips and contacts is driven by an electric motor. This controls the lighting up of the various bulbs.

Please click on the web-link below to watch the lighting on the Thorana:-

https://youtu.be/j9HQb6hrxB8

Plastic ballons for sale near a Wesak 'Thorana', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

It is a long way from the single-colored rubber balloons of the 1950s and earliier.

House of the mid 20th Century, Aandiambalama, on the Colombo - Rathnapura road, Sri Lanka.

Across the old Kelani Valley railway line, the architectural style of the last days of British Colonial rule in Ceylon can be seen in quite a few old buildings in this area.

Scenes on the Southern Expressway, Sri Lanka.

Parking lot of the cafeteria for the travelers.

A 'Pansala' on a hill.