Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Waiting to join a 'Ther' festival at the 'Paththini' temple, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

A 'Ther' festival in any Hindu temple draws a crowd of well dressed devotees. I took this picture of devotees waiting, for the procession to start from the 'Paththini' temple at Avissawella. You can see in the picture a devotee carrying a 'nirai kudam' ('pun kalasa'-S).

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Worshippers at a village 'Pansala' on full moon day (5/8/2009), Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

In the village 'Pansalas' of Sri Lanka, full moon Poya days have a large attendance of devotees. The last Poya was a special occassion. I took this picture at a Pansala in Avissawella.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Sunset over the Kelany Ganga at Hanwella, Sri Lanka.

The gently flowing Kelany Ganga at sunset, is the theme of this photo which I took at Hanwella. It is a peaceful scene, which produced tranquility for the mind. The Kelany Ganga was one of  the means of transport from Colombo into the interior of Sri Lanka, upto the late 19th century. The route to the Kandyan Kingdom was by boat upto Kosgama and then by land via Karawanella. Timber was tied together as logs and was transported via the Kelany Ganga from its upper reaches, to the timber mills lining the banks of the river at Sedawaththe, in the outskirts of Colombo. The Portuguese built a fort at Hanwella to control this traffic. The Dutch enlarged the fort. The remains of this fort now houses the Rest-House at Hanwella.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Earning a living, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Just outside a flower show at the Vihara Maha Dewi Park in Colombo, I saw this mother and children. They were sealing naphthalene balls, into small plastic bags. There were about 10 naphthalene balls sealed in each plastic pack. The sealing of the plastic pack was done using the flame of a candle. They sold the produced item at Rs.20/- for each pack. The mother was surrounded by her two daughters and an elder son, who was helping her in sealing the packs.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Wesak lantern, Kosgama, Sri Lanka

I took this photo of a home made wesak lantern during the last Wesak celebrations. It was made by a youngster of Kosgama.