Monday, December 7, 2015

'Theru-moody Madam', Point Pedro, Sri Lanka.




'Madam' or 'Ambalam' means a resting house. These were constructed near temples or by the side of highways. The ones by the side of highways gave rest to weary travelers.
There were two 'Madams' in Jaffna which covered the highway and earned the epithet 'Theru-moody' - covering the highhwa in Tamil. One was at Aavarangaal and the other at Point-Pedro. The above picture shows the one at Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka, situated opposite the Sivan Kovil.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

'Well sweep' 'Thulaa' - Tamil, 'Aandiya lindha' - Sinhalese, was seen in almost every well in the Jaffna peninsula, Sri Lanka, in the 1950s.

The well sweep, with the cemented channel to conduct the drawn water to a cement lined tank to contain the water.


Thirsty cattle were welcome to drink the water
The wells were quite deep as the aquifer was found below the limestone rock layer.
The height of the sweep indicated  the depth of the well. There was a saying in Tamil '  Aalakkinathukku neelath thulaa'.
This sweep was in active  use at the 'Sivan Kovil' Point-Pedro in 2012 when I took this photo.

Sri Lankan 'wallker' of the last century, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.


This was the wooden device used to train a child to walk in the 1940s in Ceylon.Any village carpenter could turn this out. This had to be used on sandy soil to give friction to the wheels.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Inside the Victoria Park, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka.



Nuwara Eliya, the cold region of Sri Lanka in the central hills, has two 'seasons'. One is in April and the other is in August. The April season is the bigger one where crowds fleeing from the heat of the rest of the country come in droves to Nuwara Eliya. In April the flowers are in bloom, beer stalls adorn the pavement, pony racing  and golf occupy the daylight hours  and dancing goes on in the hotels till midnight.