Cricket match

An inter-school cricket match between two girls' cricket teams at the Janadipathy Vidyalaya, Avissawella, Sri Lanka. Cricket is very popular in Sri Lanka now.

Two roses

I took these pictures in our garden at Avissawella, yesterday around 5pm after a gentle shower of rain. The sky was cloudy throughout the day and the colours of the flowers have not been scorched by the sun.

? Tickell's blue fly-catcher.

I saw this bird a bit outstanding because of its blue color in the surrounding green foliage. I took this picture on my Fuji Finepix S1500 with a zoom of X12 - hand held shot around 1pm. at Kosgama, Sri Lanka.

Lawn on the left side of the Dalada Maligawa, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

View from the bridge at Karawanella.

The view from the bridge at Karawanella, Sri Lanka is a beautiful sight. Elephants are brought by their mahouts to this place at noon to be given a scrub-down and a bath. On a clear day Adam's peak is visible and on a clear night one can get a view of the lights along the pilgrims path to Adam's peak. I took this picture a few days back.

Inside the 'Dalada Maligawa'.

The curtained area of the ground floor above which the chamber containing the Sacred Tooth Relic is enshrined at Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Old Court premises, Kandy.

Just behind the 'Audiance Hall' in the old Palace in Kandy is the old Court building. The Magistrate's Courts was held here for a long time till it was shifted out to the New Courts Complex on the new Gopallawa Mawathe, close to Getambe..

Cat-nap

On a cold sunny morning in Nawalapitiya, I saw this cat having a nap on a scooter parked outside a bakery. The scooter and cat appeared to belong to the owner of the bakery.

Raja of Dala Maligawa fame.

'Raja' the Dalada Maligawa tusker was captured in Eravur, in the East of Sri Lanka, by a Muslim ,'Meera Lebbey Panikkaththaan', in the 1920s. He was given to the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy. He ran away to the 'Pankkaththaan's' home in Eravur after a few days but was brought back. Raja had the honour of carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha till 1985 when he died. The Rs.1000/- currency note of Sri Lanka, had a picture of Raja and the 'Panikkaththaan. The dead Raja was stuffed after curing and is on display in a special room at the Dalada Maligawa. I took a piucture of this a few days back. The second picture shows in a smaller scale, the adornments worn by Raja during the Dalada Perahera, when he carried a replica of the Tooth Relic.

Getambe, Sri Lanka.

The terrace bordering the Mahawely Ganga, adjoining the Royal Botanical Gardens, at Getambe Pansala, Kandy. This place attracts crowds of visitors on Full Moon days. It is a very scenic site.

Black-rumped flameback wood-pecker

I spotted this beautiful bird going up and down the trunk of a pinus tree picking up larvae. I saw this at Nawalapitiya Sri Lanka. It was about 150 meters away and I had to use a maximum zoom of 20X on my Fuji Finepix S1500.

Sri Lankan Paradise Flycatcher

I took this picture of a 'Sri Lankan Paradise Flycatcher' in our garden at Avissawella, Sri Lanka, yesterday. This is a male and has a long tail which trails beautifully, during flight. The female has not got a long tail. It has the Sinhalese name 'Siwuru hora' meaning one who steals the ochre colored robes of Buddhist monks. They have a propensity to carry bright coloured clothing to build their nests.
There is an all white variety, which is called the 'Asian Paradise Flycatcher'.

The dentures

My elder Grand-son had a toy windup set of plastic teeth, bought while in the UK. He had lost it. He wanted a replacement. We searched high and low in the toy shops in Sri Lanka to no avail. My wife had a coronary by-pass. When she was recovering, my grand-son who knew that she was wearing dentures, told her that if she passed away, that he wanted her dentures. Eventually came Christmas and he wrote a letter to Santa Claus where he mentioned the dentures. Ultimately his 'Baappa' and 'Punchi' got this for him for Christmas. You can see him proudly holding the dentures in his hands last Christmas day.