Art exhibition, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The 'balance'.

A leopard.

Figure made out of 'papier mache'

'Female' figure out of 'papier mache'.

 Art by Mr. Kingsley Perera, Kudagama road, Avissawella.

Tales of an Enchanted Boyhood' - New publication

Expected publication by April 2014.

Will follow up with a final notice on the public release of the book.
If you have read the earlier two publications by the same author this would be
 a good addition to your library.
Philip G V.

'Dolos-maha pahan pooja', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The statue of Lord Buddha, near the entrance of the Seethawaka Urban council, Avissawella.

The donated 'Dolos maha pahana' in its glass covering. 

Mr. Wimalasena lighting the lamp.

Lighting the lamp.

The donors of the lamp.

A lamp built of brass and made to accept donations of coconut oil by devotees and which is meant to be lighted for all twelve months of the year is called a 'Dolos maha pahana'. In the days when there was no electricity it was a boon to devotees as it lighted the place of worship. One of the older historical ones in Sri Lanka is on the top of 'Sri Pada' - 'Sivanoli paadha malai' - 'Adam's Peak'. Devotees carry a bottle of coconut oil all the way up to the top of the Peak to pour into this lamp.
Donation of this type of lamp is done by Buddhists in present Sri Lanka to earn 'merit' in their life-time.
The above photos are from one such ceremony in Avissawella. 

Paintings and Papier mache figures, Kingsley Perera, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Laughter.

Children laughing, Gurubevilagama, Alupola, Rathnapura, Sri Lanka.

Click on the web-link below:-

http://youtu.be/--XkNwtR2dw

Paintings by Mr. Kingsley Perera, Kudagama road, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'Mother and child'.

'The dancer'

Paintings, Art Exhibition, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'The spiders web'

'Beauty of form'

Paintings by Mr. Kingsley Perera of Kudagama road, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Paintings, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'A cock-bird, male in all it's beauty'.

'Masks'

Artist - Mr.Kingsley Perera - of Kudagama road, Sri Lanka.
Video stills of the Art Exhibition by Mr. Kingsley Perera:-

http://youtu.be/dRt1UYUoKjY

Two works of art at an exhibition, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'Tagore'.

A bullock cart by the side of a lake.

An artist, Mr.Kingsley Perera, put up an exhibition of his creations at the Hindu Cultural Center at Kudagama road, Avissawella. The above are photos of two of his creations.

Excerpt from 'Diversions of a Diplomat' By Philip Crowe.

The above book was published in 1956. Mr.Philip Crowe took up duties as American Ambassador to Ceylon in 1953 when Lord Soulbury was the Governor General.It is a very interesting read and the book should be owned by any student of Ceylon History of the 1950s. Below is a short and succinct history of Ceylon from Greek times as given by the author of the above book:-

'...In early historical times, Ceylon was well known to

the Mediterranean world. Megasthenes, Greek Ambas-

sador to the court of the Hindu Chandragupta, who ruled

three centuries before Christ, had heard of the Island and

called it Palaeogoni. In the reign of the Roman Emperor

Claudius (A.D. 41-54), a King of Ceylon sent an embassy

to Rome, and in the second century A.D. Ptolemy, the

astronomer and geographer, engraved his famous map of

Taprobane, as Ceylon was later known. There is reason

to believe that one of the coastal cities of the Island was the

fabled Tarshish with which Solomon used to trade. Coins

of all these countries have been dug up in Ceylon and there

are today many descendants of the Moorish traders who

came in the ninth century.

However, it was not until the early days of the sixteenth

century that Europeans again took an active interest in

Ceylon. On November 15, 1505, the Portuguese Admiral

Dom Louren9o de Almeida landed at Colombo and carved

his nation's arms on the first available rock. His arrival

caused vast admiration and much fear among the inhabit-

ants. According to the Rajavaliya^ the people reported to

King Vira Parakrama Bahu VIII that 'a race of people

with fair skin and comely withal have come. They don

iron jackets and hats of iron ; they eat hunks of stone

(probably hard bread) and drink blood (undoubtedly red

wine) ; they give gold and silver for one fish or a lime.'

Later, the Portuguese envoys called on the king and, having

been promised a tribute of cinnamon, took the king under

Portuguese 'protection'. This was the first move in a

series of alliances, intrigues and wars that were to make

Portugal the dominant power in the Island for the next

one hundred and fifty years...'

'Green-leaf monkeys', Sithulpawwa, Sri Lanka.

They are wild but come to collect food from pilgrims. They can get aggressive if teased.

Children at play, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

A Doberman & child - very gentle with the child.

Playing at being 'Driver' of a three-wheeler.

Haththakuchchi and Sigiriya, Sri Lanka.

The balanced rock at Haththakuchchi near Yapahuwa, Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya in the 1980s.

Toys of the 1940/50s, Sri Lanka.

A wooden toy cart.

'Nadai-vandil' T - Walking trainer for a toddler made of wood.

What a ride a dried arecanut leaf frond gave us on mother earth.  

Hosehold items 1950s, Sri Lanka.

'Mookkupperny' T-'Tin vessel with a nose' - used extensively in the North of Sri Lanka in the 1940's. It was made of brass. The contents were poured into a mouth with the head thrown back. Contamination of the vessel by 'echchil' T, 'Kela' S - spittle was thus avoided.

Pestle and mortar and Grind stones made of granite used in house-holds in the 1950s in Sri Lanka.

Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, sights.

Entrance to the old Dutch Fort.

A cannon at the Fort entrance.

At eventide.

The old 'Kallady' bridge.

Interior of 'Talduwa Manor', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Web: www.malwatte.lk, Hot Line 0722 21 21 69.

'Thalduwa Manor', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

 A holiday home near Thalduwa, Avissawella. An old planters bungalow converted to accommodate visitors.
Web: www.malwatte.lk, Hot Line 0722 21 21 69.

New suspension bridge crossing the Seethawaka Oya, at Thimbiripola, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The Seethawaka Oya during the dry season.

A ferry point replaced by a suspension bridge nearly two years ago.