Thantrimale to Karawanella, Sri Lanka.

Road scene Thantrimale.

Eating 'Nongu'  T, 'Thal-thambili' S.

'Ruwanweli Saaya'

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Railway station Polgahawela.

Travelling from the 'Dry Zone' of Sri Lanka to the 'Wet Zone' in June 2014.
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Thantrimale, Sri Lanka.

A water reservoir.

A sapling from the Sacred Bo Tree at Anuradhapura.

Stairways cut in granite.

A view of the statue of Lord Buddha.

'Thantrimale' has a recorded history of more than two thousand years. This word can be broken into two separate words - 'Thanthri ' meaning a war Lord ( compare 'Manthri meaning a civilian administrator) and 'Malai' meaning a mountain.

1. It was the place where the procession carrying the branch of the Sacred Bo Tree from Gaya, India, brought by the Ven.Theri Sangamitta, in the Second Century BC, had a nights rest, before proceeding to Anuradhapura to its present site.

2. It was the place where Prince Saliya, the son of King Dutugemunu, found refuge after he married Asoka Mala, the beauty from a lower caste, against the wishes of his father. The Monk here is said to have acted as a peace maker between Prince Saliya and his angry father the King.

3. The artisans, who worked the statues in stone found here of Lord Buddha, fled during foreign invasions. They settled down in various parts of the Island like Polonnoruwa, Aukana, and Maligawila. Their descendants inherited their craftsmanship in stone and subsequently created the masterpieces that we see and admire today.

Pesalai to Thantrimale by road, Sri Lanka.

A house near Pesalai.

Water in the 'Giants Tank', Murungan.

A railway bridge near Cheddikulam.

Railway line from Madhawachchy to Mannar.

Flower sellers at the entrance to the Thantrrimale complex.

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Thirukketheeswaram to Pesalai, a road journey, June 2014.

Entrance to the Thirukketheeswaram temple. 

The Dutch Fort, Mannar.

Old wood-burning light house, Pesalai.

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Jaffna to Thirukketheeswaram a road trip via Poonekary, June 2014, Sri Lanka.

It took from 9.05 am to 11.15am with a five minute stop. It was a beautiful drive.
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http://1960medicalbatchcolombo.blogspot.com/2014/07/jaffna-to-thirukketheeswaram-via.html

Vallipura Aalvaar temple, Point- Pedro, Sri Lanka.

Road from Nagar Kovil to Vallipuram temple.

The 'Gopuram' of the Vallipuram AalvaarTemple.

Mechanised drum and bells of the temple.

Steps leading to the 'Ther' - chariot of the temple.

One of the few temples of Lord Vishnu in the Jaffna peninsula, this temple has a history of more than 2000 years when a legendary city and sea-port was situated here. The famous 'Vallipuram gold plate' - a gold plate containing sanskrit mahayana Buddhist inscriptions was found here. It is a very active center of worship drawing thousands of devotees during its festive season.

Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

The new building replacing the old market.

Road of the round-about surrounding the market.

Another side of the market. looking from the 'Odaikkarai' side.

The old Light-house at Munaiady.

Gnanams Hotel, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Road in front of the Gnanams Hotel.

Brass-ware at the reception.

A garlanded brass 'Nandhi' - the 'vaahanam' of Lord Shiva.

'Nirai kudam'  with a pair of 'Kuththu villakus' and a tray containing 'panneer' and 'sandanam'.

The traditional articles made use of to greet an honoured guest in the Tamil household are in the last photo.

Scenes of Jaffna Town, Sri Lanka.

Sights of Jaffna Town, Sri Lanka.

The old part of the General Hospital, Jaffna.

'Muththavely'.

The repaired section of the Fort ramparts.

Sunrise seen from 'Muththavely'.

Manalkaadu and Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

House destroyed by the Tsunami, Manalkaadu.

A sunset at Jaffna.

A street in Jaffna town.

Near the bus-stand, Jaffna.

The beach at 'Uppumaal', Thondamannaru, Sri Lanka.

Dr.Vignaraja and his two Australian friends Peter and David taking a swim.

An abandoned, holed. fibre-glass boat.

The sandy beach.

' Uppumaal' got its name from the 'salterns' at this site from the 1940s. Salt was brought here from Karanavai by bullock carts and lorries. It was heaped in longish pyramidal mounds and was redistributed. Some of the salt was sent via 'vallams' (largish sail boats) to India.
This beach is notorious for its currents. The deceptively calm water has taken many lives.