'Plaa' to drink toddy and wooden 'clogs' with nails. Photos sent by Dr.Susiri Weerasekara.

The traditional way of drinking 'toddy' - the fermented sap from the Palmyra tree - in Jaffna, was in a container made from dried  Palmyra leaves. This was called a 'Plaa'. This was usually done under palmyra trees where freshly harvested toddy could be enjoyed. This picture shows a customer enjoying his drink of the day.

In the 1940s to 1960s 'clogs' - wooden shoes - most probably introduced by the Dutch were in common use throughout Ceylon. I recall using these to go to the toilets in the school hostels in the 1940s. The ones I used had a leather strap in front in place of the wooden peg seen in the picture. Self immolation - to burn away past sins - was part of Saiva beleif in the Indian sub-continent. Thus piercing of the skin of the back of the chest with hooks and carrying a 'Kaavady'' - 'kaavu thady' - was and is a part of the religious tradition in Jaffna .  In another act of self-immolation, nails were inserted as seen in the picture on the wooden clogs, and the penitent would walk on these clogs from one temple to another a few Kilometers away. This was part of 'fulfilling a vow' made to Lord Murugan or Goddess Paththini. The vow was taken to ward off a predicted future disaster in ones life, or having minimized the effects of a past 'bad-time' or 'apala'.

'Perahera', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Fire-ball dancers

Female devotees carrying lighted candles

'Twisting canes' dance

A baby elephant in the 'Perahera'

A 'Perahera' wending its way at night along Kudagama road, Avissawella.

Video:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgKgv0NeR0&list=UU1dqepitfAJwrQWLD-gZ3NA&index=1

Blooms on the plants for sale at The Waters Edge, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

One has to witness the variety of shapes and sizes of flowers at this popular sales point.

Waters Edge, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Xerophytes for the home garden.

Baked earthen ware to decorate the home.

Roses, Waters Edge, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 The variety of rose plants for sale at the flower sales point, Waters Edge, Colombo is fantastic. I took these photos of a few available there. Some exotic ones go as high as Rs.2500/= for each plant.
A poem I recall of student days which was true physically and metaphorically speaking is worth reciting.

'Fairest things have fleetiest ends,

Their scent survives them close,

But the rose's scent is bitterness,

To him that loved a rose'.

Skoda convertible of the 1950s, manufactured in Czechoslavia, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The signal levers can be seen recessed as a black vertical stripe in front of the rear hinged doors

The rear closed luggage space.

The 'pull-up' glass windows on the doors and the split wind-screen are items to be noted.

Skoda of Czechoslovakia was a well recognized automobile brand before the Second World war. They served the interests of Hitler's army. They made a recovery after the war and produced some good autos and were imported into Ceylon of the post-war years. I saw this at an exhibit at the BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was advertised for use at weddings.

Starter-handle injury to the wrist.

The owner of the car seen in the photo. The car originally belonged to his father and was registered in Ceylon in 1931. As a youngster he had hand-cranked the engine, using the starter handle shown in place in the lowest photo, against the advice of his father. The engine back-fired and he ended up with a (Smith's) fracture of his right wrist.