A band - 'The backfires', Panawala, Sri Lanka.

Quite a few professional bands are available throughout present Sri Lanka. They are hired for weddings, parties, concerts etc. Their fees vary the top ones earning around Rs. 100,000/- rupees for a six hour performance. The repertoire of songs include Sinhalese, Tamil, Hindi and Western pops.

A village well, Puwakpitiya, Sri Lanka.

Two views of Bolgoda Lake from Kahapola, Sri Lanka.

One could take a boat from here and go across to Panadura.

View across the Beira Lake, Slave Island, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

'Beira' a name given by the Portuguese to this stretch of water surrounding their Fort in Colombo. 

A bird's nest built on an empty electric bulb socket, Puwakpitiya, Sri Lanka.

Safety from predators seems to be the first priority in building nests. The Garden Lizard and The Rat snake make a meal of the eggs and the Coucal bird waits till the young chicks are about to fly and gobbles them up. All these have to be guarded against when building a nest.

Fire-wood, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

This is a regular sight on the Kudagama road, leading to the Avissawella Free Trade Zone. About 20 Lorries of firewood arrive daily from various parts of the Island to feed the furnaces of a factory in the Free Trade Zone. On inquiry I was told that firewood was cheaper than Furnace oil.

Chillie plant, Home garden, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The Chillie plant was native to South America. It was brought to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese in the 16th century AD. Even now a pungent variety of this plant is called 'Kochchi miris' in Sinhalese and 'Kochchikkkai' in Tamil. This recalls the time when it was brought from Cochin, South India a former Portuguese enclave.
Black pepper which was exported from Sri Lanka for more than 2000 years was native to Sri Lanka and is called 'Gammiris'  - Gamey miris - in Sinhalese meaning the local variety.
Chillie has 'capsicaine' and is used in ointments as a counter irritant, to relieve pain.