Saturday, September 23, 2017

Life in Ceylon 1850s



‘Royal Mail Coaches took passengers in ten or eleven hours to Kandy or Galla from Colombo, and an ordinary Mail Coach from Colombo to Negombo in three hours. The fare to Kandy or Galle was '£2'. 10. 0, and to Negombo12 Shillings. A single horse Mail Coach ran botween Kurunagala to and Ambepussa, charging 15 shillings' for each passenger. English mails-were brought to Galle by steamers which arrived twice in each month. The postage on letters was a penny per half ounce, and on newspapers a half penny. No limit of weight is set for newspapers, and obviously no limit was needed, as none of them was as large as our newspapers are now. lt is interesting to note that even in 1859, the Inland Tappal rates of postage were extended to India. But it took 18 days for a letter to reach Calcutta, 15 days to Bombay, and 7 days for Madras. A letter to England via Southampton cost sixpence per half ounce; via Marseilles 9d. per quarter ounce, and a shilling per half ounce. There. was Telegraph communication between Ceylon and India. The Inland charges were according to distances, two shillings for a " single distance." A single distance was taken as 100 miles or any distance less’,
http://thedutchburgherunion.org/journals/vol_21_%2060/JDBU%20Vol%2024%20No%201%20-%201934(1).pdf

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Life in the 1950s in Sri Lanka.

Photos taken with a box camera in the 1950s. Village children of Handapangoda, Wellawaya, at a school sports meet in Wellawaya, touring the Island on Vespa scooters and 'Mini skirt' fashion in Puwakpitiya, Sri Lanka.
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Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Artisans' work at the 'Dalada Maligawa', Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Decorated pillars, Dalada Maligawa, Kandy, Sri Lanka. The work of artisans residing in the Kandyan Kingdom. 1. 'Naari-latha' - A mythological creeper supposed to grow in the Himalayas.The flowers from this creeper depict all the beauty and allure of a damsel. They are supposed to draw away the men who perform 'Tapas' in the Himalayas, by their beauty.
2. 'Et-kanda-lihiniya - A mythological bird said to be capable of carrying off an elephant and eating it.
3. 'Simha' - A lion
4. ? Boar.
5. ? Lotus.
6 & 7 'Inverted Lotus' on the top of pillars







Saturday, September 16, 2017

The 'Dalada Maligawa', Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The Temple of Tooth at kandy is the final location of the sacred tooth of the lord Buddha which was brought to srilanka during the reign of king “keerthi sri Megawarna” by prince “Dantha” and Princess “Hemamala” from the kindom of kalingu India. It became the palladium of srilankan kings and was preciously guarded in a special shrine built within precincts of royal palace where the capital was located.
The Temple of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, sri dalada Maligawa is in the centre of the city, the highest venerated religious place with steeped in cultural heritage attracting the highest respect of the Buddhists as well as the other religions all over the world. The beautiful magnificent temple was built by late king Vimaladharmasooriya 1st in 1592 AD.
The Relic Shrine is approached by a large draw-bridge over the moat and through a beautifully decorated frontispiece. A tunnel” ambarawa”, leads to the main shrine complex, having a central courtyard surrounded by storied structures.
The two-storied open pillared hall in front constitutes the area where visitors and devotees gather. The lower hall has its central part set apart for the beating of drums and other forms of traditional music performed during ritual service hours. On either side are the Pallemale Vihara constructed by king Kirti Sri Rajasimha and the Octagon (Pattirippuva) built by the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasimha on one side and the small “stupa” supposed to contain the Bowl Relic of the Buddha on the other. The storied structures to the right and left of the shrine, constitute the residence quarters of the monks engaged during daily service (Tevava), the conference hall, the Library and the Office of the Diyawadana Nilame.The recognition of the sacred temple it has been declared kandy as a world heritage city by UNESCO. Ven.Monks of the two chapters of Malwattu and Asgiriya conduct daily worships in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performing 3 times daily at dawn, at noon and in the evening. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the sacred relic with an herbal preparation from scented water and fragrant flowers called “Nanumura Mangalya”.
This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and it is distributed among those present.
I took these photos of the varied facets of this temple complex.
http://sridaladamaligawa.lk/Sri-Dalada-Maligawa




Thursday, September 14, 2017

Sigiriya, water garden, Versailles water garden, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Sri Lanka.

This photo was taken by me using a small Nikon Coolpix film camera a few years back. The photo was taken from the 'mirror wall' parapet. Two claims are made for Sigiriya.
1.That it inspired the architect of the French Versailles water  garden, who may have visited this site.
2.That the inspiration for the scene in Hamlet by Shakespeare, where the wood invaded the fortress, had its origin in the story of the defeat of King Kashyappa. It is claimed that Robert Knox carried the story to England.
A good account of the water garden at Sigiriya is given in the web-link below :-
http://panique.com.au/s…/sigiriya-gardens-ponds-palaces.html