To all the readers of this blog,

We wish you a

Happy and Prosperous

New Year 2013.

Scenes past Puliyangkulam - A9 Highway, Sri Lanka.

New construction

Old Hindu temple.

Advertisement board by the side of the Highway.

The Highway awaiting 'carpeting'.

Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYAWDEg0D94

A9 Highway, Omanthai to Puliyangkulam, Sri Lanka.

Paddy field near Omanthai.

A Hindu temple being restored.

Zonal Education Office, Puliyangkulam.

Work progressing on the railway line.

Railway line paralleling the A9 highway - Vavuniya to Puliyankulam, Sri Lanka.

Vavuniya, A9 Highway, Sri Lanka.

The Vavuniya Government Hospital

Petrol shed

On the road to Puliyangkulam 

Vavuniya caters to all of a farmers needs. There are sales points for all the farm implements. There is no necessity to go to Colombo to buy even a tractor or car.

On the A9 highway, from Medawachchiya to Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.

A beautiful drive. Do not go too fast even though you may be tempted. There are stray cattle on the road and the Policed are strict about speeding. Enjoy the scenery.

A9 Highway, Rambewa to Medawachchya, Sri Lanka.

The road from Mihinthale to Rambewa is being attended to.

Entrance to Medawachchya

Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9HUdSUclTw

Jim Reeves - Golden oldies

Two beautiful 'Golden Oldies' of the 1960s. Listen to them and travel down memory lane. Click on each web-link and keep your loudspeakers high.

Silver bells:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stEjTFMb940&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I love you because:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nECoA-uVGfw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Highway from Talawa to Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Section of highway nearing completion.

Video:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhY0qDuRufY&list=UU1dqepitfAJwrQWLD-gZ3NA&index=1

Padeniya to Galgamuwa on the road to Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81oc-0QYfVA&list=UU1dqepitfAJwrQWLD-gZ3NA&index=2

Lush greenery greets the traveller on the highway to the historic city of Anuradhapura which has been a city more than 2000 years ago.

The Little Drummer Boy, Merry Christmas 2012

Hello,

A Merry Christmas. Please click on the web-link below:-

http://1960medicalbatchcolombo.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-little-drummer-boy-merry-christmas.html

-- 
Philip Veersingam

Highways around Wariyapola, Sri Lanka.

A quiet revolution in building a road system is taking place in present Sri Lanka, as you can see in these pictures I took on a recent trip.

Highway from Kurunegala to Wariyapola, Sri Lanka.

A well laid out highway from Kurunegala to Wariyapola leading to Anuradhapura or Puttalam. Two scenes from this highway are shown in the photos.

Roadside waterfall and a tall tree, Karawanella - Ginigathena road, Sri Lanka.

A roadside waterfall where the adjacent villagers and the travellers take a bath.

A tall tree with a wide base.

Gloriosa superba, Diyabubula, Rathnapura, Sri Lanka.

'Niyangala' - Sinhalese, 'Kandal' - Tamil, a plant bearing poisinous fruits. The flower looks glorious and is superb to look at.

Panning for gold at Pugoda, Gampaha, on the banks of the Kelani Ganga, Sri Lanka.

Panning for gold from the sands of the banks of the Kelany Ganga, has become a past time for some.

Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Q2Kh6OlkI&list=UU1dqepitfAJwrQWLD-gZ3NA&index=3

Ferry crossing at Amithirigala across the Kelany Ganga, Sri Lanka.

Ferry-crossing from Amithirigala in the Gampaha District to Aswaththe in Avissawella. This ferry operates regularly but stops when the river is flooded by rains.
Video    -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXe7SWDywYs

'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.