Birds spotted at Sorabora Wewa, Sri Lanka.

Pelican

Indian Pond Heron

I spotted these birds within ten minutes of ascending the bund of the Sorabora Wewa. It is indeed a bird-watchers paradise.
Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=219Iy0dYWjI

Sorabora Wewa, Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka

The water channel

On the bund of the Wewa.

On the bund.

The wewa in the morning.

More than 2000 years of history is breath-taking especially when you see it still functioning and feeding the paddy fields to feed a nation. What beauty and serenity at this site which spans the centuries!

Sorabora Wewa legends, Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka.

The village adjoining the bund of the reservoir.

A hearth outside a tea boutique.

The water channel leading water from the reservoir to the paddy fields.

A villager living here is supposed to have brought Queen Vihara Maha Dewi, the mother of King Dutugemunu - who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC - , and surprised her by showing her this water reservoir which he claimed to have built single handed. The Queen had come on a visit to Mahiyangana. So many legends surround the building of this reservoir which fed a large area of paddy fields in Mahiyangana.

Scenes from Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka.

A lake in front of the Chaithya.

A statue of Lord Buddha.

A sales van for Lumala bicycles.

Mahiyangana with its surrounding green paddy fields, is changing fast. Here are a few photos I took in October 2012.
Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiTTLZ5-hDI

The bed of the Mahawely Ganga, Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka.

A view of the distant hills from the river bed.

The river bed of the Mahawely.

Looking upstream.

The waters of the mighty Mahawely Ganga have been partially tamed. I took these pictures during the dry season. A vast area of sand covers about 6o% of the river bed. All the retained water is being used in irrigation and power generation. What a stupendous task has been achieved during our living memory. The green paddy fields in Mahiyangana during a severe drought in the country stands as testimony to this massive undertaking by successive governments.

Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BENdWIdFhJ4

Dawn at Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka.

Dawn at Mahiyangana.

Mahout is greeted by the elephant at dawn.

The Mahout arrives at dawn and interacts with the elephant before going out to do its days work and a bath in the Mahawely Ganga.
Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqhN52IzghA

'Kapruka Pooja', Mahiyangana Chaithya, Sri Lanka.

The Chaithya.

Carrying the stitched cloth aloft

Surrounding the Chaithya with the cloth.

The completed effort.

A 'Kapruka Pooja' - Wish fulfilling pooja - is made by surrounding the sacred Chaithya with a string of Buddhist flags stitched lengthwise. The Chaithya at Mahiyanga is said to contain the hair relic and a neck bone of Lord Buddha.
Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Gmwhl4h8M