21
Apr
Blood Teardrop
On 21 April coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka took hundreds of lives. Known by two lovely nicknames ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and ‘Teardrop of India’, the country with ancient history and culture faces an unimaginable tragedy that has struck not only Sri Lanka but the entire world community.
As representatives of the Georgian nation, the British and American Studies Institute staff members express their solidarity and condolence to the people of Sri Lanka. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims from different countries who lost lives in the bombings, and their relatives and friends who have faced such a shock and pain on Easter Sunday. Let us say ‘rest in eternal peace’ to the people who have gone. May God’s comfort and peace cover all those who grieve and suffer great loss right now. And let us all be strong in faith.
This small island is noted for its incredible natural beauty, extraordinary biodiversity, precious gemstones, and famous tea plantations. It should never become a symbol of a terrorist attack. Therefore, BRAMS Institute decided to take a brief history trip through the best of Sri Lankan culture and past. The photos vividly present the peaceful daily life on the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ that the world must assist the Sri Lankan people to regain.
A 7-hour train ride from Ella to Kandy, or the other way round, takes passengers through marvellous landscapes of lush tea plantations and jade green mountain ranges. Ranked as one of the most scenic trips in the world, the Ella train journey in Sri Lanka is similarly popular among locals and tourists as it is the most comfortable and affordable way to explore every bit of the pearl-shaped island.
Legendary tradition identifies Sigiriya as the Alakamandawa (City of the Gods) built up 50 centuries ago by King Kubera. Declared by UNESCO as the eighth wonder of the world, it is listed as a World Heritage Site. Also known under the name of Sinhagiri or the Lion Rock, the nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high ancient fortress derives its name from a massive lion gateway, which is curved on a small plateau about halfway up the side of the rock. The Gardens of the Sigiriya city are among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. They are divided into three areas: water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.
According to the Sri Lankan chronicle the Culavamsa, King Kasyapa (477-495 AD) appointed this site for his new capital city and built a new palace on top of the rock, decorating it with colourful frescoes, most of them lost forever. Soon after the king died the royal palace was abandoned and later it served as a Buddhist monastery till the 14th century.
Anuradhapura is a major city of Sri Lanka and, also, one of the first capitals from the 4th century BC until the beginning of the 11th century AD, famous for its well-preserved ancient buildings and ruins, which collectively make Anuradhapura World Heritage Site.
To name the few, the oldest capital city homes the oldest in Sri Lanka if not the world Thuparama Dagoba constructed by King Devanampiya Tissa in the 3rd century BC, also built in the 3rd century BC Jetavanarama Dagoba (the 3rd tallest building in the world after the two great pyramids of Giza, Egypt), the 1st century BC monastery Abhayagiri Dagoba (‘Hill of Protection’), the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world Sri Maha Bodhi (the sacred bodhi tree), Isurumuniya Vihara (dated from around 300 BC) around a lotus pond, the bathing pools of Kuttam Pokuna (the most significant achievements in hydrological engineering of the ancient Sinhalese), the Mirisawetiya Stupa built in the 2nd century BC by King Dutugamunu in the place where the Buddha relics in the sceptre stood unmovable, and many others.
Sri Lanka’s magnificent medieval capital city of Polonnaruwa was established in the 11th century AD to replace Anuradhapura, the first capital of Sri Lanka, which was invaded and robbed by the armies from South India in 993.
The Polonnaruwa Vatadage (Circular House of a Relic) is an ancient structure built as a special shrine for keeping either the Relic of the Buddha's tooth (the 12th century during the reign of King Parakramabahu I) or the alms bowl used by the Buddha (during the reign of King Nissanka Malla). Either of these relics would have made the shrine one of the most worshipped places in the ancient times of Sri Lanka. After the invasion from South India in 1215, the Polonnaruwa Vatadage has been abandoned for few centuries with the fall of the kingdom until 1903 when the Department of Archeology started excavation works at the site.
The Library Monastery (locally known as Potgul Vehera or Pothgul Viharaya) is situated outside the Royal Garden of Nandana Uyana. A circular shrine used to be a library where the sacred books were laid on display. Four small dagobas surround the principal monument.
The 12th century Palace of King Parakramabahu was a lavishly decorated, seven-storied building with thousand rooms and a drainage system. Remains of the walls still impress with their thickness (over one meter) and give a clear idea of the actual size of the palace before it was destroyed by fire during the invasions.
Polonnaruwa attracted increased international attention when the Disney documentary Monkey Kingdom (directors – Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill) was released in April 2015. The film set was based around the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
Moonstone, locally known as Sandakada pahana, is an elaborately carved semicircular stone, which symbolises the cycle of Samsara in Buddhism. Generally, Moonstones are placed at the bottom of staircases and entrances from the latter stage of the Anuradhapura period until the end of the Kandy period of the Sinhalese architecture.
Polonnaruwa Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) is a 12th-century small bath in the shape of a lotus. Slabs cut from granite are used to achieve the unique design of the bath, which is built in tiers of eight-petal lotuses. The pond has five levels from bottom to top. It is believed to be made in times of King Parakramabahu the Great.
Sea of Parakrama (locally known as Parakrama Samudraya) was built by King Parakramabahu the Great. It is the largest ancient man-made rainwater reservoir in Sri Lanka. There are ruins of the King's Council Chamber nearby that belonged to King Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa. The ranks and titles of the kingdom’s officials are inscribed on the pillars of the chamber.
Buduruwagala is an ancient rock temple, which consists of seven massive figures of Buddhist figures carved into the face of a large cliff. The statues used to be painted in bright orange colour. The 10th-century complex does not have historical records. Even its original name is unknown; Buduruvagala means the ‘rock with Buddha statues’, derived from the words Budu (Buddha), ruva (images) and gala (stone). By the right foot of the Buddha, there is a hole shaped like a flame. Deep inside the hole remains always wet with a substance that smells like mustard oil. This oil keeps coming from the curved shape without any obvious source, or scientific explanation.
Jaffna Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1618. Due to miracles attributed to the statue of the Virgin Mary in the church nearby, the fort was named as Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão. Currently, a detachment of the Sri Lanka Army is garrisoned in the fort and access is quite limited for visitors.
According to the location and appearance, stone inscriptions found in Sri Lanka are classified into four groups: Cave Inscriptions (found in Mihintale, Vessagiriya, Sithulpawwa, and Ritigala are considered the oldest type of inscriptions), Rock Inscriptions (most notable examples of which are the bilingual inscriptions in Gadaladeniya, the Galawala inscription, and the Alawala inscription), Slab Inscriptions (such as Polonnaruwa Gal Potha inscriptions, the Mihintale slab inscription, and the Thonigala inscription), and Pillar Inscriptions (which are Badulla inscription and the Katugaha Galge inscription).
Gal Potha is one of the famous works of King Nissanka Malla (1187-1196), which describes the sovereign himself and the way he rules his kingdom and his eligibility of being the king of Sri Lanka. Written in three columns, the text contains over 4,300 characters in 72 lines. Goddess Lakshmi sits in the middle of the Gal Potha slab, holding two flowers, and two elephants pour water from a pitcher over her.
The population of Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 92%, being one of the highest literacy rates in Asia. This is the result of a crucial role of education in the life of the country, which has roots as far back in history as 543 BC.
Sinhala script, also known as the Sinhalese alphabet, has descended from the Brahmi script. It was adopted from Northern India in the 3rd century BC and has undergone various stages of influence by South Indian scripts. Literature, which is written in Sinhala script, was developed by the 9th century AD and, eventually, the Sinhalese alphabet spread. The alphabet consists of two sets of letters, having 58 letters in total. The core set of letters is used to write words in the Sinhala language while an extended set is used for words from Pali, Sanskrit, and even English.
The letters seem ornate, with some letters even resembling an apple. The shape of the Sinhalese letters was influenced by the Ola leaves of the talipot palm tree, used in ancient Sri Lanka as a paper. Since the letters were scribbled on the leaves with a metal tool, cutting straight lines or angular forms would tear the leaves easily while curved letters worked better. Therefore, the angular letters of the original Brahmi script developed curved forms in the Sinhalese letters.
Modern higher education started in 1870 with the establishment of the Ceylon Medical School, followed by Colombo Law College in 1875, the School of Agriculture in 1884, the Government Technical College in 1893, and finally, the Ceylon University College in 1921 which was affiliated with the University of London.
Sri Lankan apparel industry is well-known all over the world for manufacturing high-quality ready-made garments. The country has around 900 garment manufacturing factories that work for famous brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, and Liz Claiborne.
Sri Lanka is noted for producing gemstones, including ruby, garnet, tourmaline, spinel, corundum, chrysoberyl. However, this island is famous as a leading producer of the Ceylon Blue sapphire.
The tea industry employs over 1 million Sri Lankans and is the world’s fourth-largest tea producer. It started in 1867 when James Taylor planted 19 acres of tea in the city of Kandy. His Loolecondera Estate was the first commercial tea plantation in Sri Lanka. The Loolecondera tea appeared on the Kandy market in 1872, and on the London market in 1873. Today pure Ceylon tea comes to the work market with the Lion logo, and the UK is one of its major clients for tea import.
In February 2019 Sri Lankan tea plantation workers held a massive rally against the recent sell-out agreement signed by the unions with the companies, backed by the Sri Lankan government. Apart from tea, they also grow vegetables and rice in Sri Lanka.
Ritipanna (stilt fishing) used to be a traditional method for fishing along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. A narrow pole is tied to a stick, which is anchored on the sea bed. Fisher climbs onto the stick and settles on the pole for a couple of hours. Every sunrise and sunset stilt fishermen line up on the southern coastal belt, catching small fish like the spotted herring and tiny mackerel. Since stilt fishing attracts too many tourists lately, some local fishermen make money just by posing for a photograph or two.
The tourism industry has been a pillar of the country’s economic development for a long time. Although the sector’s growth was badly damaged due to the tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004, resulting in a major decrease in tourist arrival until 2007. As it started picking up, the global economic recession in late 2008 turned to be another big blow to the country’s tourism development. Still, the situation started to improve in 2009, after the end of the 28-year civil war in Sri Lanka. Hopes are high that the recent tragedy will not affect the tourism sector but on the contrary, the visitors from other countries will support the local economy.
The ancient name of Sri Lanka is Serendip. A Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip is one of the earliest detective stories in the world that tells about the main characters who track down a missing camel through luck and good fortune. The three princes utilise forensic deduction and they are able to describe the merchant’s lost camel in such impressive detail (lame in one leg, blind in one eye, and missing a tooth) that the camel owner suspects them of stealing it. King Bahram Gur sentences them to death but, fortunately, their lives are spared when a traveller shows up and says that he has seen the merchant’s camel wandering in the desert. The three princes end up becoming the king’s special advisers.
On 28 January 1754 Horace Walpole, a British nobleman, coined the word 'serendipity' which means good luck in finding valuable things unintentionally, referring to the fairy tale characters who always made discoveries by chance. In 2000 'serendipity' was voted the UK’s favourite word while in 2004 a British translation company declared it one of the ten most difficult English words to translate.
