Embekke Devale

Embekke Devale, famed for its elaborate woodcarvings, pillars and other structures, nestle in the Udu Nuwara. It lies close to Daulagala about eight miles from Kandy.

Enticing Wood carvings - The UNESCO has identified these marvellous but elaborate carvings on wooden pillars to be the finest products of woodcarvings to be found in any part of the world.

Many are the hoary legends that tell of the origins of this splendid devale. According to archaic documents and the epic Embekke Varnanawa composed by Delgahagoda Mudiyanse, it was built during the Gampola period of King Wickrema Bahu II (1371 AD). One of his consorts named Henakanda Biso Bandara, in association with a drummer named as Rangama, as told in a miraculous dream, is supposed to have built this Devale dedicated to God Kataragama in a superb three-storeyed building which is now no more.

The devale is in two segmented buildings, the Digge (Dancing Hall) and Drummers Hall (Hewasi Mandappaya). Among them that caught my fascination are the following ones.

The wooden capital pillars have assumed varied shapes moulded skilfully into these intricate wood carvings. The bottom square is octagonal with carvings, while its top terminates in a leaf emanating from square.

The other intricate but unique piece of woodcarvings rest on the Pecada.

Enticing woodcarvings are also carved on some beams, rafters, doorways, and doors as well. Among the best masterpieces on the capital pillars are thus: Hansa Puttuwa (entwined swans) double headed eagles, and entwined rope designs, mother breast-feeding child, soldier fighting on horseback, female dancing figures, wrestlers, women emanating from a vein, bird with human figure, combination of elephant-bull and combination of elephant-lion.

Among such wonderful carvings, what attracted me most was the elephant-bull carving and that of the elephant with its elongated trunk which is mystically manifested. When one covers with one's palm, the figure of the carving resembling part bull, the real figure of the elephant with elongated trunk is manifested, while when one does the same with that of the elephant thereemerges like magic the figure of the bull!

The roof of the Embekke Devale bears some ingenuous revelations of classic carpentry masterpieces in fixing the rafters. The 'Madol Kurupuwa' is one of the finest examples of medieval carpentry excellence. It is a wooden pin (this Madol Kurupuwa) which holds together 26 rafters at the hipped end of the roof of the Digge of Embekke Devale.

The giant pin is carved with pathuruliya, patha motifs.

Among the carvings, there are 125 series of decorations, 256 liyawel, 64 lotus designs in Pekada, 30 decorative patterns on timber, roof members, making a total of 514 such exquisite carvings.

All's well with the Embekke Devale, except the fact that the parapet wall facing the road unwanted posters have been pasted which is a real eye-sore to the visiting tourists, particularly to foreigners. The caretakers should be alert to prevent such unwarranted posters being pasted on the wall, which would mar this historic site.

A little distance away about 1/8 mile lies another assembly of stone pillars on which are carved the very replicas of the wooden pillars of the Embekke Devale. There are altogether 16 numbers of such columns in the base, with two octagonal sections above and square blocks in the centre and the end with carvings on four sides. It is believed that the wooden beams of the roof had rested on carved wooden capitals (Pekada), which are no longer to be seen in the site.

The roof had been covered with flat tiles. Rope design, entwining swan, berunde bird, dancing girl are some of the creations found on these stone columns, quite akin to the woodcarvings at Embekke Devale. The villagers still remember the existence of this Ambalama with the wooden roof about 100 years ago. The original state of the roof is shown in a photograph that appeared in Henry Cave's 'Book Of Ceylon' published in 1908. The Ambalama is 27 feet long and 22 feet wide, built on a platform with four monolithic columns in each corner, which is seven feet in height. This building is also called Sinhasana Mandapaya. In ancient times, the king and his royal entourage used to rest here and watch the perahera when it was held.

Of these stone pillars about seven have fallen down on the ground, while a few of them are broken into two. The stone carvings on the fallen stone pillars are fast defacing, posing a threat to its carvings. It is worthwhile if the Department of Archaeology takes immediate but concrete steps to have these fallen stone pillars restored to save this great national monument from acts of potential vandalism.

The fourth Deyata Kirula exhibition staged in Kandy

The fourth Deyata Kirula exhibition staged in Kandy to coincide with Independence Day will be opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Pallekelle International Buddhist Research centre premises on February 4 at 4 p.m.

The exhibition features about 300 State and private sector stalls.

The exhibition spread over an area of about 51 acres.

The exhibition titled Pelanda Ek Kirulak - Nevum Heta Davasak will continue daily till February 10.

The road network in Kundasale was rehabilitated at a cost of Rs. 50 million in preparation for the exhibition, said Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

The armed forces and the police, including its para military wing, the STF will display arms and equipment captured from the LTTE at Deyata Kirula exhibition at Pallekele, Kandy, for seven days, beginning February 4. Government sources said that of the 51-acre exhibition site, about nine would be utilised by the police and security forces.

Sources said that this would be the first Deyata Kirula exhibition since the end of the war last May.

Sri Lanka’s 62nd Independence Day celebration

Sri Lanka’s 62nd Independence Day celebration will be held at the Maha Maluwa of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy on February 4 under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

This year’s celebrations will be held in a grandiose manner since it is the first independence commemoration held in a unified country after liberating it from 30 years of terrorism.

Concurrent to the Independence celebrations an all night pirith ceremony will be held at Independence Square, Colombo on February 2 followed by a Sanghika dana at the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya on February 3 forenoon.

Celebrations on February 4 will begin with all religious ceremonies at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy, Selva Vinayagar Kovil, Kandy, Meeramakkam Mosque St. Anthony’s Church and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu is one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka Located in Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park lies within the North-central & North-western providences. The area of the park is 131693 ha. The unique feature of this park is the existence of “Willus” (Natural lakes).

As the park lies in dry zone rainfall is highly seasonal. Inter-monsoonal rains in March and the northeast monsoon (December – February) are the main sources of rainfall. Mean annual rainfall is about 1000 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 27' C.

The park consists of willus, dry-lowland forests, scrublands, open grasslands and coastal belt. Characteristic feature of the park is that majority of park area is covered with dense forest.

The vegetation dominated by tree species such as Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria) & Satin (Chloroxylon swietenia). Milla (Vitex altissima), Ebony (Diospyros ebenum) and Wewarana (Alseodaphne semecaprifolia) are also found in fair numbers.

Elephants, leopards, sloth bear, water buffalo and spotted deer are among the large mammals. Coastal belt and willus support abundant birdlife such as painted storks, white ibis, open bills, Whistling teals, spoonbills, cormorants and kingfishers. Apart from them serpent eagles, great racket tail Drongo, Malabar pied hornbills, crested hawk eagles & Sri Lanka junglefowls are commonly seen. Both water monitors and mugger crocodiles can be seen in the willus.

Sri pada ( Adam's Peak )

On the top of the Peak broad steps lead up to a walled enclosure containing the rock over which is a tower-like structure. The portion marked off as having the imprint of the Buddha's foot is about five feet seven inches long and two feet seven inches broad. The hole in the rock in Thailand, which is believed to have the imprint of the Buddha's right foot, is about five feet long and two feet broad. Buddhists attribute this universal size to the fact (such is the belief) that the Buddha was about thirty-five feet tall. The real footprint on Adam's Peak is believed to be set in jewels beneath the visible rock.

Muslims believe the footprint to be that of Adam (hence the name Adam's Peak); Christians, that of St. Thomas, the disciple Jesus; and Hindus, that of the god Siva. The Tamil name of the rock (Civan-oli-pata) means "the mountain path of Siva's light". Alongside the rock is a shrine containing images (one of which is made of silver) of the god Saman and a Brahmin priest officiates at this shrine. In front of the shrine is a small table on which pilgrims place camphor and lighted candles.

The National Museum of Colombo

Sri Lanka being a culturally rich and equally historic country, numerous artefacts that tell the story of the nation have been collected over the years. It is the National Museum of Colombo which is home to much of the country’s artefacts. The museum itself has its own piece of history, which dates back to the times of colonial rule as being the first ever-public museum in the country.

The National Museum of Colombo is one of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious museums, which houses various artefacts spanning from as early as the pre-historic ages to present times. The museum was initiated on the 1st of January 1877m during the time where Sir William Henry Gregory served as the British Colonial Governor of Ceylon. With the aid of the Governor, the Sri Lankan branch of the Royal Asiatic Society founded the museum and started the collection of many of the relics that now reside in the museum’s many galleries.

The National Museum of Colombo is by far the largest museum in Sri Lanka. Set in a building that is notable for it’s Italian based architecture, the museum boasts a collection of fine relics hailing from the many kingdoms that ruled over various regions of Sri Lanka, namely Kandy, Anuradhapura and Pollonaruwa. Furthermore, the artefacts left behind during British rule are also on display.

One of the main highlights of National Museum of Colombo would be the golden throne of the King of Kandy, which is a majestic piece of work that includes gems and intricate design. Furthermore, the museum also boasts its fine library collection which is home to over half a million books, nearly 4000 palm manuscripts as well as a gallery filled with fine paintings of Sri Lanka over the ages.

Apart from the historical artefacts on display, the museum is also hosts much of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage. Puppetry that is synonymous with much of the country’s cultural past is on display on the first floor of museum within the children’s gallery. Visitors will also find the skeleton of a blue whale that hangs from the ceiling. Furthermore this area also displays the various forms of attire that Sri Lankans have adorned over the years.

The National Museum of Colombo is also the venue of many seminars, workshops and educational programmes that are present in order to instil a deeper bond and love for the country’s fusion of culture and history. The museum that is located on Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha also known as Albert Crescent, is open from Saturday to Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Visit the National Museum of Colombo and be enthralled by the artefacts that provide insight in to the early development of this magnificent country.

Common hour glass tree frog

Endemic Amphibian in Sri Lanka.

Family:
Rhacophoridae
Scientific Name:
Polypedates cruciger


Snout-vent length of mature males 50.0-59.8mm, gravid females 72.0-90.0 mm. Head length greater than or equal to head width. Colour, greenish-brown, dark brown or yellowish orange. Occurs throughout Sri Lanka in both dry and wet zone up to 1525 m.