When we were in Rameshwaram, we saw the spot from which Hanuman took off towards Sri Lanka in search of Sita. When we took off from Sahar Airport to Sri Lanka, our main thoughts were focused only on Sita of Ramayana. We landed in Colombo, the capital city early in the morning and immediately drove through picturesque terrain towards NUWARA ELIYA a hill resort, in the Central Province about 200 km from Airport. The 4 hours drive was full of colourful scenes, coconut trees and attractive waterfalls. We lodged in WINDSOR HOTEL and after lunch, proceeded for sight-seeing. The city was typical, full of autos, buses, M-80s and Bajaj scooters, identical to an Indian scene.
"AWYUBHAVAN"...in Sinhalese means "WELCOME "
We easily learnt this word of greetings and generously used it everywhere
Our first site was no doubt Hindu Temple called "Seetha Kovil" (Hanuman Kovil). It is found on the way to Nuwara Eliya before reaching the Hakgala Botanical Garden. The temple is located in the village called "Seetha Eliya"and is related to the Ramayana story. Folklore says that the mighty king Ravana kidnapped princess Seeta and held her captive in Ashokvana, the place where the temple now is. The structure is a very old temple, and the setting is primeval forest. We saw the footprints of Hanuman marked in yellow. After seeing Hanuman's footprints one feels like actually witnessing an extremely important part of that great mythological story. The temple is a fairly small site, very subdued in contrast to the magnitude of the event in Hindu mythology. We offered our prayers and took part in "aarti". There were too many monkeys distracting our attention. A small river was flowing behind the temple and the footprints of Hanuman was there embedded in the rocks. Quite a moment to cherish.
The next stop was at Bluefield Tea Gardens, an ideal place to learn a bit more about the history of tea. It was the factory where all the steps of making tea, with all its processes, is displayed to the tourists escorting them all over the area. The pungent, stirring smell of Ceylon Tea was exhilarating. In short, it was an experience not to be missed especially for those who love and appreciate tea. We were entertained in their restaurant with a hot cup of that magic Tea and a pastry in a nice setting and landscape.
Later we drove through the winding and climbing hill roads enjoying the beautiful scenes with an occasional stop giving a chance to check out the scenery from a nice vantage point.
Next day we visited the famous Hakgala Botanical Garden, situated in Hakgala Peak, about 6000 feet in elevation - the highest set Botanic Gardens in the world. It boasts 100 year old Monetary Cypress trees from California, Japanese Cedars, Himalayan Pines and English Oak. Hakgala Botanic Gardens is very well maintained and the paths take visitors to various themed parts of the park. The flora and fauna was unique, cool and pleasing to the eyes.
We visited another site from Ramayana, Sri Baktha Hanuman Temple, at Ramboda. According to the ancient stories, Ramboda is the area, where the forces of Rama gathered to fight against King Ravana. This temple was built by the Chinmaya mission of Sri Lanka and dedicated to Hanuman. This temple houses a 16 feet high statue of Hanuman. Quite an imposing and inspiring place, more so for a religious bent devotee. We moved to KANDY and stayed in HOTEL JANAKI for the night.
In Sri Lanka, if it is not Ramayan, it must be the BUDDHA. We visited the famous shrine where the sacred tooth relic of Buddha is enshrined. This temple is located in the center of the city, ad mist absolutely peaceful surroundings and has a well decorated pathway to the entrance. The interior of the buildings and the historical facts displayed in the walls were fantastic. According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Lord Buddha died and cremated in a sandalwood pyre in India, his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by Arahat Khema who gave it to King Brahmadatta of present day Puri in Orissa for veneration. A belief grew thereafter that whoever possessed the Sacred Tooth Relic had a divine right to rule that land. Wars were fought to take possession of the relic. 800 years after the Buddha's death, the tooth came into the possession of King of Kalinga, who began to worship the Sacred Tooth relic. This caused discontent among citizens who saw their King not believing in god and worshipping a tooth. Thereafter, many wars were fought for centuries to destroy the relic, until it landed finally in Sri Lanka as the new home and safe haven for the tooth relic. It was believed that Lord Buddha had declared that his religion would be safe in Sri Lanka for 5000 years. The King of Sri Lanka was overjoyed and received the Sacred Tooth Relic with great veneration. He built a beautiful palace within the royal palace complex itself and enshrined the relic in it. After many episodes, it was finally brought to Kandy where it is at present, in the Temple of the Tooth.
The Sacred Tooth Relic came to be regarded as a symbolic representation of the living Buddha and it is on this basis that there grew up a series of offerings, rituals, and ceremonies. We joined the crowd of visitors and carried lotus and jasmine offerings. Many native couples had brought their babies to observe the rituals and it was entirely a serene and sobre atmosphere. The dhoti-clad drum- beaters and similarly dressed ladies bore great resemblance to the Keralites of India. The blue coloured lotus was quite strange to see.
We were happy to visit Peradeniya BOTANICAL GARDEN, literally a paradise on earth for nature lovers, with multiple variety of Palms, Orchids, exotic flowers and rare plants of immense value. It is a spectacular park, wonderful garden with various species of bamboo and palms as well as beautiful uncommon flowers and shrubs. The well laid out paths and rest points with benches to sit and contemplate the scenery and fresh air made it all the more enjoyable. The collection of a variety of more than 300 varieties of orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees was a treat to the eyes. The crawling tree was a great attraction, with many long branches literally crawling and spread on the ground, occupying a large area of the gardens. Very much like the one we saw in New Zealand.
The climax was at PINNAWALA Elephant Orphanage, about 90km from Colombo. We spent one afternoon there, seeing the elephants having their bath in the river and head back to their shelter for food and rest. We saw almost a hundred elephants of all sizes going through their daily chores. It was such a nice sight to see the elephants bathe in the river, then take mud bath and walk around the area where visitors gather to watch them. Feeding the Elephants with Milk and Bananas was a sweet and never to be forgotten experience indeed. The restaurants next to the shelter are not very impressive in terms of decor but their kitchen makes up for it. The view from there was added attraction for tourists. The bulls were enormous in size. The small elephants were very cute hiding behind their mothers. The elephants are the sweetest creatures ever and they were so docile, eating the green leaves offered by us. Many of us dared to pet them, kiss them, touch and feel them. The elephants are used for our viewing pleasure.
We reached COLOMBO the largest city and the commercial, industrial and cultural capital of Sri Lanka, located on the west coast of the island . We stayed in CEYLON CONTINENTAL HOTEL, very near to the Parliament of SRI LANKA. In the evening we went walking towards the Parliament facing the beach. Many armed soldiers were guarding the area and video cameras were prohibited. It was nice playing in the waters of Indian ocean, deep further south of Kanya Kumari.
Next day we went sight-seeing Pettah Market which is famous for the variety of products available as well as the Khan Clock Tower, a local landmark . We visited the INDEPENDENCE MEMORIAL HALL built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule on February 4, 1948. Located at the head of the monument is the statue of the first prime minister of the country Rt. Hon. Don Stephen Senanayake "The Father of the Nation". Many statues of Lions were installed around the Hall and it brought to my mind similar symbols of Karnak Temples at Egypt. We attended a cultural programme where folk music and dance events were performed. Some of the events were quite acrobatic and amazing. Later, the "fire-walking" ritual was performed outside the Hall by many artists. A few of them, put the fire-balls in their tongue and rubbed to the astonishment of tourists gathered there. We visited the Murugan Temple and found Navgrahas, Ganesh and other idols worshipped there. Tamil was the language spoken there and the Gopuram was exactly like Tamil Nadu temples.
We had a few hours left for shopping, before leaving Sri Lanka. Everyone bought Tea pockets as souvenirs to take back home to add fragrance to the sweet memories of our tour.
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