Twins

The Orchid House at the Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya has a rich collection.

From the set Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya - September, 2007.

Swimming Tusker Kid

We were about to cross the dam of Udawalawe Reservoir, when this young tusker got into the water and swam all the way to the other side. Well, we hope it did make to the other side, or came back when we were gone.

Suchetha's has a video of this on YouTube.

From the set FOSS-ed on Wheels, Buttala - October, 2006.

Into the Waters

For some of us, water wading was a great start for a beautiful camping day. This is our friend Deepthi in his Jeep Wrangler.

From the set 4x4 Camp, Habarana - March, 2007.

The Leech Stream

Pundaluoya flowing by the city in Kotmale with the same name. The original name "kundalu-oya" (kundalu = leech, oya = stream) has somehow distorted over time to "Pundaluoya".

From the set Going home - October, 2005.

Sun Just Left

Taken during an evening walk along Pundaluoya - Nuwara-Eiya road.

From the set Kotmale - April, 2007.

Sthupa by the River

The Kalu River flowing past the Sthupa near the famous Boa tree in Kaluthara.

This sthupa is special because it is hollow and houses a smaller sthupa surrounded by ample space for pilgrims.

From the set Kalutara - April, 2007.

Still Waters

This pond is at the Buddhangala temple / meditation range in Ampara.

From the set Ampara - December, 2006.

Future Tea Bags

These leaves will be eventually plucked to produce some of the finest beverage products in the world with the label "Ceylon Tea".

From the set Kotmale - September, 2006.

Where Land Meets Water

Albesia trees at the edge of Kotmale reservoir on a bright and sunny midday.

From the set Kotmale - January, 2007.

Rainforest

No, this is not a rainforest! It is a man-made Turpentine plantation between Pundaluoya and Nuwara-Eliya.

From the set Nuwara Eliya / Kotmale - April, 2007.

Sunset Through the Trees

Sunset seen from the top of "North Pundaluoya" mountain, about 6000ft above sea level.

From the set Kotmale - February, 2007.

Sunset Over the Lake

Sunset over the lake at Yudanganawa in Buttala. This is the view from an island, not very far from the shore.

From the set FOSS-ed on Wheels, Buttala - October, 2006.

Handloomed

A model demonstrating a handloomed Sri Lankan saree.

There is a slight blur, probably due to my Canon S3 IS operating at the maximum zoom (432mm equivalent for 35mm) under relatively low light.

From the set National Heros Musical Show - December, 2006.

Thirsty

Water level of Kotmale Reservoir was too low for a long time this year, and this was a spectacular outcome of it.

From the set Kotmale, June, 2007.

Last Rays of the Day

FOSS-ed on Wheels is an event organized by our Community to promote FOSS around the country. These journeys also provided us a lot of photography opportunities like this one in Yudanganawa, Buttala.

From the set FOSS-ed on Wheels, Buttala - October, 2006.

Niphredil

These are, rather were, flowers from my mother's collection.

I named this photo after Niphredil, a flower first bloomed in the forest of Neldoreth in Doriath to Lúthien when she was born.

From the set Kotmale - September, 2006.

Wathusudu

Wathusudu is a bright white flower found in Sri Lanka. It is sometimes used in literature to signify purity.

From the set Random - August, 2006.

Sunset and Love

Sunset at Panadura beach, captured with the VGA (640x480) camera in my now aging Nokia 6020.

From the set Beach - March, 2006.

Beautiful but Impermanent

Water droplets on rice leaves in a paddy field in Ampara.

This reminds me a poem from ලෝ වැඩ සඟරාව which delves on impermanence of life: පණ නම් තණ අග පිණි බිඳු වැන්නේ (life is [impermanent] like water droplets on grass).

From the set Ampara - December, 2006.

Swarnamaliye

This is a story about building "Ruwanwali Seya" in 3cd century B.C.: When King Dutugemunu found a suitable place to build the great shrine, there was a tree there which was home for a goddess named Swarnamali. The King and his subjects requested her to move away, promising to name the shrine after her.

This dance was for maestro Amaradeva's "ඔබේ නමින් සෑය බඳිමි විමානයෙන් බසිනු මැනවි" (we'll name the shrine after you, please move away from the house) song based on this story.

The photo was taken under low light conditions from far away in the audience.

From the set National Heros Musical Show - December, 2006.