Overlooked by the Buddha
Between the cold and gray of Armenia, and the coming freezing white winter of Estonia, I decided to take a sojourn in Sri Lanka: To re-heat my chilled bone marrow, re-calibrate my eyes to color, and wear short pants for a bit.
I decided to start in what I knew to be a holy place: Kandy:
The home of a tooth from the funeral pyre of Buddha, Kandy was a seat of culture and kings for 600 years. Until those bastard British colonialists [1 ] wiped out the ruling class in 1818 and expropriated the lands of the peasantry, reducing them to poverty. While colonial rule was on balance good for some places, Sri Lanka was not one of them.
Kandy is now religious and administration center, a world heritage site, and a place where business is done in the traditional way [2 ] :
A city whose life, despite progress, is still overlooked by the Buddha:
In its center is a lake that breathes and brings peace:
I walk around the lake a few times then walk back to where I am staying, up in the mists of Kandy:
[1] For those for whom English slang is a bit obscure, when I refer to the “bastard British”, I do not mean they were all born out of wedlock. Some of them can clearly prove this not to be the case.
[2] The last time I was here, in simpler but poorer times, I had ridden my BMW motorbike (slowly) through the beautiful and extensive botanic gardens, something the country is now well organized enough to no longer allow.
Alien Heartbeat 
11 Responses to “Overlooked by the Buddha”
I love your comment message. No disputations here! But, what I really wanted to say: This is a lovely post with amazing pictures of a neat place I’d never even heard of! I especially like the lake…
Thanks. I grew up in a large, disputatious family, so I always expect this first.
Have you ever read Michael Ondaaje’s, Running in the Family?? Much of it is set in Kandy.
No, had not even heard of it. But a quick look suggests it is worth a read. I saw it compared to “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, one of my favorite books.
Running in the Family is a wonderful book.
Your images are lovely, Michael. Tempered with a bit of lament.
Karen, yes, the lament of age and experience.
Beautiful captures, Michael!
Thanks. But not as nice as what I saw.
“The lament of age and experience.” Yes.
Glad to hear of you warming your bones, Michael. Rejuvenation is necessity. Thank You for sharing it.
(chuckle) not sure if I am getting much rejuvenation, but certainly warmed up a bit.
Well, I’m very happy you are getting warmed up! All the best, Michael. Enjoy, my friend.