Around The World - Sri Lanka

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Kandy Introduction

The name Kandy is derived from the abbreviated and the anglicised form of Kande-uda-rata. For the convenience of pronunciation the Englishmen first dropped the uda-rata portion and kande quite conveniently ended up in the nice form Kandy. The city was founded towards the beginning of the 16th century by a sub-king named Wickramabahu who ruled from Gampola. According to an interesting legend the city was founded on the advice of a Brahmin named Senkanda who showed to the king an incident wherein a jackal pursuing a hare as its quarry all of a sudden had their roles reversed when hare became the hunter pursuing the jackal as the quarry.

The Brahmin advised the king that as this incident indicated this spot to be a 'victory ground', a Jayabhoomi, to build a town there. The king readily agreed and began work with that particular spot as the centre, where the present Natha Devale stands. Thus was born the beautiful City of Kandy earning it's alternative name Senkadagala from the Brahmin name

The flat stone slab marking the Brahmin's cave can still be seen on a side of the wooded path to Udawattakelle. Extensively beautified by the lovely Kandy Lake the town is surrounded by a group of misty hills such as Hantana, Bahirava Kanda, Hunnasgiriya and other ranges thereby offering first-class scenic views from any of these ranges. The Rajapihilla Mawatha running along the Hantane range above the Lake, offers several spots from where one can have a commanding view of the entire city of Kandy spread out like a map. Epigraphical evidence goes to prove that, as a part of the Malaya country of the Trisinhale, Kandy was used by the Sinhala royalty as a place of security against the European invaders, because the area was safely protected by the three-fold obstructions of mountains, forests and rivers (giri-, vana - and jala-durga), all provided by nature itself.

Our history shows us how the country had been plagued by foreign invasions from the beginning of its history. Its first capital Anuradhapura came to an end with Mahinda V in the 10th -11th century Ad while Polonnaruwa had the same story with Kalinga Wijayabahu in the 13th century. Subsequently, owing to the maritime provinces being occupied by European powers, the Sinhala royalty had to keep on shifting the seat of royalty to Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Gampola, Kotte, Sitawaka ending up in Kandy in the 16th century.

With internal troubles also sapping its strength the Sinhala royalty became checkmated in Kandy in 1815, which was their last hideout. Kandy unlike the other ancient capitals of Sri Lanka is a city that gets renewed eternally without divorcing itself completely from its past. The sacred temple of the Tooth Relic coupled with the lovely Lake and the scenic beauty of the surroundings, Kandy attracts admirers from the world over.

Kandy is the Sri Lanka's hill capital, stronghold of the Sinhala Kings as well as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is 488 metres above sea level and next to Colombo is Sri Lanka's most visited place. The valley of Kandy is surrounded by hills and a colourful pageant takes place in Kandy annually. Visit Kalapuraya in the beautiful Dumbara valley 8 km. from Kandy, where descendants of the ancient craftsmen still create items of rare elegance in metal and wood.

Elephant bathing, botanical gardens, waterfalls and the mountains are only some of the attractions at Kandy. The sacred tooth relic is housed in the temple known as the 'Dalada Maligawa'. It includes an octagon, which now houses a rare collection of Buddhist books. The art, architecture and paintings in the temple, stand testimony to the generosity of the kings and other members of royalty who patronised the temple through the years to enhance its beauty and history. En-route to Kandy is the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the home to more than 50 elephants.

The 'Nuwara Perahara', or pageant of Kandy, is the most colourful processions in the world. About 100 caparisoned elephants and over 1000 dancers, drummers and noblemen, led by the custodian of the temple of the sacred tooth relic, parade past hundreds of thousands of spectators, while they pay homage to the casket of the sacred tooth relic carried by the king of the elephants. The procession moves along the streets for seven consecutive nights and concludes on the day of the August full moon.