Sunrise over the Basawakkulama Tank, believed to be Sri Lanka’s oldest reservoir, built in 400BC, against the backdrop of the Ruwanwelisaya and, faintly in the distance, the massive broken Jetawanaramaya, both over 2,000 years old. The tree silhouetted against the morning is one of many that line the tank’s retaining bund. For perhaps a century or more, these broadly spread giants have sheltered farmers, workers, schoolchildren, and the occasional photographer, using the bund as a footpath into Anuradhapura. When I took this picture in January 2017, while on assignment for Serendib magazine, the trees were also home to rock squirrels, numerous nesting birds, and families of grey langurs. But sadly, it has now been reported that the government has begun felling these ancient trees because they are believed to be damaging the bund with their great roots. The perspective they have given to one of the most iconic views of Anuradhapura will be the least of the losses their deaths will bring.
The Nirithadiga Parichara Cetiya, or Southwestern Ceitiya, one of the four miniature replicas of the Ruwanwelisaya, that stand at the four corners of the vast maluwa that surrounds the main stupa. Shot for my photostory, The First Kingdom of Lanka,which ran in the February 2016 issue of Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines.Continue reading ““Sir, There is One; it is I.””→
Built by King Dutugemunu, the Ruwanwelisaya was completed shortly after his death in 137 BC. The central stupa would have been one of the tallest monuments in the ancient world, standing at 103m; taller than the Taj Mahal, and more than twice the height of the Colosseum. December 2017.
Sunrise over the Basawankulama tank (or reservoir), with the Ruwanwelisaya in the distance. The Basawankulama, built in 400 BC by King Pandukabhaya is thought to be Sri Lanka’s oldest reservoir. The Ruwanwelisaya is relatively newer, built in 140 BC by King Dutugemunu. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of SriLankan Airlines. My story, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in the February 2017 issue.
The Ruwanwelisaya (left) and the Jetawanaramaya at dusk, as seen from the far side of the Nuwara Wewa, Anuradhapura. The stupas are two of the tallest monuments of the ancient world and, along with the reservoir, are over 2,000 years old. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, as part of my story,‘The First Kingdom of Lanka’, which ran in the February 2017 issue.
Devotees wrap a 300m bolt of saffron-coloured cloth around the base of the Ruwanwelisaya, Anuradhapura, in a symbolic act of dressing. Saffron is a sacred colour in both Buddhism and Hinduism, and is the colour of the robes worn by Buddhist monks of the Theravadha tradition. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, as part of my story,‘The First Kingdom of Lanka’, which runs in the February 2017 issue.
The Ruwanwelisaya is perhaps King Dutugemunu’s most famous work, taller than the Taj Mahal, twice the height of the Colosseum, and older than both, it was completed only after his death in the 2nd century BC. On his deathbed, the king’s last wish was to see his final creation and, to ease his mind, Prince Saddha Tissa, his brother, had the unfinished frame of the Ruwanwelisaya shrouded in white cloth, making it look complete to the failing eyes of Dutugemunu. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My story,‘The First Kingdom of Lanka’ runs in the February 2017 issue.
Son of the Morning Light 