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Culture of Sri Lanka

Posted by lanka matha on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 , under asia, Buddha, buddhist, capital, culture, rich, sri lanka | comments (0)

Culture of Sri Lanka
Unique and very rich

Culture of Sri lanka is very unique like it's beautiful places, ancient ruins, weather conditions, etc. Though the Culture of Sri Lanka society is more than 2500 years old, it is really Buddhism that was the most influential civilising force of the country. People got delimite ideas about what is right and wrong, beneficial results of good deeds in this life itself and vice versa. Lives of the Buddha and his noble disciples had a good impact on the people. People were taught to be sincere, kind, truthful, harmless and to help the downtrodden etc. Buddha’s teachings that emphasised the equality of man and the idea that man is noble not by birth but by his behaviour and actions, helped to make the caste system which was prevalent in India so rigid very much less severe here.

Adams peak

Culture is a way of life according to social scientists. Culture differs from one nation or society to another. Customs beliefs, art, architecture, sculptures, music, drama. Languages, social values on one hand and how people live, behave, think, speak, dress, work, eat, drink on the other all join to form a particular culture. Culture could be enriched with the assimilation of certain features of another without loosing the identity of the forever.

Buddhism was one of the influential forces of culture of Sri Lanka

With the introduction of Buddhism, Pali works Tripitaka, Pali literature came to Ceylon and the Sinhala language was supplemented with Pali words without much difficulty for the language spoken by the people here was much similar to Pali. A vast literature in Sinhala derived influenced by Pali tripitaka. Pali commentaries and other literature brought from India and the Pali works were translated into Sinhala. With the growth of Mahayana and vast literature in Sanskrit, place of Pali was taken over Sanskrit and the Sinhala language.Really became a mixture of Pali and Sanskrit languages Sanskrit literary works as Meghaduta, Ramayana, Maharasrata were studied and their structure was followed in Sinhala prose and verse.

Aryans when they came to Ceylon brought the system of farming and irrigation but most probably not a religion nor art, architecture, sculpture, literature etc. All these were introduced with the advent of Buddhism. Monasteries and temples and other religious edifies were built first of stone and later of brick and mortar as residences for the bhikkus huge stupas were constructed to enshrine the scared relic of the Buddha and his noble disciples. These religious edifies were embellished by a rich legacy of sculptural forms. Interior of the Viharas were decorated with images of the Buddha later with Bodhisattvas, various scenes from Buddha’s life. With divinities etc. when you take all these into the account we could say that there Mahinda not only introduced noblest religion in the world but also a culture of a much advanced form. Introduction of Buddhism and arrival of Aryans to Sri Lanka not only helped socially but helped to enhanced culture of Sri Lanka too.

Aryans first introduced the village system government when they arrived in Lanka. According to historical sources, Vijay’s followers established themselves as chiefs of villagers as indicated by the names Anuradhagama à village of Anradha, Upatissagama à village of Upatissa and so on. They chief most probably captured the adjuring villages and set themselves as rulers or rajas of the area. With the introduction of Buddhism these rulers became more humane for they were expected to rule according to the DasaRajaDhamma – 10 kingly virtues (giving, morality, liberality, straightness, gentleness, self-restriction, non-anger, non-hurtfulness, forbearance and non-opposition. At the beginning kings were not looked upon as gods but ordinary men go=given the leadership to work for the welfare of the people under him according to Buddhist principles. Thus the main duties of the Rajas were to develop agricultures by building tanks and canals to protect the people and lands from foreign invaders, plunderers, robbers etc. and also to protect the religion and build religious edifies and grant land for their upkeep.

Thus Ceylon had a culture based on self-sufficiency. There was actually the barter system prevailing in ancient Lanka. Only the kings could trade with foreigners and transact money. Farmer gave some of his products to the villages potter, smithy, traders on cloths, fancy goods etc. in exchange for pots & pans mammoth blades, axes, fancy goods etc. and as such there was no need for the ordinary man to possess money but he and his family had enough for their sustenance unlike people of the contemporary medieval Europe and England where the 8 years, 10 years old worked as slaves in the work, house, in coal mines in stables for a mere pittance..

This culture based on self sufficiency in Lanka as changed into an export – import oriental economy based on export crops as team rubber, coconut, cinchona, cinnamon, canbamousetc. with a damaging influence to sustainable agriculture which declined at a fast rate with the arrival of the Europeans – Rice was exported and the lands were handed over to the Europeans planters for a mere pittance as the farmers could not produce the “so – call deeds” for the land they cultivated for the time immemorial. Thus money became the pivotal factor upon which everything depended. Family relationships, religious practices, ancient customs receded to the background with a new culture based on money.

New resurgence of former cultural traits is to be seen with the gaining of independence in 1948 and the emergence of national heroes as Walisinghe Harischandra, Angarika Dhrmapala, More and more people became aware of their past cultured heritage and began to take a new interest in ancient customs, classical music, dancing etc. which were fast disappearing features of our cultural heritage. One of the most important is the pride of place given to the sheaf of betel or the “bulath hurulla” This had been an important item in religious and marriage ceremonies, functions, festivals etc. Parents, teachers elders are respected with a shelf of betal at Sinhala New year times and at important functions. This has a power of healing differences among parents and children, relations etc. With betal comes habit of our people having the quid of betal of course with certain other ingredients as obecanuts, bit of chunam, camphor, cardamons, nutmeg, mance, etc. it is said that ours kings had a special officer to prepare the squid of betal for him. In our ancient residences the tray of betal with a spittoon nearby (to empty the reddish saliva from the mouth) could be seen which had gone out of fashion today. Even the upper class ladies of yore had the habit of chewing the quid of betal while gossiping or at leisure or playing indoor games. It is said that in India this habit of chewing the quid of betal is not looked up on down but it is fast disappearing from our society instead the poisonus cigarette has taken its place.

Various types of folk art which should get the pride of place seems to be fading away. One such is the various types of decorations made with the young coconut fronds – gokkola- which is endemic to Sri Lanka for it comes from the coconut tree, At folk – dancing, devil dancing ceremonies, Bali performances, Pirith ceremonies, weddings, funeral & decorations done with gokkola are given prominence in rural areas. Special pavilion made for the Pirit ceremony, Poruwa at a wedding for the couple to stand on, Punkalasa (symbolof propriety) etc. decorated with gokkola are slowly dying away giving place to artificial decorations.

Public Transportation in Sri Lanka

Posted by lanka matha on Monday, December 27, 2010 , under capital, colombo, public, sri lanka, transportation | comments (0)

Public Transportation in Sri Lanka
Experience the modern and old transport systems

Public Transportation in Sri Lanka is based mainly on the road network which is centred on Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo. Good network of metalled roads exists in Sri Lanka linking all major towns and tourist destinations such as Kandy, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Galle, kataragama, Puttalama, etc. There is also an extensive railway network but it is largely a legacy of British colonial rule and is less appropriate for the modern transport requirements of Sri Lanka. There are also navigable waterways, harbours and airports, including an international airport, located in Katunayake, 22 miles north of Colombo. The highways and roadways around the capital are in very good condition and being upgraded constanstaly.

COLOMBO CITY

Posted by lanka matha on Friday, December 24, 2010 , under asia, capital, ceylon, city, colombo, sinhala, sri lanka | comments (0)

The East is rising and Sri Lanka is its star

Posted by lanka matha on Thursday, December 9, 2010 , under capital, cent, concidr, economic, investment, sri lanka, tax, tropical | comments (0)

This is probably the best investment opportunity of its kind in the world - a bold claim you may say, so just take a moment and consider the following...

Consider these points:

No Capital Gains Tax!

No Tax on Rental Income for 15 years!

Net Rental Returns commencing at least 17 per cent!

Total return on capital of 295 per cent after 60 months!

No Exchange Control Restrictions on Capital and Income!

With property markets in the USA, Europe and the Middle East suffering an unprecedented crash and financial markets in a state of flux, it is understandable that investors consider secure investments enabling recovery of losses and ongoing high yields a distant memory. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Whilst the West and Middle East may be firmly stuck in the ‘Doldrums' for years to come, the East is continuing to flourish beyond all expectations.

There can be no denying Asia is the place to secure escalating capital and income returns with Sri Lanka proving to be the brightest star.

Whilst it would be difficult to find a more beautiful location than Sri Lanka, from an investment viewpoint, this is only part of the equation. Let us be honest, the deciding factor must always be just how attractive is the investment?

This is where Sri Lanka and in particular the Eastern Province can really have no equal.

Sri Lanka's stable demographically elected Government lead by its far sighted president Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken the inspired decision to create the most progressive and attractive economic environment and incentives specifically designed to encourage both corporate and individual foreign investment.

Coupled with a regulated legal and land transfer system with minimal property acquisition costs investors can be assured that their investment is secure.

If this was not enough, the land owner/ developer Thona Bay (Private) Limited together with its exclusive worldwide Master Agent Karooda Properties Limited have been working closely with central, provincial and regional authorities to ensure its developments are sympathetically designed to protect and enhance the environmental, social and cultural heritage.

This has proved to be important factor in firmly placing Karooda / Thona Bay in a leading position to become the major developer in the Eastern Province for years to come.

Karooda / Thona Bays' foundation planning has secured from the Government quite unique tax and planning concessions together with authority to pass on the benefits to its investors.

This has and is continuing to enable Karooda / Thona Bay to maximize investor returns as has never before been possible.

Karooda / Thona Bay have now launched the first phase of their beautifully designed developments at Thona Bay on the Eastern Coast and comprising 84 one and two bedroom luxurious and spacious apartments lying only meters from the beach (pictured above).

Five additional projects including more apartments, luxury villas, five star quality hotels together with retail and recreational facilities are undergoing master planning and will be released over the coming months. It is no surprise that even at this early stage Karooda are experiencing such a high volume of enquiries and reservations.

As a location, few places can compare with this tropical tear shaped island basking in the warm waters of the Indian ocean just 20 miles south of the Indian main land. Possessing an outstanding wealth of nature reserves, historic cultural sites and wild life from the pristine untouched white sands and teeming coral reefs of the coast to the breath taking beauty of the lush forested mountains of the centre.

It is little wonder that, Sri Lanka was rated the number one destination to visit by the New York Times in January of this year. Enjoying year round sun and an average temperature of 26.7c Sri Lanka can justifiably claim to have a true twelve-month season.

Of the Island's nine provinces the Eastern Province is perhaps the largest jewel in the crown. Representing approximately 15 per cent of total land area and benefitting from about 85 miles of largely untouched coastline punctuated with lagoons and inshore reefs.

The Eastern Province alone has been the recipient of more than US$1 Billion of foreign investment over the last three years to support the Governments comprehensive infrastructure, social and economic long term plans. With more eye watering amounts of foreign investment continuing to pour in, the region is already striding towards the brightest of futures.

The United States Economic Intelligence Unit places Sri Lanka in the top ten of the World's fastest growing economies.

With GDP set to top five per cent this year and projected by leading economists to continue to rise year on year over the next three years there could not be a better time for investors to climb on board.

Although only a brief snapshot of this amazing country and outstanding investment opportunity we appreciate that seasoned and novice investors alike will be eager for more information.