Hakgala Botanical Garden

The second botanical garden established by the British, the Hakgala Gardens spans over 500 acres, now confined to around 88 acres. Originally begun as an experimental cinchona plantation (for production of the malaria antidote quinine) in 1860, by the eminent British botanist, Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites who was superintendent of the Peradeniya Gardens in Kandy, the pride of the garden is now roses and ferns.

The garden is situated in the midst of wild jungle. The nursery which is over 100 years old has over 1,000 varieties of plants where the lovely low-country lotus and water lily mingle in their serene simplicity with sophisticated English roses, pre-historic looking ferns, and endemic orchids.

The sheer rock of Hakgala (‘Jaw Rock’) which rises 1,500 feet straight up above the gardens, is said to have been carried here from the Himalayas in the jaws of Hanuman, the mythical monkey general who helped Prince Rama rescue Princess Sita from the demon King Rawana in the Ramayana epic. Legend says, the Sita Amman Kovil, less than two kilometres toward Nuwara Eliya on the east side of the highway, is the place where Sita was imprisoned.

Read more: Pastel blooms of Hakgala Botanical Garden

St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Milagiriya

The history of the site where St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Milagiriya, is located could be traced back to the Portuguese period during the sixteenth century. The Portuguese built a Roman Catholic Church which was destroyed by the Dutch. The British built the Anglican Church in 1848, and at that time the Church had a small congregation and a school. There was a well in the Church compound which was believed to contain water with a miraculous healing quality, and people from all over the country came to this Church. Initially, the congregation consisted mainly of Europeans and Burghers.

But, during the transition period in the 1960s, many Europeans left the Island and the Burghers migrated to Australia and England. The Church then came under the local leadership of the elite and influential. Rev. Fr. Lucien Jansz was the first Sri Lankan Vicar from 1920 to 1953.

There have been many extensions done to the Church over the years. St. Paul’s Church belongs to the Church of Ceylon, which is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka, and it is a part of the diocese of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Reverend, Justin Welby.

 

Read more: St. Paul’s Anglican Church ... where the faithful come to worship

The Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo

Gangaramaya was built by Most Ven. Sri Sumangala Thera in 1885. Legend has it that he planted a Bo sapling and the temple began as a small hermitage. The erudite Thera, who also built the Vidyodaya Pirivena was responsible for designing the Buddhist flag and has performed a yeoman service to Buddhism, as well as arts and literature.

One can say that the Gangaramaya Temple is similar to other temples because of the Pagoda, the Bo tree, Buddhist shrines and preaching halls. But there is one thing that sets it apart from most other temples and indeed, other places of worship. The temple has very deep ties with the community and engages in a lot of social service activities. Long before the term Corporate Social Responsibility became fashionable, the Gangaramaya Temple has been doing something similar for decades.

The Seema Malaka on the Beira Lake, although located around 150 metres away from the main building, is an integral part of the Gangaramaya Temple and was restored and designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Geoffrey Bawa. He was not a Buddhist, but he was able to capture the nuances of Buddhist teachings perfectly in designing the Seema Malaka which evokes the serenity of many ancient hermitages in the country. The Seema Malaka is often depicted in picture postcards as a temple in its own right and is used mostly for meditation. It has a large number of Buddha statues depicting various Mudras (poses) on all three platforms. The Bo Tree at Seema Malaka was grown from a sapling from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Interestingly, the Seema Malaka was part funded by donors from other communities and religions in a nod to the temple’s affinity with people from all communities.

Read more: Gangaramaya Temple: Oasis of serenity in the heart of Colombo