Kelaniya - A fountain of Art

Yesterday was a very special day for me. After 10 months, I parted from my teaching life. Many asked me why, but I just feel I'm fated to follow the writer's path... until my journey ends. And so from today on.. I'm back to being the freelancer I once was.

BTW I just noticed.. I've passed the 4000 milestone in my visitor counter! :D Thanks for all those who dropped by regularly, irregularly, accidentally, mysteriously, frequently and occasionally, unwillingly and willingly, from islets to continents and solar system as well as beyond the endless universe..! Thanks so much for keeping this blog alive.. even during its hibernating days. :D A sweeping big thank you for all! ^__^

So back to the topic.. Art.. is something that won't miss my eager eyes.. or should I say eagle eyes? lol Don't know why but art in all forms just attract me, though I have very little theoretical know-how to back it up. So.. the last time we visited the famous Kelaniya temple.. I sure didn't miss all the wonderful art the place flaunted.

Art is... a universally cherished... fondly reminisced.. wonderful wee moments... brimming with life!

Sit back and enjoy your virtual tour!
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They are not mere fillers..

those square faced motifs on the golden brown pillars.

"Let's play hide and seek!", said the blue flip-flop to the brown sandal,

and so they played hours on end, until their owners returned.

As the 6 swans and 4 lil demons eagerly gazed down,

the pageant of 4 tuskers marched on.

 

I may be a tusker of stone or cement, for which I do not care

just hold on to me and watch your step, when you climb up the stair

 

They say they are sweetly fragrant, soft and vivid in color

but we born on the rough cement, aren't we beautiful like no other?

 

And so we stand together and guard 24/7

as we are the elites summoned, straight from the heaven

Meet the clan of cobra, the vigilant and shrewd

strong, wise and daring, now in a peaceful mood

Oh! the ripples of water, how did thou become so square?

 thy ripples have no curves, or life.. indeed I think how rare

 

You look me in the eye and utter aloud, 'daddy, an elephant with whiskers!'

but look sonny, am so different, am one of the noble Indian tuskers.

The twin dragons, so white and bright

kindly watches the devotees till they're out of sight

 

Those soaring pillars so stalwart and gracious

are bathed in reliefs so enchanting and precious

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Art is... beautiful... Art is... reverential.. Art is... timeless... Art is... priceless!

Click here and here to see more photos captured at the Kelaniya temple.

Art..

...breathes Life into Rocks.

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This post.. is something that ought to have been up right after the Medirigirya post that was posted in September, you see. I wonder if it's cause, time flies a lot faster on this side of the planet. O__o

Coming back to Medirigiriya,
We got there around 3pm but the sun was blazing, blindingly bright. The soft plush sand, the rocky terrain, the smooth stone platform and the rough stone stairway.. all gave us their warmest *= blistering hot* welcome. It was so hot that a mere human couldn't stand still for more than 5 seconds, unless they find an oasis under the shade of a tree.

We were partly skipping, scampering and pausing at the small oases en route to this unique Watadage, that is said to be aesthetically best among its counterparts. But once I climbed up the stairway and got on to the circular stone platform.. I was stunned. It was a truly amazing sight that awaited us.

The soaring stone pillars fortifying the stone parapet gave us wonderfully distinct vistas like a celluloid. Behind the parapet was another circular platform with no railing for safety. Below that was a sheer drop, good enough to give goosebumps to anyone.

Wrapping this massive stone art was a green carpet of tree tops running as far as the eyes can see. And reverberating among them are the extemporized songs, mostly of the chirpy parrots playing hide and seek behind the greens. Farther towards the right were more stone ruins at a lower altitude, somewhat similar to the ones next to me. Above me was the bluest blue sky, blotted with silky white clouds and smudgy gray clouds.. looking nothing terrestrial. I bet twas a massive canvas carefully painted with water color by a giant heavenly being.

Watadage as I said before translates to Circular Relic House. Beaten by the scorching weather, torrential monsoons and a number of ruthless invasions.. today we could only see this ancient wonder in ruins. Slashed by the invaders' merciless swords, some of the stone statues remaining here only had the torso. The pillars behind them rose sky high and they were all crafted beautifully with subtle designs. But the glaring sun didn't allow me to absorb these captivating motifs for more than a few seconds.

As I leisurely wandered round and round the Watadage in a stupefied amazement, I forgot something very, very important. For when I looked around.. our folks had already left the Watadage and had rushed to find an oasis. And then it suddenly hit me, OMG the floor *= stone platform* was still smoldering hot! O__O

Once my lost senses returned from the oblivion, I couldn't stay put for even a few seconds there, so had to hurry down the stairway to join my folks. Under the shade of a grove they were all chatting cheerfully, some standing, some seated on cool stone benches nearby. I too sat on one of them and looked around. I was surprised beyond words, once more. There around us, popping up from the ground, were some of the finest archeological discoveries.. that you already saw in my last post. ^__^

So here we go, finally, to the historical Watadage of Medirigiriya.
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* All pics can be expanded with a simple CTRL + Click

















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This winds up the Medirigiriya topic and finally wraps up the entire Somawathie trip.

On a different note, I took a few IQ tests and realized that my IQ has gone down dramatically. O__O That proves I haven't used my teeny brain for a while.. well.. I wonder even that bit had vanished. -__-

So.. I decided to do a life planner, listing my 3 utmost life goals. Made some mini goals under them. And after contemplating a lot, I found out that I'm better off with my old faithful freelancing career. =D Oh but this time, the type of work I'm hoping to do will be totally different. And if it works out.. it'd help me big time to achieve one of my 3 life goals a bit more earlier than I thought. So.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ^__^