Funday Times

A series by Gaveshaka in association with Studio Times
The loveliest town in the loveliest island
“The loveliest town in the loveliest island in the world” is how British Governor Sir William Gregory (1872-1877) described Kandy, the hill capital. Experienced travelers in early British times identified Kandy as the most picturesque spot in the British Empire.

With the Esala Perahera starting later this month, Kandy becomes the most talked about city in the coming weeks with thousands flocking to see the Perahera.

Kandy is Maha Nuwara (Great City) to everyone. In fact, the Sinhala term for the city is Maha Nuwara and very often it is referred to merely as ‘Nuwara’. Yet everybody knows the term refers to Kandy.

Even though Kandy does not have the same history as Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa, yet it has a majestic aura about it. For one thing, being the last city to fall to the British, there is a sense of pride that the Sinhalese held to the last without giving up the fight against foreign domination. Then of course, the presence of the Sri Dalada, the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha has made Kandy the most venerated city among the Buddhists the world over. The city’s beauty and charm attract tourists, both local and foreign irrespective of race or religion.

Kandy has been described as a town lying round a lake set like a gem in the cup of green hills. “There can be no question as to the beauty of the Lake, sparkling in the noonday sunshine or glowing rose and gold in the sunset, with the hills, thick-grown with palm and bamboo and gorgeous flowering trees, rising up from the water’s edge,” Bella Sidney Woolf, sister of Leonard Woolf, wrote in 1914.

The lake, the picturesque landmark of Kandy, is the work of the last king, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe (1798-1815) who built it in 1807, just seven years before the kingdom was ceded to the British. He had built a summer house at the islet seen in the middle of the lake. In later times the British had used it as a storehouse for ammunition.

Today those interested can do a ride in a motor boat. A walk or a drive round the lake is a worthwhile experience. The most striking building in the Temple of the Tooth is the Pattirippuwa or Octagon which is being used as a library. It was also built by Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe. On important occasions the king had addressed his people from the Pattirippuwa. The oldest portion is the inner shrine where the sacred Tooth Relic is kept. This two-storey building (the Inner Temple) dates back to the time of King Narendrasinghe (1706-1739). Later kings had made improvements.

Slightly behind and to the north of the Dalada Maligawa is the Audience Hall, a good example of Kandyan architecture. The foundation stone to this pillared open hall had been laid in 1784 during the reign of King Rajadhi Rajasinha (1780-1798). The elaborately carved columns are made of teak and ‘halmilla’. The wooden pillars rise from a stoned floor. They are capped by carved wooden brackets. The roof has a steep gradient and is clad with flat tiles. This is the only building of its type of the Kandy period. This was the venue for the signing of the famous Kandyan Convention in 1815 between the British and the Kandyan chieftains.

Kandy was the last kingdom in Sri Lankan history. The attempts by the Portuguese and the Dutch to capture the Kandyan kingdom and secure it failed. The Portuguese captured it thrice and the Dutch once, but each time the occupation was brief. It was the British who finally succeeded in capturing it thereby establishing their sovereignty over the whole country.

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