Tekweni

Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 formerly Ceylon, is an island of serendipity where you can expect to see the unexpected. It has a rich history, which is explored in this documentary. Where else would you catch sight of a macaque monkey chewing betel nuts while riding pillion on the back of a bicycle, or a man perched on stick, fishing in the sea, or an Asian elephant carrying its lunch in its trunk while it walks down the street with its mahout. In a culture where elephants and humans have had a symbiotic relationship dating back more than 5000 years, the orphaned youngsters are given special protection and the older ones are used for tourism, logging and religious activities such as the Temple of the Tooth ceremony.

Many other species, including 43 of the world’s most endangered are also protected in as many as 22 wildlife parks with Yala National Park being the most popular and where a glimpse of the island’s sloth bear is possible. This spice island is renowned for its bounty of precious gems including opals, rubies, sapphires, topaz and quartz, and is also rich in history and culture with its Kandian dancing and an abundance of Hindu temples and statues of buddha, including the huge meditating golden buddha in Kandy and the renowned reclining buddha at Polonnaruwa. In the higher region of the island is Sigiriya, a massive 200 metre granite rock on top of which a renegade prince built a palace and fortress, when Europe was going through the dark ages. Expect to see paintings of his concubines on the way up and and a 360 degree view of the surrounding area from the top, including one of the most significant landscaped gardens in the ancient world. For its unmatched combination of urban planning, water engineering, horticulture and arts the site has gained Unesco World Heritage status. Evidence of the island’s more recent Colonial history as Ceylon is everywhere, from the decaying architecture of its baronial homes with their vast tea plantations, palatial hotels which have provided the backdrop of many films as well as a race course and golf course, all reminiscent of a more opulent and even decadent lifestyle reminiscent of that of White Mischief” in Kenya. Before the British it was the Portuguese who colonised the island and their strong legacy still remains, not only in elements of the Sinhalese language but also the architecture and many catholic churches dotted around the island. The Dutch have also left a legacy from their colonisation of the island in the 17th Century, most notably in their architecture which at its best can be seen in the Groot Kerk and the magnificent fort in Galle which is now a World Heritage site and which is a replica of the fort that the Dutch East India Company built in Cape Town in 1652.