Raditha’s Photos

A normally calm, quite and dark residential lane gets transformed on Vesak day with people bringing out their vesak lanterns.

Last year’s vesak was at Great Western. In 2007, I forgot to take a photo!

The other day, I showed you Sri Pada (or Adam’s Peak) from a distance – as it can be seen from Colombo on clear days. This shot was taken at Great Western from where you can catch a glimpse of the holy mountain on a daily basis.

This photo was shot in 2006 and first appeared in my now defunct ‘Sri Lanka is Happening’ blog. It was from the same place the the government stole the Colombo Fort photo.

Adams peak, the most prominent of Sri Lankas mountain can be seen from the top of my water tank which is more than 200 Kilometers away by road. It is said that in the past Adam’s Peak could be seen on most days at many different places in Colombo. If you look at the 19th century paintings of Colombo, you will often find that Adam’s peak is shown in the background.

Things have changed. Dust, Smoke and buildings obscure the view.

By the way, those smugdes on the foreground were caused by a flock of egrets who flew past at that very moment.