THE CHORISTERS PICNIC OF 1957 – by Bernard VanCuylenburg The photograph is of the choir of St., Anthony’s College Kandy, on their annual picnic in 1957. That year the choristers were taken to the Laxapana Scheme near Norton Bridge. This dam and the bridge were not far from Carolina Group Watawala where my Dad was Planting. When my Dad and Mum heard of this, he invited our Choir Master Mr. Cyril Brown and the choristers to stop at our bungalow for Breakfast – an invitation which was gladly accepted. The photograph taken that day on the front lawn after Breakfast, with Dad and Mum in the center in the front row. I am on the fourth from the right, partly hidden wearing a blue jumper, behind the boy (Tony Hall) wearing a tie. Ralph Barthelot is the second boy from the left in the front row, next to Neil Wijeratne also ...
A TALE OF THREE CITIES – POLONNARUWA ANGKOR AND BAGAN – (LOWER MYANMAR).- By Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE. This article is pursuant to the one I last wrote for eLanka “Three religions and a Kingdom – The Glory of Angkor Wat.” The concluding paragraph of that article dealt with the diplomatic relations between medieval Polonnaruwa when King Parakramabahu the Great ruled Lanka and the Khmer empire, ruling from Angkor Wat in Kampuchea. (Cambodia). For reasons of brevity, I omitted to write the concluding paragraph which deals with King Parakramabahu’s foreign policy which had wider ramifications for two countries in South East Asia, Burma and Cambodia. For reasons of clarity Bagan in this article refers to the City – State of Burma, or Myanmar as the country is known today. KING PARAKRAMABAHU THE VISIONARY. King Parakramabahu’s policy of fostering ties with the Khmer empire had one negative – albeit temporary – consequence ...
TWO RELIGIONS AND A ROYAL KINGDOM – THE GLORY THAT WAS ANGKOR – By Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE. Dr.Henri Mouhot the French Naturalist was doing what he loved best, searching for new species of flora in a leafy green forest which was his passion. Pressing even deeper into a green kingdom glinting with birds of every variety, and flora and fauna of every description, tropical heat notwithstanding, he set to work with a passion. Suddenly, something in the forest beyond caught his eye. Amid the thickets he and his workers spotted a massive structure that resembled what looked like a temple and colossal stone steps thrown down by trees which had grow between the crevices, and reached a terrace the form of which was impossible to make out. As a guide cleared a path with his machete, they came across another colossal structure half buried in the density of ...
SILENT SENTINELS OF ANCIENT GLORY. THE PRAMBANAN HINDU TEMPLES OF EAST JAVA – by Bernard VanCuylenburg After a spellbinding tour of the Borobudur Monument I took the road well travelled to Yogyakarta, because North East of this great city I was aware of another cultural pearl which for the past 1200 years has kept a silent vigil in majestic splendour, lost to the world in the solitude of the jungle defying time and the elements, until it was discovered in 1885. These are the spectacular Hindu temples of Prambanan which are the best examples of ancient Java’s Hindu culture, and Indonesia’s most outstanding example of Hindu art. I visited the site early morning when the majestic Shiva temples were punctuating the morning mists to present their timeless profiles to the new day. All the temples in the area were built between the 8th and10th centuries AD when religious harmony prevailed ...
BOROBUDUR – A JOURNEY TO NIRVANA – by Bernard VanCuylenburg Lost and forgotten, the temple lay in the heart of a thick forest embraced by a mantle of green, its ancient walls smothered by vines, ferns and shrubs of every description. By day and at night, the only sounds were those of the leopard, or the shrieking of monkeys, the piercing trill of birds, and other denizens of the jungle. For over a thousand years, Borobudur the largest Buddhist monument in the world, was a word that was only a spectral memory, confined to the realms of invisibility. The eternal reverie of this architectural marvel came back to life in 1815 when it was rediscovered by a Dutch Engineer working under Sir Thomas Raffles the Governor of Java. This chance discovery which was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries at the time revealed the magnitude of the builders and architect’s ...
ETERNAL SPLENDOUR IN STONE – THE STORY OF THE LESHAN BUDDHA – by Bernard VanCuylenburg. PROLOGUE. This story is about a Monk, a Buddha, and two rivers, which had its genesis over 1500 years ago in Leshan China, on a cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers. Before I get to the crux of this article, some context by reference to the two statues of the Buddha in the Bamiyan valley in Afghanistan is timely. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2001 signalled the loss of a priceless legacy to humanity, and dealt a fatal blow to the cultural sensitivities of the world. One statue stood 180 ft tall, and the other was 124 ft. Both statues over 2000 years old stood in an area which was a holy site for Buddhists, on the ancient trading route between China and Europe known as The Silk ...
THE SIGIRIYA SAGA – THE AFTERMATH – by Bernard VanCuylenburg A poet, writing in the glory days of the Moghul empire in India referred to the Taj Mahal as “..a teardrop on the face of India…” I would go a step further and say that Sigiriya is more than a teardrop. Long after the tears have been shed, it remains a lingering heartache in the psyche and spirit of Sri Lanka and an archaeological treasure where the full gamut of human emotions – anger, hatred, revenge, greed, murder, and lust for power, have been played out to the maximum. The events that unfolded on that fateful day over 1600 years ago still resonate today, which is why Sigiriya is perhaps the most visited historic site in the island. The protagonists in this drama, King Dhatusena, Prince Kasyappa, Prince Moggallana, and the commander of the army Migara ,who was King Dhatusena’s son-in-law are names ...
SUNRISE AND SUNSET – A MEMORIAL FOR GORDON COORAY – By Bernard VanCuylenburg. There is an old saying that “Good friends come into our lives too late, and leave too early”. Antonians of a younger generation may have only heard of Gordon Cooray by name. Citing my own example – I joined St. Anthony’s College in January 1951 and Gordon left college in 1953 or 1954. I only made Gordon’s acquaintance when I came to Australia 6 months short of forty years in this country. But it was forty years in which I found that Gordon by virtue of whom he was, made the world a better place for me and many others. He gave of himself in the service of his fellow human beings, and often walked the extra mile for anybody who sought his assistance or advice. The Memorial Mass held for Gordon Cooray on Sunday the 14th ...
THE SECRET OF THE SANDS – by Bernard VanCuylenburg Epilogue. Pursuant to the articles which I wrote last year, “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage, parts 1 and 2 “) following a foray into the cornucopia of ruins buried in deep jungle well off the beaten track, I embarked on a similar venture in March this year. I am passionately moved by the treasure trove of what could be the best in ancient Sinhala civilization, possibly the life force of Sinhala culture which remains buried in the sands still awaiting the archaeologists spade, and I wish to share my experience with a wider circle of lovers of history. Parting the veil of time, an unknown sculptor, architect, engineer, master craftsman, even a poet, reached out to me and held my hand leading me across the centuries in my quest. I read somewhere that “Quotations are thefts of other peoples wisdom.” ...
THE SECRET OF THE SANDS. – By Bernard VanCuylenburg. Epilogue. Pursuant to the articles which I wrote last year, “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage, parts 1 and 2 “) following a foray into the cornucopia of ruins buried in deep jungle well off the beaten track, I embarked on a similar venture in March this year. I am passionately moved by the treasure trove of what could be the best in ancient Sinhala civilization, possibly the life force of Sinhala culture which remains buried in the sands still awaiting the archaeologists spade, and I wish to share my experience with a wider circle of lovers of history. Parting the veil of time, an unknown sculptor, architect, engineer, master craftsman, even a poet, reached out to me and held my hand leading me across the centuries in my quest. I read somewhere that “Quotations are thefts of other peoples ...
