Dr. R. L. Brohier Archives

It all happened in Colombo – a generation ago – By Upali Salgado The changing face of Colombo, and the lifestyles of her people exposed to Western culture are always fascinating. Two writers, Herbert Hulugalle, a former Editor of the Ceylon Daily News, and Dr. R.L. Brohier, OBE, have in print recorded many facets of the History of Colombo, which was once a Moor trading centre and later a Portuguese and Dutch cittadel. During British times, it was known as the ‘Garden City’. This story is to rekindle the interest of readers about what life in Colombo once was. The prominent landmarks that beautify the landscape of Colombo are Slave Island with the picturesque Beira Lake encircling the human settlement, and the Galle Face walk (‘Green’ as it is known today). Moors and Malays have lived in Slave Island for over 800 years, and also ‘Kaffir’ soldiers, brought from Mozambique and the ...

MAHAYANA SITE OF BUDURUWAGALA-by Mahil Wijesinghe Source:Sundayobserver “Wary of guides, I always preferred to look at ancient sites for myself rather than through a haze of verbiage. In this instance what my eye look afresh, was something more like fantasy of colossal figures carved on the base of rock which rose to a height of 70 feet. They were giant size, upright human figures which in their eerie forest setting and with the marks of weathering they had undergone through a thousand years or more by exposure to the elements, produced a subtle aura of reverential wonder.” “The central panel was dominated by a gigantic statue of the Buddha sculpture in high relief on the natural rock with details finished off in stucco. This Buddha statue rose to a height of 51 feet – nearly 13 feet higher than better known Buddha image of Avukana and Sessuruwa in the Raja ...