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A stroke of serendipity, Sri Lanka-by Karen Anand Source:Telegraphindia In the 4th century, Sri Lanka was known by its Persian and Arabic name, Serendip. From the 16th century, the Dutch and Portuguese ruled over much of the island and it was colonised by the British and renamed Ceylon from 1796 to 1948 when it became independent and was called Sri Lanka. Serendip is best known to speakers of English through the word ‘serendipity’, invented in the 18th century by the Englishman Horace Walpole on the inspiration of a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes often made discoveries by chance. My recent visit to Serendip was indeed a tropical fairy tale with some serendipitous happenings. This was my second trip to what locals refer to as “the island”. On my first trip a few years ago, we only touched Galle for a day and spent the rest ...