Copper Waters of Kandy Lake. Kandy. Sri Lanka #1

by Jenny Rainbow

Title

Copper Waters of Kandy Lake. Kandy. Sri Lanka #1

Artist

Jenny Rainbow

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Photograph - Photography

Description

Kandy Lake is a lake in the heart of the hill city of Kandy, Sri Lanka, built in 1807 by King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Sri Lanka next to the Temple of the Tooth. Over the years, it was reduced in size. It is a protected lake, with fishing banned. There are many legends and folklore regarding the lake. One such is that the small island at its center was used by the king's helm for bathing and was connected to the palace by secret tunnel.
Kandy Lake, the main body of water in the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka, is a man-made lake created in 1807 by the last Sinhalese king of Kandy, using forced labor. The king used land which was a paddy field to create the lake. It stands as an indictment[according to whom?] of the excesses of the Kandyan monarchy for wasting away national resources to build an ornamental lake at a time when the kingdom was under serious threat. When a hundred of his advisors advised King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe against building the lake, he had them impaled on the reservoir bund of the paddy field which he was converting into the ornamental lake. It was not long before the British captured him, with help from his own noblemen disgruntled by his irrational policies.
Kandy Lake has a perimeter of 2.1 miles and a maximum depth of 60 feet. A decorative wall, called Walakulu wall, runs for 2060 feet along the banks of the Kandy Lake. In the middle of the lake is an island housing the Royal Summer House. Sri Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Tooth Relic, is located beside the lake across the road. On the opposite side of the road from the Temple of the Tooth Relic is the Royal Bathhouse, which is used by the king's wives and concubines as a bathhouse. The British added one more story to the structure to house a library.
The Kandy Lake offers a place for a stroll or a jog. The shady path surrounding the lake provides a view of the hills and the town. The lake was created in 1807 by the last Sinhalese King. It is situated by the side of the Temple of the tooth relic. The Malwatte temple, one of the two head temples of the Siyam Nikaya sect of Theravada Buddhism, is also located overlooking the lake. Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, the last king of Kandy, decorated the lake with the "walakulu" (clouds) wall.

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February 23rd, 2013

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