Nuwara Eliya, the splendor of central highlands

Just approximately 180Km from Colombo lies Nuwara Eliya at an altitude of 1868m (to be precise), a beautiful and breathtaking city in the central highlands of Sri Lanka surrounded with mountains, streams and valleys, plush water falls, meadows & streches of tea plantations (being one of the largest exporters of finest tea in the world), flora and fauna and boasts of the highest set botanical gardens in the world between 5000 - 6000 feet in elevation.

I truly envy my mother as she spent her childhood in this town of mountains thanks to my grand father who was attached to the 'government-kacheri' for many years. She often relates how she walks to school in the comfort of her woolen sweater yet shivering through the mist in the early hours of the morning and returns home after school only after visiting her berry-bush; she claims she kept hidden from the eyes of many for a very long time sparring every berry in her 'berry-trees'. 

The architecture of the city resembles an English country town inherited from the days of British colonisation. Green roofs, chimneys, well-groomed lawns filled with flower beds, pine tress, the horse race-course and the NuwaraEliya park are some of my favourite hallmarks of Nuwara Eliya town.  The sub-tropical climate enhances the aura of this majical jewel right in the heart of this paradise island. I love the drive up-hill to Nuwara Eliya (especially through the Hatton Road alternative to Kandy Road), it greets me with fresh-minted solemly chilled air with splendid scenary and coloured petals captivating not only my eyes but all my heart and soul. A trip to this city rejuvanates my entire body and mind. I'm sharing some shots taken uphill looking down on a magnificent view of Nuwara Eliya town taken during a visit with my family. 

Rain Syndrome

The rainy days are back in Colombo after many many weeks of skin-burning sunny spells and heat waves that felt almost a far-away dessert.

This tropical island can ignite with lust of the orange sun and then snap into a cooling sensation with crystal rain drops plunging down from hasty clouds soothing the earth.

In Colombo, it may not be an exaggeration, if I write that showers are meant for rush hours! Yes, in the mornings when kids are stumbling to school and their folks are getting to work; rain makes no delay in battering the ground into the evenings and ofcourse those returning home.

The other day, opposite my home, I clicked a poor crow worriedly swinging on a cob-web of street lines not very pleased at the grey clouds rushing in carrying tons of water to pour!

The Climb to Victory

A good friend of mine lent me a beautiful book which she said was an immense source of support in bolstering her faith at a time of struggle. That’s the key to overcoming troubles-faith. It reminded me that we are not spared from storms, but He has promised to be with us through them. And He has been! "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

"My help comes in a variety of forms. It may not always come in the form you expect, but it will come. I will never leave you to struggle on your own. I can help your spirit rise above the storms of life."- FROM JESUS WITH LOVE - FOR TROUBLED TIMES. To me, it has also come in the form of humans whom I call human-angels; in the form of family, friends, colleagues and perhaps even strangers. I've shared two passages extracted from this wonderful book of assurance. 

The climb to victory

The rugged climb doesn't dissuade the determined mountain climber, he revels in the challenge. Nothing can stop him from pressing on until he reaches his goal. No adversity can cause him to turn back. When he looks at the steep cliffs ahead, he doesn't focus on the danger but on the toeholds and narrow rock ledges that will take him to the peak. He isn't held back by the harshness of his surroundings or the toll the climb is taking on his body; he is propelled onward and upward by the thought of triumph.

There are many obstacles to surmount in life, but each one you conquer is another one behind you. When the going gets tough, lean on Me. Let Me lead the way and guide you up the rugged cliffs. I know all the danger spots and how to get past them. Together we will surmount each obstacle, together we will reach the summit, and together we will plant the flag of victory. Follow Me!

Ever-present help

You can find comfort in knowing that good can come of anything and that I allow trials in your life not to make you misrable, but better. Still at times it is hard to be so philosophical-all you want is some relief! You don't want to hear, "All this is for your good" - you just want to be free of the problem.

I know how you feel. When I was on the cross, the pain was so excruciating that I just wanted it to be over. I kept reminding Myself that I was enduring this so that you and a whole world full of sinners like you could be brought to salvation. I knew it was worth it, but it was a supreme struggle to keep such altruistic thoughts foremost in My mind. In My Father's time, the suffering did cease and I was released into the spiritual realm where such agony could no longer touch Me, but what an ordeal that was!

At the time of My suffering, My Father could not intervene. I had to go through that for you. But now that I have, I am always there to help through your times of pain and suffering. I left Myself be separated from divine help for that time so you could always have it available. So hold on. The victory, comfort, and surcease from suffering will come.

Trip to picturesque Trinco

Some shots taken during a trip to Trincomalee with my family. Trincomalee, a natural deep water harbour and  well known for most scenic beaches found in the island lies on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Bits and pieces of coral at Pigeon Island in Trincomalee.

Raavanan's Fort

This picture is a mix of the golden moon glazing the night sky above the Nilavalee beach in Trincomalee and the warm sea-water of pigeon island.

The Tale of Cleopatra and Princess

Despite the title above sounding a dramatization of an Egyptian historical storyline, it hasn't much to do with pyramids and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra! but certainly has something to do with small companions that fascinated the  Egyptians. Cats seemed to have played an important role in the ancient Egypt society and evidence suggests that it was in Egypt that the cat was first domesticated 4,000 years ago! Cats becoming a precious part of their culture were not only protected by the people but also their law.

Cleopatra and Princess (named by me) are two stray cats wondering about in our neighborhood! Since the day they discovered our kindness of serving them food, they gradually began to visit home regularly three times a day for their meals. Princess is actually a litter by Cleopatra, so in the early days, she was quite hesitant to climb over to our side of the wall, but Cleopatra wouldn't miss on her trips to us for her timely meals. Many times Cleopatra (the mum) would 'meow' at her young daughter, Princess and caress her, trying to convince her to come over, but Princess seemed afraid and not very willing. But now, Princess is all grown and well accustomed to making regular visits with her Mum to us in the morning, noon and night for their meals.

 A year ago, Cleopatra littered again, and this time Princess too joined her. It was quite funny to watch both Mum cat and daughter cat (I sometimes refer to them as that) carrying a loaded tummy! While Cleopatra was smart enough to carry her kittens to our home after littering, Princess poorly experienced had left them in the neighbor's garden exposed and not well hidden. We heard from a neighbour that her kittens were eaten by a straying animal. I still remember how Princess mournfully meowed for many days in confusion searching for her kittens. Princess quickly, started to have an affection for the kittens of Cleopatra, where she comes and spends time watching them and licking their fur but  somehow I felt the kittens always detached themselves from Princess as they tried to avoid her when she caressed them.

This time of the year, both Princess and Cleopatra have littered again, seems 3 each, as we watched Princess carry 6 kittens over the wall to our home 3 weeks ago. It’s amazing to see how Princess takes care of the kittens unlike Cleopatra who spends less time with them in comparison to Princess. All 6 kittens feed on both Princess and Cleopatra and they show absolutely no differences in feeding all 6 at the same time. 

Dusk in Mount Lavinia

A beautiful dusk I captured one evening in Mount Lavinia. These subtle colours gracing the evening sky was a pleasure to watch as the sun hid beneath the horizon.













The colours became more warm into the sunset.

Tamil Virtual University - Digital Library

The  Tamil Virtual University is a resourceful site for the Tamil communities living in different parts of the globe as well as others interested in learning Tamil and acquiring knowledge of the history, art, literature and culture of the Tamils. A very appealing feature of the site is the digital library presenting a rich resource of classified books, ancient and medieval literature and also romanised versions of Tamil literary works. 


A section for technical glossaries (claims of approximately 2 lakhs terms uploaded) with Tamil technical terms in all the disciplines including Information Technology/Engineering & Technology can be referenced. 

The tongue!

Its a dull Sunday noon... and I was thinking over the sermon at our church which surrounded the teachings of guarding our tongues... Following are some extracts of passages I referred in the bible telling us about the words we utter...

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29
"Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit." Psalm 52:2
"Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit." Psalm 34:13

Whoever I may have hurt in the past with my words... my mom or a friend or whoever it may be... I sincerely asked for forgiveness from God and prayed that I may always and always remember to guard my tongue and words I utter... But sometimes when situations in life require truth or the need to stand up and voice your thought on something that you may feel is not fair... our tongues tend to be sharp...don't they! That too..I decided today..I would try being more careful... I will try... ;-)

These images (by Reuters) extracted from one of the top stories on yahoo news today.... illustrates innocent birds toiling in a oil spill... I wish they had tongues to question us... the 'humans'... on our actions and life styles suffocating them!

source : http://ca.news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/ss/events/wl/100604_oilbirds/im:/04062010/2/photo/world-bird-covered-oil-flails-surf-east-grand-terre-island.html#photoViewer=/05062010/6/photo/photos-n-news-exhausted-oil-covered-brown-pelican-tries-climb-oil-containment.html