Sama Chethiya, Rumassala, Srilanka.

Canon EOS 1000D, EF-S 18-55mm, 22mm, F 8, ISO 100, 3 Exposures

This is Sama Chethiya in Rumassala, Srilanka. It was build by the Japanese people as a good will to the people of this area.

Sama Chethiya is located in a hillock and when i stood there i could see the whole southern coastal area and harbor.The most prominent feature about Rumassala is a mythical 'fall'. Actually this place is part of a village called Unawatuna and people here interprets that Unawatuna derives from ‘Onna-wetuna’ (There, it fell). It was quiet strange for me to believe this story, but let me continue with what i have gathered about the myth.

Its derived from the Indian theme Ramayana and Ravana who had a battle in which Ramayana's brother Lakshman was fatally injured and little hope was there to save his life, only if one could fetch certain herbs from the Himalayas.This mission was undertaken by Hanuman (Monkey God) and by the time he found the place, he had forgotten the names of the herbs he was suppose to fetch, so he took the chunk of the mountain  on his shoulders all the way to India and when the medics took the necessary herbs Hanuman threw the chunk and it fell to this area of Srilanka and came to be named Rumassala. Ru-mas-sala, could be translated as ‘Beautiful Rock’. Incidentally, its present name ‘Buona Vista’, seems an echo of the original meaning, since ‘Buona Vista’ implies, ‘Beautiful Sight’.

I had a great time listening to this story and had a good laugh about the reason Hanuman actually did forget the list of herbs. Anyhow i hope you enjoy reading this. As much as i enjoyed listening to the story i have enjoyed processing it too. I have accentuated the saturation and added bit of darkness to the image to bring about the power and the feel behind the story.

enjoy!