1.
Cinnamon Gardens
–
Cinnamon Gardens is a neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka located 3 kilometers south-east from Colombos centre. Cinnamon Gardens is named from the cinnamon plantation in this area. In the year 1789, there were 289 acres of trees in the gardens. It is also the location of the Colombo Department of Meteorology, Cinnamon Gardens is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic area. The major ethnic communities in Cinnamon Gardens are Sinhalese and Tamils, ethnic minorities include Burghers and Arab descendants. Religions include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and various other religions, bishops College Buddhist Ladies College Carey College, Colombo Colombo International School D
2.
Colombo
–
Colombo is the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million and it is the financial centre of the island and a popular tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is within the urban area of, and a satellite city of, Colombo. It is also the capital of Western Province, Sri Lanka. Colombo is a busy and vibrant place with a mixture of life and colonial buildings. It was the capital of Sri Lanka until 1982. Due to its harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, in 1978, when administrative functions were moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The main city is home to a majority of Sri Lankas corporate offices, restaurants, the name Colombo, first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505, is believed to be derived from the classical Sinhalese name කොලොන් තොට Kolon thota, meaning port on the river Kelani. Another belief is that the name is derived from the Sinhalese name කොල-අඹ-තොට Kola-amba-thota which means Harbour with leafy mango trees, the author of the oldest Sinhalese grammar, Sidatsangarava, written in the 13th century wrote about a category of words that exclusively belonged to early Sinhalese. It lists naramba and kolamba as belonging to an indigenous source, kolamba may also be the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo. As Colombo possesses a harbour, it was known to Indian, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Arabs. Traveller Ibn Batuta who visited the island in the 14th century and their descendants now comprise the local Sri Lankan Moor community. Portuguese explorers led by Dom Lourenço de Almeida first arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, as part of the treaty, the Portuguese were given full authority over the coastline in exchange for the promise of guarding the coast against invaders. They were allowed to establish a trading post in Colombo, within a short time, however, they expelled the Muslim inhabitants of Colombo and began to build a fort in 1517. Following the fall of the kingdom in 1593, the Portuguese were able to complete control over the coastal area. This part of Colombo is still known as Fort and houses the presidential palace, the area immediately outside Fort is known as Pettah and is a commercial hub. In 1638 the Dutch signed a treaty with King Rajasinha II of Kandy which assured the king assistance in his war against the Portuguese in exchange for a monopoly of the major trade goods
3.
Monument
–
The term monument is often applied to buildings or structures that are considered examples of important architectural and/or cultural heritage. Monuments have been created for thousands of years, and they are often the most durable, in more recent times, monumental structures such as the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower have become iconic emblems of modern nation-states. The term monumentality relates to the status and physical presence of a monument. Monuments are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location, planned cities such as Washington D. C. New Delhi and Brasília are often built around monuments, for example, the Washington Monuments location was conceived by LEnfant to help organize public space in the city, before it was designed or constructed. Older cities have monuments placed at locations that are important or are sometimes redesigned to focus on one. As Shelley suggested in his famous poem Ozymandias, the purpose of monuments is often to impress or awe. Structures created for purposes that have been made notable by their age. This can happen because of age and size, as in the case of the Great Wall of China. Monuments are also designed to convey historical or political information. They can be used to reinforce the primacy of political power. The social meanings of monuments are rarely fixed and certain and are contested by different social groups. This contention of meaning is a theme of modern post processual archaeological discourse. Until recently, it was customary for archaeologists to study large monuments, New ideas about what constitutes the archaeological record have revealed that certain legislative and theoretical approaches to the subject are too focused on earlier definitions of monuments. An example has been the United Kingdoms Scheduled Ancient Monument laws, recently, more and more monuments are being preserved digitally through organisations as CyArk. Cenotaphs and other memorials to commemorate the dead, usually war casualties, e. g. India Gate and Vimy Ridge Memorial, or disaster casualties, such as the Titanic Memorial, Belfast. Church monuments to commemorate the dead, located above or near their grave, often featuring an effigy, columns, often topped with a statue, e. g. Berlin Victory Column, Nelsons Column in London, and Trajans Column in Rome. Gravestones, small monuments to the deceased, placed at their gravesites, e. g. the tombs and vaults of veterans in Les Invalides, mausoleums and tombs to honor the dead, e. g. the Great Pyramid of Giza and Taj Mahal
4.
Sri Lanka
–
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
5.
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
–
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a soldier and third son of King George V and Queen Mary. He also served as the eleventh Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the Duke served as a soldier for most of his life. At his death in 1974, he was the last surviving knight of the Order of St. Patrick, as well as the last surviving child of King George V, Prince Henry was born on 31 March 1900, at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate. His father was the Duke of York, the eldest surviving son of the Prince of Wales and his mother was Mary of Teck, the only daughter of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in the line of succession to the throne, behind his grandfather, father and he was informally known to his family as Harry. As a young boy, Prince Henry suffered from ill health very much like his older brother Albert and he also had knocked knees and had to wear painful leg splints. He was a nervous child, and was often victim to spontaneous fits of crying or giggling. On top of this, Henry also had a nasal lisp, by 1909, Henry’s poor health had become a serious concern for his parents. He was very small for his age and was prone to get very aggressive colds, “You must remember that he is rather fragile and must be treated differently to his two elder brothers who are more robust, ” wrote Prince George to Henry’s tutor, Henry Peter Hansell. On 6 May 1910, Prince George became king and Henry, the King was persuaded by Mr. Hansell that it would be good for Henry’s character to attend school, where he could interact with boys his age. The King, having previously rejected this proposition for his two sons, agreed on the basis that it would help him “behave like a boy. Prince Henry became the first son of a British monarch to attend school. After three days at St Peters Court in Broadstairs, as a day boy, Mr. Hansell, noticing he liked it, asked the King to send him as a boarder, Henry spent three years at St Peters Court. Academically, he was not very bright, although he did show a particular aptitude in mathematics, Henry’s sole interest became sports, particularly cricket and football. “All you write about is your everlasting football of which I am heartily sick, ” wrote his mother, in September 1913 Henry started at Eton College and during the First World War, a member of his house was Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium, later King Leopold III. His studies did not improve but his nerves and disposition did and he made friends through his enthusiasm for sports, and his masters were very pleased with him, noting in his report that he was “thoroughly willing, cheerful, modest & obedient”. To his father, these values were the most important, having no time or interest in what he called “intellectuals”. By the time he went to Cambridge in 1919 with his brother Albert, unlike his brothers, Prince Henry joined the Army instead of the Royal Navy
6.
D. S. Senanayake
–
Don Stephen Senanayake, PC was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Sri Lanka and he served as Prime Minister from the formation of an independent nation in 1948 until he died in office in 1952. He is considered as the Father of the Nation and he was born in the village of Botale. He was the son of Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake and he had two brothers, Don Charles D. C. Senanayake and Fredric Richard F. R. Senanayake, and one sister, brought up in a devout Buddhist family, he entered the prestigious Anglican school S. Thomas College, Mutwal. After completing schooling, he worked as a clerk in the Surveyor Generals Department, the three Senanayake brothers were involved in the temperance movement formed in 1912. When World War I broke out in 1914 they joined the Colombo Town Guard, the brothers were imprisoned without charges during the 1915 riots and faced the prospect of execution since the British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers considered the temperance movement as seditious. Brutal suppression of the riots by the British initiated the independence movement led by the educated middle class. Don Stephen and Don Charles were prominent members of the political party Lanka Mahajana Sabha, Fredrick Richard and Don Charles were committed supporters of the Young Mens Buddhist Association. D. S. Senanayake played a role in the independence movement. In 1924 Senanayake was elected unopposed to the Legislative Council of Ceylon from Negombo, Fredrick Richard died on a pilgrimage to Buddha Gaya in 1925 and Don Stephen assumed his leadership of the independence movement. In 1931 he was elected to the newly formed State Council of Ceylon representing the Ceylon National Congress and he effectively combated Ceylons agricultural problems and established the Land Development Ordinance, an agricultural policy to counter Ceylons rice problems. This policy earned him respect, and he continued to be a minister for fifteen years and he also enforced a productivity programme of Agricultural Modernisation. At the onset of World War II in the far east, D. S. Senanayake, as Minister of Agriculture and Lands and a member of the Ceylon war cabinet took an active role in food supply and control. A close relationship developed between Senanayake and the deputy commissioner Dr Ivor Jennings, principal of the Ceylon University College, Jennings, an expert on constitutional law, subsequently became D. Ss adviser on constitutional reforms aimed at gaining independence for the island. In December 1942, Senanayake became the Leader of the House and Vice Chairman of the Board of Ministers in the State Council, upon the retirement of Sir Baron Jayatilaka, Minister of Home Affairs. On 26 May 1943, the British Government made the Whitehall Declaration of 1943 on Ceylon constitutional change and this bypassed the Governor, who called for a commission from the colonial office to halt the activities of the ministers. In 1944, the Soulbury Commission was formed, in 1945, following Labours win in the 1945 general election, he proceeded to London and met the newly appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, George Hall
7.
Order of the British Empire
–
There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
8.
Kandyan Convention
–
The Kandyan Convention was an agreement signed on 10 March 1815 between the British and the Chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, in Sri Lanka for the deposition of rule King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The king who was of South Indian ancestry faced powerful opposition from the Sinhalese chieftains who sought to reduce his power, a successful coup was organized by the Sinhala chieftains in which they accepted the British crown as their new king. This ended the line of the Kingdom of Kandy and King Rajasinha was taken as a prisoner, by 2 March 1815 the islands sovereignty was under that of the British Empire. This unique treaty was not signed by the deposed King but by members of his court, because the king was hiding from the British, later he was captured and banished to Vellore in south India. Before the signing of the convention, a British soldier took down the Kandyan flag, wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero, saw what had happened and quickly replaced the British flag with the Kandyan one. The soldier got angry but before he could do anything, Sir John DOyly who was nearby, robert Brownrigg - Quartermaster-General and in 1813 Governor of Ceylon John DOyly - Chief Translator to the Government Jas. The king is declared fallen and deposed and the claim of his dynasty. All his male relatives are banished from the island, the religion of Buddhism is declared inviolable and its rights to be maintained and protected. All forms of torture and mutilations are abolished. The governor alone can sentence a person to death and all capital publishments to take place in the presence of accredited agents of the government, other non-Kandyans position to remain according to British law. The proclamation annexing the Three and Four Korales and Sabaragamuwa is repealed, the dues and revenues to be collected for the King of England as well as for the maintenance of internal establishments in the island. The Governor alone can facilitate trade and commerce, herath The 1815 Kandyan Convention at the Audience Hall The signing of the Kandyan Convention Kandyan Convention of 1815 Kandyan Convention of 1815 by Dr. K. D. G
9.
Radala
–
Radala refers to a small minority caste in the Kandyan Kingdom of Sri Lanka. They were the aristocracy of the Kingdom of Kandy, the term Radala is coming from the combination of words Radh and Kola or Kula, which literally means the royal caste. The word Radala came into existence after the throne of the Kingdom of Kandy went to the Nayak Dynasty, higher officials in the court of Vira Narendra Sinha were offered this state and Nayakkara prince was selected as king over kings son by a local queen. Traditionally, Radala was not a term used for all officials of the state. In the Sinhala version of the Kandyan Convention of 1815, only the Adigars, Dissavas, the 19th century British rulers who created an extensive class of New Radalas in the Kandyan territory were keen to call them an aristocracy to assist them with its administration. However Sri Lankan history shows that many Kandyan Radalas were civil and military officials of the court and considered aristocratic, the offspring of Kandyan Kings from aristocratic concubines were those that were originally considered as Radalas. In addition to a queen and one or two secondary queens, Kandyan kings also had a Harem. Harem ladies from royal stock were called Randoli, ladies of the Radala and Govigama castes were taken into the harem as Yakadadoli and sometimes as Randolis. Favourite concubines frequently received land grants and their offspring were appointed as officials of the royal court. As a result of this, Mampitiya Bandara and Unamboowe Bandara, born to Radala yakadadolis and fathered by Kandyan kings, could have ascendened the Kandyan throne. Apart from having to dress in full in the presence of the King. They were permitted to use their own ancestral and military insignia, swords, umbrellas, jewellery, some Chiefs were merely personal attendants of the King. The Diyawadana Nilame was the Kings personal Valet responsible for bathing and dressing of the King, the traditional Kandyan Radala of the past had considered themselves to be an exclusive caste and not part of the Govigama caste. Bryce Ryan observed as recent as 1953 that Radalas repudiated Govi connections, the Radalas as a community had had significant power over the throne of Kandy. After capturing the Kandyan provinces in 1815, the British soon created a class of New Radalas in the Kandyan territory to assist them with its administration. They were all from anglicized families and were considered pillars of the Anglican church and they had English first names and their children too were similarly named. In addition they had a string of high sounding Sinhala names taken on when receiving their appointment from the British, some of these names were from Kandyan families that had ceased to exist or were severely reduced, and from purported ancestors with dubious connections. The new British-made Radala class were immediately rejected by the original Kandyan Radalas, the new British-made Radalas tried unsuccessfully to rename themselves with the names of famous Kandyan Radalas such as the Keppitipolas, Mampitiyas, and Ranarajas
10.
The Amazing Race Asia 4
–
The Amazing Race Asia is a reality television game show based on the American series, The Amazing Race. The fourth installment of the show features teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around Asia and the Pacific Rim. Production for this installment was delayed in 2009 and it is also the first Amazing Race series to be filmed and broadcast in high-definition. Applications ended 31 March 2010, after an extension due to popular demand. Semi-finalist and finalist interviews were held between March/April, filming took place June to July 2010. The season premiered on 23 September 2010, the identities of the contestants were revealed on 2 September 2010. The premiere episode also shown on AXNs website on 16 September 2010, a special episode was aired on 2 December 2010, a week before the season finale. Filipino friends Richard Hardin & Richard Herrera were the winners of the race, the fourth season of The Amazing Race Asia is the first Amazing Race to be broadcast in high-definition television. Besides the switch to high-definition, updated graphics and music, were introduced. The opening intro was also updated with a new title card, of note, is the addition of the use of split-screens. According to AXN, this season is dubbed as Ride of a Lifetime, allan noted that this season will travel to exotic locations and feature new challenges. This season features a visit to Sri Lanka, as well as visits to far-flung areas including Invercargill, New Zealand. Indonesia was also a previously visited country and was never visited in the original American edition, Leg 5 was said to be the most expensive production to date. It features teams riding numerous forms of transportations, airplanes, bus, passenger jeep, carrier jeep, jet ski, Leg 7 once again featured a Virtual Pit Stop, returning from Season 2, creating a superleg with leg 8. Similar to previous superlegs, teams are ordered to continue racing from the Virtual Pit Stop until reaching a real Pit Stop in the next leg, teams are not awarded a prize for coming first at the Virtual Pit Stop, however teams positions are reflected in the table below. This is the first Amazing Race Asia season to start and end in two different countries, starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and ending in Singapore, albeit having close proximity of the two locations. In some foreign editions, starting and ending locations are in different countries, but not in the original American edition and this also marks the first time wherein a contestant was absent at the final pitstop, specifically Lani Pillinger due to a broken collar bone. Season 4s cast include the shows first father-daughter team, as well as martial arts experts, tattooists, social workers, like in previous Asian editions, this season features a large number of media personalities or their relatives
