Ambuluwawa - Beauty and serenity at the peak
At an elevation of 3567 feet, on the summit of Ambuluvava peak that rises
just four kilometres from Gampola, a sapling of the sacred Bo Tree of Anuradhapura
is carefully, lovingly tended. Acting Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Peradeniya, D.S.A. Wijesundera, has ensured a green shade cloth over and around
it and told me that it was already putting out new leaves. I believe it is the
only sacred Bo sapling to thrive at such a height.
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A fitting place indeed, for as Nandasena Mudiyanse tells us in his book, The
Art and Architecture of the Gampola Period (1341-1415 AD ), the foot of this
mountain holds the ruins of the Malati-mala-sailays, the dwelling place of Dharmakirtti
Sthavira. Only the platform of this ancient edifice now remains in the embrace
of a grove of araliya. It was here that Dharmakirtti composed the Pali poem
Jananuragacarita. No ordinary monk was he. He was the thera Silavamsa. He also
composed the Patami-Maha-Sataka and it was Bhuvanakabahu IV who built for him
this Gampola abode. History has it that he was the brother of King Parakrama
Bahu.
The Mayura Sandesaya also names Dharmakirtti as the Sangharaja of that period.
The 1928 translation edited by W.F. Gunawardhana states: "The hierarch
Dharmakirtti who is wise and who hoisted the flag of Dhamma as a symbol of victory
over the world."
Ambuluvava ... Ambuluvakanda .. a place of much history, and it is being transformed
today under Agriculture and Lands Minister D.M. Jayaratne.
Motorists turning out of Gampola town cannot but notice the huge mountain.
What they see is what their eyes insist is true. Down the steep face is a swathe
of red-brown and leprous gray. They see the buildings almost clawed into place
on the rising rim of another World's End and are quick to accuse. " Look
at what is happening," a man said " the whole mountain is being ruined
!" Certainly, we are quick to condemn, it was then that Wijesundra and
Kandy's most notable artist, Kalabushana Tilak Palliyaguru invited me. "Let
us go to Ambuluvava. You'll like it."
It was Minister Jayaratne who mooted the idea of a bio-diversity complex at
Ambuluvava in 1997.
The entire area surrounded by little villages is 920 acres - and the complex
is all of 311 acres a vast stronghold of forest and rocky terrain, of rolling
shoulders of patana and columns of pine. Minister Jayaratne placed the complex
in the capable hands of Wijesundera who studied the climbing paths, the serpentine
trails, the outcrops that seemed to suspend themselves, and most of all, the
breathtaking vistas of green and the girdling ranges cloaked in blue mist. A
thorana-like gate was needed and Tilak was the man to design with his particular
and sensitive flair. "We started with the gate," he said " and
then began the site selection for the many other units that would make up the
complex."
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"It was toil, sheer toil at first. For the rock and laterite had to be
cut, the motorable roads begun. It is this that has given many people the impression
that we are destroying the forest. The huge swathe on the rock that you see
from Gampola town is no earthslip or anyting that is in the nature of an environmental
disaster. It is simply the wash-down with rain of laterite that comes from the
cutting of the roads."
This was so evident as we climbed. What is more, the road has been cut through
the patana. Not a tree has been destroyed.
It is all part of a heaping dish, actually..... and it is for the people.
Even as we made the dizzy climb, I saw many making their way up to the conference
hall and also to the summit viewing platform. On the first eminence is a beautifully
designed conference hall, all of three levels and with a commanding view of
the surrounding country.
Sixteen rooms make up the unit around a hall that can seat 150 and which is
equipped with sound systems, multi-media and all the trappings. In fact, I learned
that the first big international conference on reptiles will be held here next
year and will bring in delegates from 150 countries.
As Wijesundera said, the complex will, at most times, serve as an educational
centre. Tilak had prepared the designs for a cafeteria, a special circuit bungalow
with its own viewing platform and the manager's bungalow.
It's a nerve-knotting drive to the summit and there, I met the Minister and
he told me of his dream.
We stood by the sacred Bo sapling. "I'll tell you the story of this sapling," he
said. "Last year, the government of Burma asked us for a sapling of the
Bodhi tree. We carried two saplings to Burma, and the one that was planted did
well.
It was decided to bring the second back. On our return, we visited Thailand
too. It was then decided to plant this sapling here. So this sapling has already
been to Burma and Thailand. The President herself planted it here on March 19,
this year."
In line with the Bo sapling, Tilak's most compelling creation is now taking
shape. When completed, it would be a beacon to the land - a chaitya which is
unique in its fashioning.
The design is a departure from all traditional forms. We toured it - from
a winding tunnel upon a 37-ft rock foundation and where subterranean resting
places, sculpted in natural rock will allow visitors to relax and also emerge
into the open where Sabragamuwa lies at one end and the Central Province at
the other. Over this underground chambered way is a 14-ft base of five serrations
and then an outward leaning funnel, 56 feet high. Upon this will rest a cupola
of 40 feet, a lesser cupola of 17 feet and a 14-ft pinnacle. Together with the
tunnel, the chaitya will be 163 feet tall.
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The Minister hopes to have the whole complex ready in two years. As we strolled
to the viewing platform, there were over 40 sightseers sitting around the rim
of the mountain, breathing in the crystal air and losing themselves in the stunning
landscape that seemed a sort of wrap-around beauty unparalleled. To the north-east
one could even see the Katunayake airport, the Kelani river and the ocean. South
of south-east sprawls the Knuckles, Hantane, Bible rock, while Sri Pada and
Pidurutalagala raise proud heads.
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One problem, however, will be the pollution visitors could cause. It was sad
to note that even at this stage, some louts had brought in their arrack and
were refreshing themselves at the viewing platform. Wijesundera said that strict
controls would be necessary. It is a pity that no sooner something is done for
the benefit of all, there are some who say, "Ah! A new spot. Let's make
a mess of it!" Anyway, there will be a strict anti-littering law. Visitors
will be told to take their litter back with them.
By Carl Muller
Sunday Times
, 11th June 2000
Map
Photo Album
Created June 24, 2006
Updated
March 15, 2009
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