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◊◊◊ section devoted to architectural marvels of the former Ottoman domains
MINIATURK, Sütlüce, Istanbul , Turkey
Mostar's symbol, the "Old Bridge" (Stari Most) is one of the most important structures of the Ottoman era and was built by Mimar Hayrudin, a student of the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The Stari Most is hump-backed, 4 metres (13 ft 1 in) wide and 30 metres (98 ft 5 in) long, and dominates the river from a height of 24 m (78 ft 9 in). The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 by Bosnian Croat forces or Bosniak forces during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international community caused it to be rebuilt and it reopened in 2004 and was finally put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
DSCN2659
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan and Subramaniyan, is the Hindu god of war. He is the commander-in-chief of the army of the devas (gods) and the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Murugan is often referred to as "Tamil Kadavul" (meaning "God of Tamils") and is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the Arupadaiveedu temples, located in Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, Hindus as well as Buddhists revere the sacred historical Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna and Katirkāmam Temple situated deep south.[1] Hindus in Malaysia also pray to Lord Murugan at the Batu Caves and various temples where Thaipusam is celebrated with grandeur.
In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya is known as Subrahmanya with a temple at Kukke Subramanya known for Sarpa shanti rites dedicated to Him and another famous temple at Ghati Subramanya also in Karnataka. In Bengal and Odisha, he is popularly known as Kartikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika').[2]
Other names[edit]
Like most Hindu deities, Subrahmanya is known by many other names, including Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Kumāran (meaning 'prince or child or young one'), Swaminatha (meaning 'smart' or 'clever'), Saravaṇa, Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning 'one with six faces'), Dhandapani (meaning God with a Club), Guhan or Guruguha (meaning 'cave-dweller'), Subrahmanya, Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed).[3][4] He was also known as Mahasena and the Kadamba Dynasty kings worshiped him by this name.[5]
Vedas[edit]
The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as 'Agnibhuh' because he is form of 'Agni' (Fire God) & Agni hold in his hand when kumaran born. The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the six faces of Rudra. The Taittiriya Aranyaka contains the Gayatri mantra for Shanmukha. The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the "way that leads to wisdom". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva canto of the Mahabharata relates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda in considerable detail. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.[6] The Upanishads also constantly make a reference to a Supreme Being called Guha, the indweller.
The first elaborate account of Kartikeya's origin occurs in the Mahabharata. In a complicated story, he is said to have been born from Agni and Svaha, after the latter impersonated the six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The actual wives then become the Pleiades. Kartikeya is said to have been born to destroy the Asura Mahisha.[7] (In later mythology, Mahisha became the adversary of Durga.) Indra attacks Kartikeya as he sees the latter as a threat, until Shiva intervenes and makes Kartikeya the commander-in-chief of the army of the Devas. He is also married to Devasena, Indra's daughter. The origin of this marriage lies probably in the punning of 'Deva-sena-pati'. It can mean either lord of Devasena or Lord of the army (sena) of Devas. But according to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in his master work on Shiva[8] and other works, Kartikeya was married to Devasenā and that is on the ground of his name as Devasena's husband, Devasenāpati, misinterpreted as Deva-senāpati (Deva's general) that he was granted the title general and made the Deva's army general.[9]
The Ramayana version is closer to the stories told in the Puranas discussed below.
Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[10] The Sangam poetry divided space and Tamil land into five allegorical areas (tinai) and according to the Tirumurugarruppatai ( c. 400–450 AD) attributed to the great Sangam poet Nakkiirar, Murugan was the presiding deity the Kurinci region (hilly area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a deeply devotional poem included in the ten idylls (Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam). The other Sangam era works in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail include the Paripaatal, the Akananuru and the Purananuru. One poem in the Paripaatal describes the veneration of Murugan thus:
"We implore thee not for boons of enjoyment or wealth,
But for thy grace beatific, love and virtuous deeds."
According to the Tamil devotional work, Thiruppugazh, "Murugan never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon in piety or distress". In another work, Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is described as a god of eternal youth;
His face shines a myriad rays light and removes the darkness from this world.[11]
The references to Murugan can be traced back to the first millennium BCE. There are references to Murugan in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam. The Kushanas, who governed from what is today Peshawar, and the Yaudheyas, a republican clan in the Punjab, struck coins bearing the image of Skanda. The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Guptas.[6] The worship of Kumāra was one of the six principal sects of Hinduism at the time of Adi Shankara. The Shanmata system propagated by him included this sect. In many Shiva and Devi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deity. The story of His birth goes as follows:
Sati immolated herself in a pyre as her father King Daksha had insulted Shiva, her Lord. She was reborn as Parvathi or Uma, daughter of the King of Himalayas, Himavan. She then married her Lord Shiva. The Devas were under onslaught from the Asuras whose leader was Soorapadman. He had been granted boons that only Lord Shiva or his seed could kill him. Fearless he vanquished the Devas and made them his slaves. The Devas ran to Vishnu for help who told them that it was merely their fault for attending Daksha's yagna, without the presence of Lord Shiva. After this, they ran to Shiva for help. Shiva decided to take action against Soorapadman's increasing conceit. He frowned and his third eye- the eye of knowledge- started releasing sparks. These were six sparks in total. Agni had the responsibility to take them to Saravana Lake. As he was carrying them, the sparks were growing hotter and hotter that even the Lord of Fire could not withstand the heat. Soon after Murugan was born on a lotus in the Saravana Lake with six faces, giving him the name Arumukhan. Lord Shiva and Parvati visited and tears of joy started flowing as they witnessed the most handsome child. Shiva and Parvathi gave the responsibility of taking care of Muruga to the six Krittika sisters. Muruga grew up to be a handsome, intelligent, powerful, clever youth. All the Devas applauded at their saviour, who had finally come to release them from their woes. Murugan became the supreme general of the demi-gods, then escorted the devas and led the army of the devas to victory against the asuras.
Legends[edit]
Given that legends related to Murugan are recounted separately in several Hindu epics, some differences between the various versions are observed. Some Sanskrit epics and puranas indicate that he was the elder son of Shiva. This is suggested by the legend connected to his birth; the wedding of Shiva and Parvati being necessary for the birth of a child who would vanquish the asura named Taraka. Also, Kartikeya is seen helping Shiva fight the newborn Ganesha, Shiva's other son, in the Shiva Purana. In the Ganapati Khandam of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, he is seen as the elder son of Shiva and Ganesha as the younger. In South India, it is believed that he is the younger of the two. A Puranic story has Ganesha obtain a divine fruit of knowledge from Narada winning a contest with Murugan. While Murugan speeds around the world thrice to win the contest for the fruit, Ganesha circumambulates Shiva and Parvati thrice as an equivalent and is given the fruit. After winning it, he offers to give the fruit to his upset brother. After this event, Ganesha was considered the elder brother owing as a tribute to his wisdom. Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. This lead to a very interesting name : Devasenapati viz. Pati (husband) of Devsena and/or Senapati (commander in chief) of Dev (gods)
Kartikeya symbols are based on the weapons – Vel, the Divine Spear or Lance that he carries and his mount the peacock. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear. This symbolizes his purification of human ills. His javelin is used to symbolize his far reaching protection, his discus symbolizes his knowledge of the truth, his mace represents his strength and his bow shows his ability to defeat all ills. His peacock mount symbolizes his destruction of the ego.
His six heads represent the six siddhis bestowed upon yogis over the course of their spiritual development. This corresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
In Tamil Nadu, Murugan has continued to be popular with all classes of society right since the Sangam age. This has led to more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam, written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. (He was a scholar in Tamil literature, and a votary of the Shaiva Siddhanta philosophy.)
He is married to two deities, Valli, a daughter of a tribal chief and Deivayanai (also called Devasena), the daughter of Indhra. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[12]
As Muruga is worshipped predominantly in Tamil Nadu, many of his names are of Tamil origin. These include Senthil, the red or formidable one; Arumugam, the six-faced one; Guhan and Maal-Marugan, the son-in-law of Vishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the Tamil year. There is a six-day period of fast and prayer in the Tamil month of Aippasi known as the Skanda Shasti. He is worshipped at Thaipusam, celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This commemorates the day he was given a Vel or lance by his mother in order to vanquish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full moon of the Tamil month of Karthigai signifies his birth. Each Tuesday of the Tamil month of Adi is also dedicated to the worship of Murugan. Tuesday in the Hindu tradition connotes Mangala, the god of planet Mars and war.
Other parts of India[edit]
Historically, God Kartikeya was immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent. One of the major Puranas, the Skanda Purana is dedicated to him. In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 24), Krishna, while explaining his omnipresence, names the most perfect being, mortal or divine, in each of several categories. While doing so, he says: "Among generals, I am Skanda, the lord of war."
Kartikeya's presence in the religious and cultural sphere can be seen at least from the Gupta age. Two of the Gupta kings, Kumaragupta and Skandagupta, were named after him. He is seen in the Gupta sculptures and in the temples of Ellora and Elephanta. As the commander of the divine armies, he became the patron of the ruling classes. His youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam. In ancient India, Kartikeya was also regarded as the patron deity of thieves, as may be inferred from the Mrichchakatikam, a Sanskrit play by Shudraka, and in the Vetala-panchvimshati, a medieval collection of tales. This association is linked to the fact that Kartikeya had dug through the Krauncha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, Sarivilaka prays to him before tunnelling into the hero's house).
However, Kartikeya's popularity in North India receded from the Middle Ages onwards, and his worship is today virtually unknown except in parts of Haryana. There is a very famous temple dedicated to Him in the town of Pehowa in Haryana and this temple is very well known in the adjoining areas, especially because women are not allowed anywhere close to it. Women stay away from this temple in Pehowa town of Haryana because this shrine celebrates the Brahmachari form of Kartikeya. Reminders of former devotions to him include a temple at Achaleshwar, near Batala in Punjab, and another temple of Skanda atop the Parvati hill in Pune, Maharashtra. Another vestige of his former popularity can be seen in Bengal and Odisha, where he is worshipped during the Durga Puja festivities alongside Durga. Lord Subramanya is the major deity among the Hindus of northern Kerala. Lord Subramanya is worshipped with utmost devotion in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in the state of Karnataka. Rituals like nagaradhane are unique to this region.
Kartikeya also known as Kartik or Kartika is also worshipped in West Bengal, and Bangladesh on the last day of the Hindu month of 'Kartik'. However, the popularity of Kartik Puja (worshipping Kartik) is decreasing now, and Lord Kartik is primarily worshipped among those who intend to have a son. In Bengal, traditionally, many people drop images of Kartik inside the boundaries of different households, who all are either newly married, or else, intend to get a son to carry on with their ancestry. Lord Kartik is also associated to the Babu Culture prevailed in historic Kolkata, and hence, many traditional old Bengali paintings still show Kartik dressed in traditional Bengali style. Also, in some parts of West Bengal, Kartik is traditionally worshipped by the ancestors of the past royal families too, as in the district of Malda. Kartik Puja is also popular among the prostitutes. This can probably be linked to the fact that, the prostitutes mostly got clients from the upper class babu-s in old Kolkata, who all, in turn, had been associated to the image of Kartik (as discussed above). In Bansberia (Hooghly district) Kartik Puja festival is celebrated like Durga puja of Kolkata, Jagadhatri puja in Chandannagar for consecutive four days. The festival starts on 17 November every year and on 16 November in case of Leap year.[13] Some of the must see Puja committees are Bansberia Kundugoli Nataraj, Khamarapara Milan Samity RadhaKrishna, Kishor Bahini, Mitali Sangha, Yuva Sangha, Bansberia Pratap Sangha and many more.
In Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is considered to be a son of Parvati or Durga and Shiva along with his brother Ganesha and sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati.[14]
Kartikeya is worshiped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik. Kartik purnima is celebrated with much joy and in a grand fashion in Cuttack and other parts in the state.
Murugan is adored by both Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favorite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, Murugan is worshipped at the temple in Katirkāmam, where he is known as Kathiravel or Katragama Deviyo (Lord of Katragama) . This temple is next to an old Buddhist place of worship. Local legend holds that Lord Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local aboriginal lasses. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Lord Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo(Murugan)reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism,
Based on archeological evidence found, it is believed that the Kiri Vehera was either renovated to build during the 1st century BCE. There are number of others inscriptions and ruins.[15]
By the 16th century the Kathiravel shrine at Katirkāmam had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[16] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15 the century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[16] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[17]
Lord Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by Tamil people in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thai Poosam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
The main temples of Murugan are located in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. They include the Aru Padaiveedu (six abodes) — Thiruchendur, Swamimalai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparangunram, Palani (Pazhani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
There are many temples dedicated to Lord Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad and one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Lord Murugan is worshiped as the Lord of the serpents. Aaslesha Bali, Sarpa Samskara with nagapathista samarpa are major prayers here. There is a temple called Malai Mandir in South Delhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple in Hindi.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Lord Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Lord Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Lord Murugan. In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[18] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[19]
Author : @Kiri Karma
Divers 2022 - Helltopia Brussels Halloweex
The Helltopia mott breaks out of its slimy cocoon after a long break.
Helltopia is back in 2022 and just like the monsters it proudly brings to life, our Horror concept is also transforming form. This year not as a festival but as an underground expo in Brussels.
It is a true Horror festival with film screenings, lectures, podcasts, but as the main theme an exhibition entirely devoted to Pop Culture around Horror.
Brussels Halloweex: 13 Days Of Horror.
Come visit us from October 21 to November 666 if you dare!
( Divers albums de photos prisent en 2022 sans sujet precis.
Various albums of pictures taken in 2022 without subject. )
Meeting Hilary Duff in NYC for the first stop on her devoted book tour! First time meeting hilary, she's so sweet :)
Meeting Hilary Duff in NYC for the first stop on her devoted book tour! First time meeting hilary, she's so sweet :)
Franco Vulcano (Double Bass)
Because this website is devoted to helping others attach a name to the face of JSO members, everyone else has been cropped out of this photo.
You can see the uncropped photo & read all the details of how this photo came to be taken:
andrerieufan.com/2009/11/06/aliece-thomas-29-oct-2009-aus...
Franco is one of the most sociable members of Andre's troupe. Keep your eyes open, prior to a concert. You will most surely see him mingling with the crowd of people before a concert. And Franco loves being recognized & having his photo taken with his fans.
MUSICOGRAPHY Here is a list of DVD's Franco appears in, the most recent is on top...
Maastricht V aka Under the Stars
Home For Christmas
And The Waltz Goes On
Fiesta Mexicana aka The World of André Rieu
Roses From The South
Maastricht 4 aka A Midsummer night's Dream
My African Dream
Live in Australia
I lost my heart in Heidelberg
#13 Two little Italians - Mirusia sings & flirts with Vincenzo (Violin) & Franco (Double Bass). It appears Vincenzo is the object of her affections, to the dismay of Franco
Live in Sydney 2009
Live in Maastricht 3
Live in Australia
Live in Maastricht 2
Live in Dresden aka Semperoper aka Dancing Through the Skies aka Ich tanze mit dir in den Himmel hinein aka Wedding at the Opera
#13 You & You Waltz - Double Bass, briefly featured
#16 The Blue Danube - briefly featured
Wonderland aka Eftling
Live in Vienna
Schönbrunn
Songs From My Heart aka Live in Maastricht
;New Years Eve Punsch aka Silvester Punsch
Flying Dutchman
Live in Dublin
Gala Concert
Address: 5989 168 St, #1 Surrey, BC V3S 3X5, Canada
Phone: 604-574-4000
Email: info@5cornerdental.com
Website: www.5cornerdental.com
At 5 Corner Dental, we are devoted to restoring and enhancing the natural beauty of your smile using conservative, state-of-the-art procedures that will result in beautiful, long lasting smiles!
Socially Responsible
At 5 Corner Dental, we believe in giving back to our community through our annual 5 Corner Community day, with prizes for children and complementary dental consultation through out the community. We have also invested in Modern technology such as digital xrays, to reduce our impact on the environment and reduce the use of chemicals.
A Positive Experience
Building a foundation of trust by treating our patients as special individuals is vital to our success. We understand how uneasy some patients may feel about their dental visits, and how we can make a difference in providing a relaxing and positive experience. Our entire team is dedicated to providing you with excellent, personalized care and service to make your visits as comfortable and pleasant as possible. We have TVs in all Treatment rooms and reception area for your leisure. your children can keep busy with educational books, play area and the game console while you get your treatment done. We are looking forward to serving you and your family.
High Standards
A standard of excellence in personalized dental care enables us to provide the quality dental services our patients deserve. We provide comprehensive treatment planning and use restorative and cosmetic dentistry to achieve your optimal dental health. Our office is equipped with digital record keeping (no more paper charts!!!) for maximum security and confidentiality of your records. We also use digital x-rays to minimize your exposure to radiation and harmful chemicals that were used to develop the traditional x-rays. Intra-oral cameras are used to take detailed pictures of the teeth to maximize patient education. Should a dental emergency occur, we make every effort to see and care for you as soon as possible. Please let us know how we can make your visit more enjoyable and comfortable.
Education & Prevention
As a practice, we are true believers that preventative care and education are the keys to optimal dental health. We strive to provide “dental health care” vs. “disease care”. That’s why we focus on thorough exams – checking the overall health of your teeth and gums, performing oral cancer exams, and taking x-rays when necessary. We also know that routine cleanings, flossing, sealants, and fluoride are all helpful in preventing dental disease. Not only are we focused on the beauty of your smile, we’re also concerned about your health. A review of your medical history can help us stay informed of your overall health, any new medications, and any illnesses that may impact your dental health.
Uncompromising Safety
Infection control in our 5 Corner Dental office is also very important to us. To protect our patients and ourselves, we strictly maintain sterilization and cross contamination processes using standards recommended by BC dental association. All our potential cross contamination surface are either touch-less or foot controlled. Our sterilizers you the power of steam and pressure to sterilize the instruments instead of using chemicals which can be hazardous to staff and patients alike.
Training & Expertise
As your dental health professionals in Cloverdale, we want you to be confident knowing that we are a team of highly trained and skilled clinicians. We pride ourselves in providing the care you need to keep your smile healthy. To give you the best possible service and results, we are committed to continual education and learning. We attend dental lectures, meetings, and dental conventions to stay informed of new techniques, the latest products, and the newest equipment that a modern dental office can utilize to provide state-of-the-art dental care. Also, being members of various professional dental associations helps us to stay abreast of the changes and recommendations for our profession.
We thank you for allowing us to take care of your dental needs and look forward to serving you.
Make an appointment today…..we’ll give you a reason to smile!
advice would be much appreciated. This is for print that will be used as a way to show what is offered at our church. The pastor told me that there are 4 stages holly devoted and so on. So i used the wording as well as the roads to portray that.
What the words mean is Wholly devoted passionate follower of Jesus Christ if you are wondering
©samstrattondesign
Devoted to the history of Christian evangelism and influence on society. Rare artifacts, art and displays, powerful 3-D presentation of the Gospel. Donations welcome.
Saturday morning was devoted to visiting the renowned Barter Books in Alnwick.
Barter Books is lucky to be located in part of a superb old Victorian railway station designed by William Bell in 1887. At 32, 000 sq. ft, the building is one of remarkable size and grandeur for a small market town. This is because, as seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, an impressive train station was deemed necessary in the 19th century to impress visiting royalty. The branchline itself, however, was closed in 1968 with the notorious Beeching cuts.
Helmut Schäffenacker has devoted much of his creative energy to the composition of ceramic objects. His workshop produced numerous items of fine art as well as diverse utilitarian objects that were placed both domestically and internationally. In addition, he created a substantial body of uniquely imaginative one-of-a-kind objects and contemporary architectural elements.
Yielding to a powerful desire to experiment, he combined both traditional and innovative techniques to produce things such as ash-and-cracking glazes and ceramic vases of unrivaled shapes. As part of the creative process, the artist used repetition of basic form and staggered layering techniques to create new aesthetic variations. Similarly original ideas may also be found in the design of his stainless steel modules.
Info from: www.schaeffenacker-ulm.de/en/index.html
We had a whole morning devoted to sightseeing...first to a volcano, about an hour's drive from Managua...and of course....first we saw the interpretive museum....for the still active volcano at Masaya
and here is some information from Wikipedia
" Masaya is a shield volcano located 20 km south of Managua, Nicaragua. It is Nicaragua's first and largest National Park, and one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. The volcanic complex is composed of a nested set of calderas and craters, the largest of which is Las Sierras shield volcano and caldera. Within this caldera lies Masaya Volcano sensu stricto, a shallow shield volcano composed of basaltic lavas and tephras. This hosts Masaya caldera, formed 2500 years ago by an 8-km³ basaltic ignimbrite eruption. Inside this caldera a new basaltic complex has grown from eruptions mainly on a semi-circular set of vents that include the Masaya and Nindiri cones. The latter host the pit craters of Masaya, Santiago, Nindiri and San Pedro. Observations in the walls of the pit craters indicate that there have been several episodes of cone and pit crater formation.
The floor of Masaya caldera is mainly covered by poorly vegetated aa lava, indicating resurfacing within the past 1000 or so years, but only two lava flows have erupted since the sixteenth century. The first, in 1670, was an overflow from the Nindiri crater, which at that time hosted a 1-km-wide lava lake. The other, in 1772, issued from a fissure on the flank of the Masaya cone. Since 1772, lava has appeared at the surface only in the Santiago pit crater (presently active and persistently degassing) and possibly within Nindiri crater in 1852. A lake occupies the far eastern end of the caldera.
Masaya continually emits large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas (from the active Santiago crater) and volcanologists study this (amongst other signs) to better understand the behavior of the volcano and also evaluate the impact of acid rain and the potential for health problems.
Although the recent activity of Masaya has largely been dominated by continuous degassing from an occasionally lava-filled pit crater, a number of discrete explosive events have occurred in the last 50 years[1]. One such event occurred on November 22, 1999, which was recognised from satellite data. A hot spot appeared on satellite imagery, and there was a possible explosion.
On April 23, 2001 the crater exploded and formed a new vent in the bottom of the crater. The explosion sent rocks with diameters up to 60 cm which travelled up to 500 m from the crater. Vehicles in the visitors area were damaged and one person was injured. On October 4, 2003 an eruption cloud was reported at Masaya. The plume rose to a height of ~4.6 km
The Masaya Volcano is located in the department of Masaya. "
The Latvian Museum of Photography is the only museum in Riga devoted to photography. The museum is a division of the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation and is open for visitors since 1993. It is situated in an old merchant building from the 16th century, and in the exhibition halls the renovated colorful wall paintings and the historic parquet flooring ornament can be seen. The building is located near the Riga Film Museum and the Latvian Sport Museum on Alksnaju street in one of the oldest building areas of Riga dated from year 1500.
The author of the permanent exposition “Development of Photography in Latvia. 1839 – 1940” is the historian Peteris Korsaks who has worked for many years in the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation and the Latvian Museum of Photography. The exhibition is installed in the halls on the second floor, but the temporary expositions are exhibited on the third floor. In the museum exhibitions of Latvian and foreign photographers and scientific conferences are organized, as well as the museum's stored collections are exhibited on a regular basis. An authentic painted background used in the photo studio of photographer Martins Luste in Mazsalaca in the beginning of the 20th century can also be viewed in the museum. In addition to the exposition and other exhibitions, the museum experts offer tours, lectures and consultations.
The mission of the Latvian Museum of Photography is to study the development of photography in the territory of Latvia from its very beginning till nowadays. The main goal of the museum is to search for and to preserve photographic assets (photo negatives, copies, photo equipment, albums etc.), to supplement the collection with original works and other significant exhibits, to document the development of photography in Latvia, to make the information available to public and to promote incorporation of photography in current cultural events.
1922-1962 Italy
St. Gianna was a devoted wife and mother as well as a pediatric physician who live a joy-filled life in Italy. When pregnant with her fourth child, she developed serious uterine tumors. The doctors advised her to terminate the lif of her baby or risk possible death herself. She chose the life of her baby and died a few days after gibing birth at the age of 39. She is considered a pro-life saint for the Church and many seek her intercession for the conception of children and for the safe delivery from miscarriage.
Title / Titre :
2,800 acres are solely devoted to glasshouses in the United Kingdom. Glasshouse production of cucumbers and tomatoes, Empire Marketing Board, United Kingdom /
2 800 acres sont couvertes de serres au Royaume-Uni – production de concombres et de tomates en serre, Empire Marketing Board, Royaume-Uni
Creator(s) / Créateur(s) : Empire Marketing Board
Date(s) : circa / vers 1925
Reference No. / Numéro de référence : ITEM 2844939
central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=2844...
Location / Lieu : United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni
Credit / Mention de source :
Empire Marketing Board. Canada. Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce. Library and Archives Canada, e010759037 /
Empire Marketing Board. Canada. Ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce. Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, e010759037
Area devoted to dyeing material. Water was in the big pot with heather to dye the pieces of cloth and wool. This could be heated up over the fire.
To the right is an embroidery in progress of a scene from the Bayeaux Tapestry.
I have a set devoted to Park Hill:
www.flickr.com/photos/shefftim/sets/72157642537014264/
Park Hill is a large disused council built social housing estate in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It was built in the late 1950s. It was closed in 1998 following a period of steep decline and a reputation for crime, drugs & social problems. It now is largely depopulated, though its nursery school is still open.
The estate is structurally sound & has Grade II listed building status for its modernist style, influenced by the architect Le Corbusier. Part of the estate is currently being renovated by developer Urban Splash.
More on Park Hill’s history:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/9551327/Mult...
Shiva is pure consciousness. He is the Supreme Lord’s greatest bhakta as he is always meditating upon Narayana. Known as the Lord of Destruction, he stands for the dissolution of the mind, which is exactly what we need in order for pure Love to awaken inside the heart. Through his Grace, Shiva destroys our pride and ego so that bhakti can grow in our hearts and we can rise to attain the Lotus Feet of Lord Narayana.
Our Shivaratri celebrations were hosted live from Mauritius with Paramahamsa Vishwananda and Shree Peetha Nilaya - The Ashram. Festivities included several Shiva-lingam abhishekams, yajnas, and beautiful kirtan by Bhakti Marga's devoted and talented musicians.
paramahamsavishwananda.com
bhaktimarga.org
The main deity is Guan Di Yeh while there are also separate altars devoted to Tua Beh Gong and Guan Yin. There was an elderly Chinese-looking man - maybe he was a mixed Chinese-Timorese native - interpreting the Qiu-Qian slips which are written in Bahasa Indonesia. I saw a few native Timorese qiu-qian there. The temple was built in the 1930s but damaged during the 1975 Indonesian invasion and 1999 rampage by the pro-Indonesian militias. The temple has since been repaired and repainted in bright red colours.
I met many Chinese-Timorese, descendants of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Timor over the last 600 years - even before the Portuguese. Chinese traders had long sought the sandalwood here which were highly valued in religious ceremonies. During the Portuguese days, it was also the Chinese who collected coffee from remote mountain villages and supplied villagers with goods. There were 20,000 Chinese-Timorese in 1975, before the Indonesians invaded. They ran the local economy - banknotes of those days had Portuguese and Chinese on them. 90% fled to Australia or Portugal when Jakarta invaded, while some of the remaining 10% died in the horrific massacres that other Timorese were also subject to. Since 1999, some of these Chinese sons of Timor Leste have also returned, to reclaim their ancestral properties and apply for a new Timorese passports. They bring with them their entrepreneurial skills as well as the international connections built over the last two decades of exile. I was told that relations between the Chinese-Timorese and other Timorese are generally good.
“[M]y whole soul is devoted to building this church here” wrote Pugin to the Earl of Shrewsbury.
St Augustine’s Church is the ‘ideal Church’ of Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852) who constructed it between 1845-1852 next to his home ‘the Grange’ according to his ‘true principles of Christian architecture’. He described it as ‘my own child’ and it was to be ‘a revival of the old Kentish churches stone & flint’, with a chantry chapel ‘that may be the burial place of my family’.
It stands as symbol of the Catholic revival of the 19th century which Pugin’s own life and conversion in 1835 epitomises. The church is also an integral part of Pugin’s own Gothic revival which inspired the nation at large. It was being constructed at the same time that Pugin was designing the new Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.
Pugin moved to St Augustine’s in 1843 specifically ‘close to the spot where blessed Austin landed’. His building of the church therefore stands as a monument to the arrival of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England recalling the landing of St Augustine in 597AD. Pugin was keen to show that Catholicism and Gothic were part of the DNA of English identity and the church emphasises and celebrates the English saints in a particular way.
Pugin spared nothing in building this church and he would only use the finest material and workmen. He wrote to his son Edward, ‘I am giving you the best architectural lessons I can; watch the church’. The church provided Mass for local Catholics and visitors before a parish was formed. Ramsgate’s first post-reformation Catholic school was run from the site. At his death he gifted the Church to the Catholic community, for he always intended it to be “a Parochial church” (Pugin’s Letters).
The church’s exterior is stone covered with traditional hardy flint to withstand the weather. Its interior is also lined with Whitby stone forging a link with the great seaside church of St Hilda. There is exquisite decoration with stone and wood carvings throughout, unique statues, stained glass and ornate tiles. Pugin’s team for the church included other well knownassociates George Myers for construction, John Hardman Powell for the metalwork and especially stained glass and Herbert Minton for the tiles. Pugin died in 1852 before completing the project but the work was continued until 1893 and involved Edward Pugin (1834-75) and Peter Paul Pugin (1851-1904) and many of the original associates and their families.
St Augustine’s was consecrated in 1884 and Grade-1 listed only in 1988. From 1856 until 2010 the church was run by the Benedictine monks of St Augustine’s Abbey (which was constructed opposite by Edward Pugin). In 2010 the Benedictine Monks withdrew from the Church and it came under the jurisdiction of the Parish of SS Ethelbert and Gertrude, Ramsgate and Minster. In February 2011 after a sizeable grant from English Heritage, the church’s future was assured. It serves as a functioning local church of the Ramsgate and Minster Catholic parish and since March 1st 2012 as an official shrine of St Augustine for pilgrimage. It remains for all a monument of serious historical importance and site of great architectural, artistic and culture significance for the wider public.
Margaret Hassan, who has been murdered aged 59, devoted more than 30 years of her life to helping the disadvantaged people of Iraq.
For the past 12 years she had been Care International`s country director for Iraq, refusing to leave when many other aid agencies fled as a result of the war. Care`s offices were surrounded by sandbags and she gave her 60-strong staff bicycles so they could get about more easily in the event of an attack. Last November the premises were struck by a grenade, and threatening letters arrived. Expatriate staff left the country, but Margaret Hassan, who saw herself as an Iraqi, remained.
Care International is the largest humanitarian charity in the world; that it is also American cannot have counted in Margaret Hassan`s favour. In Iraq it concentrated on supplying medical facilities, clean water, food, blankets and generators to communities devastated by years of sanctions and violence.
During the airstrikes, Care technicians would go around Baghdad restoring power supplies to hospitals, converting lorries into emergency water tankers and repairing buildings.
Margaret Hassan was a familiar and immensely popular figure on the streets of Baghdad. Felicity Arbuthnot, who filmed a documentary about her work, has described Margaret Hassan being mobbed during a visit to a water sanitation plant. "A crowd gathered and tiny children rushed up and threw their arms round her knees, saying, `Madam Margaret, Madam Margaret`, and everywhere she went, people just beamed."
Although no Western woman had previously been kidnapped in Iraq, Margaret Hassan was aware of the risks she ran, conscious that many Iraqi women had been abducted, ransomed, raped and murdered by the Baghdad mafia.
On October 19, as she was leaving home for work in the Khadra district of western Baghdad, she was seized by unknown gunmen. Hours after her capture, the first in a series of harrowing videos was released on the Arab television station al-Jazeera. It showed her pleading: "I beg of you, the British people, to help me. I don`t wan`t to die like [Kenneth] Bigley." A second video showed her calling on Tony Blair to withdraw troops from Iraq and "not bring them to Baghdad".
Devoted to her adopted country and its people, she learnt fluent Arabic and took Iraqi citizenship. Under Care`s rules she was forbidden from talking about politics, but she nonetheless became a vehement campaigner against the United Nations sanctions, which she held responsible for the fact that ordinary Iraqis had to make do with shortages of food, medical provisions and adequate sanitation. "This is a man-made disaster," she said in 1998.
In the build-up to the American-led invasion last year, she travelled to the UN security council in New York and the House of Commons in London to campaign against the war. "The Iraqi people are already living through a terrible emergency," she said. "They do not have the resources to withstand an additional crisis brought about by military action."
As Care began stockpiling fuel, food and medical supplies in readiness for war, she said: "We will do what we can, but we do not expect to work miracles here."
Source: The Daily Telegraph, 18 November 2004
Picture kindly provided by CARE
A few devoted pataphysicians spent their Sunday afternoon preparing the Pataphysical Slot Machine exhibit for our open studio and soirée at the Figurine Ranch:
• We spread out a beautiful persian rug on loan from Dr. Skidz;
• We added black muslin behind the slot machine to make the art pop;
• Dr. Heatshrink performed last minute electronic sugery to bring a few boxes back to life;
• Dr. Canard hot glued a few parts that had fallen out of place;
• Drs. Figurine and Fabio set up the lights and sounds, then called it a day.
Vive la ‘Pataphysique!
View more 'Pataphysical photos: www.flickr.com/photos/fabola/albums/72157623637793277
Learn more about Pataphysical Studios: pataphysics.us/
I have a set devoted to Park Hill:
www.flickr.com/photos/shefftim/sets/72157642537014264/
Park Hill is a large disused council built social housing estate in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It was built in the late 1950s. It was closed in 1998 following a period of steep decline and a reputation for crime, drugs & social problems. It now is largely depopulated, though its nursery school is still open.
The estate is structurally sound & has Grade II listed building status for its modernist style, influenced by the architect Le Corbusier. Part of the estate is currently being renovated by developer Urban Splash.
More on Park Hill’s history:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/9551327/Mult...
The main deity is Guan Di Yeh while there are also separate altars devoted to Tua Beh Gong and Guan Yin. There was an elderly Chinese-looking man - maybe he was a mixed Chinese-Timorese native - interpreting the Qiu-Qian slips which are written in Bahasa Indonesia. I saw a few native Timorese qiu-qian there. The temple was built in the 1930s but damaged during the 1975 Indonesian invasion and 1999 rampage by the pro-Indonesian militias. The temple has since been repaired and repainted in bright red colours.
I met many Chinese-Timorese, descendants of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Timor over the last 600 years - even before the Portuguese. Chinese traders had long sought the sandalwood here which were highly valued in religious ceremonies. During the Portuguese days, it was also the Chinese who collected coffee from remote mountain villages and supplied villagers with goods. There were 20,000 Chinese-Timorese in 1975, before the Indonesians invaded. They ran the local economy - banknotes of those days had Portuguese and Chinese on them. 90% fled to Australia or Portugal when Jakarta invaded, while some of the remaining 10% died in the horrific massacres that other Timorese were also subject to. Since 1999, some of these Chinese sons of Timor Leste have also returned, to reclaim their ancestral properties and apply for a new Timorese passports. They bring with them their entrepreneurial skills as well as the international connections built over the last two decades of exile. I was told that relations between the Chinese-Timorese and other Timorese are generally good.
To View On Black
This old lady was saluting the magnificent Buddha behind the Monastery's wall.
Shot in Namgyal Monastery, The Dalai Lama's residence.
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India.
My mother believed in the healing power of crystals. She would send me a crystal now and agin if she thought I was ailing. I collected them in this old wooden box that belonged to her mother. I opened it yesterday and found I'd stashed an amazing letter she'd written to me back in 1996. I'm not sure what I was going through at the time, perhaps a career change, but whatever it was, the letter is proof that I hit the jackpot when it came to a loving, caring, devoted, nurturing, kind mother. God rest her soul.
The Reading Room
The legacy of a passionate bibliophile
The Duke of Aumale devoted his entire life to his two passions: his love of books and fine art. In 1848 he started a remarkable collection of paintings, drawings and, above all, books. In a letter to a friend he admits: "I think I'm suffering from bibliomania!". The reading room was designed by architect Honoré Daumet at the end of the 19th century to house the Duke of Aumale's rare book collection.
An exceptional collection
The Duke of Aumale acquired a large number of books from all over Europe, from booksellers and at auctions. The Duke was a wealthy, enlightened man and advised notably by Antonio Panizzi, the director of the British Library, and Léopold Delisle, the General Administrator of the National Library of France, he put together an exceptional collection of precious books and illuminated manuscripts, including some major works of medieval art.
Of the 60,000 volumes contained in the Chantilly collection, almost 19,000 volumes are exhibited in the Reading Room, including 1,500 manuscripts and 17,500 printed documents on the subjects of universal knowledge. The manuscripts, the oldest of which dates from the 11th century, include 200 medieval manuscripts of which many are illuminated. The printed documents include approximately 300 incunables (pre-1501) and 2,500 books printed in the 16th century.
Functional, sober architecture
The metal structure with two levels and a gallery is typical of library architecture in the second half of the 19th century. The iron shelving units are trimmed with leather to minimize contact between the bindings and the shelves.
As a space for reading and working, the Reading Room was one of the Duke of Aumale's favourite rooms, as demonstrated in a painting by Gabriel Ferrier depicting him at the end of his life compiling a catalogue of his manuscripts with his friend and former tutor, Cuvillier-Fleury, who assisted him in acquiring books.
The most precious manuscript in the world
Almost 1,500 manuscripts are kept in Chantilly, making it the second largest library in France for illuminated manuscripts after the National Library of France.
The Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duc de Berry is one of the most precious manuscripts in the library and archives of the Condé museum of Chantilly. It is reputed to be the most beautiful manuscript in the world and referred to as "The King of Manuscripts" by the Duke of Aumale. This is the most famous and most admired "treasure" of the Château de Chantilly's collections.
This book of hours, commissioned by Duke John I of Berry from the Limburg brothers in the 15th century, was acquired by the Duke of Aumale in 1856.
For conservation reasons, the original manuscript cannot be viewed, visitors are invited to discover it in a facsimile and in a digital version that can be accessed freely and provides views of all the pages of the manuscript.
35th annual Rosary Sunday draws thousands devoted to Mary, holy rosary
Story by Gina Keating
Photos by Ambria Hammel
The Catholic Sun
In a kaleidoscope of colors, sound and movement, more than 6,000 faithful in the Phoenix Diocese gathered to honor Mary in the most anticipated Catholic event of the year, Rosary Sunday.
Under her title Mary, Help of Christians, the 35th annual celebration continued its traditional offerings of confession, adoration, benediction and recitation of the rosary.
The downtown Phoenix Convention Center opened its doors Oct. 10 to ethnically diverse members of the Body of Christ whose public prayers in different tongues paid homage to Mary, especially for her protection of the unborn.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted was greeted with a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd that filled the seats, as others searched for open spots.
“Today, we see how Mary is the mother of all of us,” Bishop Olmsted said in his bilingual address.
Auxilary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, recently back from a trip to Rome, delivered an apostolic blessing from Pope Benedict, which was received with a round of applause.
Christy O’Gara said she attended the event for the second year with her six children so they could “see all those that love Jesus.”
“Now, more than ever, we desire to be together as witnesses to the world,” O’Gara said.
More: www.catholicsun.org
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Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa.
Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple's design in Gupta architecture reflects India's influence on the region. It also depicts the gupta style from India and shows influence of Buddhism as well as Hinduism. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.
There is no written record of who built Borobudur or of its intended purpose. The construction time has been estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on the temple's hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the 8th and 9th centuries. Borobudur was likely founded around 800 CE. This corresponds to the period between 760 and 830 CE, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in central Java, when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825.
There is confusion between Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The Sailendras were known as ardent followers of Buddhism, though stone inscriptions found at Sojomerto suggest they may have been Hindus. It was during this time that many Hindu and Buddhist monuments were built on the plains and mountains around the Kedu Plain. The Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same time as the Hindu Shiva Prambanan temple compound. In 732 CE, the Shivaite King Sanjaya commissioned a Shivalinga sanctuary to be built on the Wukir hill, only 10 km east of Borobudur.
Construction of Buddhist temples, including Borobudur, at that time was possible because Sanjaya's immediate successor, Rakai Panangkaran, granted his permission to the Buddhist followers to build such temples. In fact, to show his respect, Panangkaran gave the village of Kalasan to the Buddhist community, as is written in the Kalasan Charter dated 778 CE. This has led some archaeologists to believe that there was never serious conflict concerning religion in Java as it was possible for a Hindu king to patronize the establishment of a Buddhist monument; or for a Buddhist king to act likewise. However, it is likely that there were two rival royal dynasties in Java at the time—the Buddhist Sailendra and the Saivite Sanjaya—in which the latter triumphed over their rival in the 856 battle on the Ratubaka plateau. This confusion also exists regarding the Lara Jonggrang temple at the Prambanan complex, which was believed that it was erected by the victor Rakai Pikatan as the Sanjaya dynasty's reply to Borobudur, but others suggest that there was a climate of peaceful coexistence where Sailendra involvement exists in Lara Jonggrang.
Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. It is not known when active use of the monument and Buddhist pilgrimage to it ceased. Sometime between 928 and 1006, King Mpu Sindok moved the capital of the Medang Kingdom to the region of East Java after a series of volcanic eruptions; it is not certain whether this influenced the abandonment, but several sources mention this as the most likely period of abandonment. The monument is mentioned vaguely as late as ca. 1365, in Mpu Prapanca's Nagarakretagama written during Majapahit era and mentioning "the vihara in Budur". Soekmono (1976) also mentions the popular belief that the temples were disbanded when the population converted to Islam in the 15th century.
The monument was not forgotten completely, though folk stories gradually shifted from its past glory into more superstitious beliefs associated with bad luck and misery. Two old Javanese chronicles (babad) from the 18th century mention cases of bad luck associated with the monument. According to the Babad Tanah Jawi (or the History of Java), the monument was a fatal factor for Mas Dana, a rebel who revolted against Pakubuwono I, the king of Mataram in 1709. It was mentioned that the "Redi Borobudur" hill was besieged and the insurgents were defeated and sentenced to death by the king. In the Babad Mataram (or the History of the Mataram Kingdom), the monument was associated with the misfortune of Prince Monconagoro, the crown prince of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in 1757. In spite of a taboo against visiting the monument, "he took what is written as the knight who was captured in a cage (a statue in one of the perforated stupas)". Upon returning to his palace, he fell ill and died one day later.
Lieutenant Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles took great interest in the history of Java. He collected Javanese antiques and made notes through contacts with local inhabitants during his tour throughout the island. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a jungle near the village of Bumisegoro. He was not able to make the discovery himself and sent H.C. Cornelius, a Dutch engineer, to investigate. In two months, Cornelius and his 200 men cut down trees, burned down vegetation and dug away the earth to reveal the monument. Due to the danger of collapse, he could not unearth all galleries. He reported his findings to Raffles including various drawings. Although the discovery is only mentioned by a few sentences, Raffles has been credited with the monument's recovery, as one who had brought it to the world's attention.
The Dutch East Indies government then commissioned F.C. Wilsen, a Dutch engineering official, who studied the monument and drew hundreds of relief sketches. J.F.G. Brumund was also appointed to make a detailed study of the monument, which was completed in 1859.
Borobudur attracted attention in 1885. The restoration was carried out between 1907 and 1911. Due to the limited budget, the restoration had been primarily focused on cleaning the sculptures, and Van Erp did not solve the drainage problem. Within fifteen years, the gallery walls were sagging and the reliefs showed signs of new cracks and deterioration. Van Erp used concrete from which alkali salts and calcium hydroxide leached and were transported into the rest of the construction. This caused some problems, so that a further thorough renovation was urgently needed.
In 1973, a master plan to restore Borobudur was created. The Indonesian government and UNESCO then undertook the complete overhaul of the monument in a big restoration project between 1975 and 1982. The foundation was stabilized and all 1,460 panels were cleaned. The restoration involved the dismantling of the five square platforms and improved the drainage by embedding water channels into the monument. Both impermeable and filter layers were added. This colossal project involved around 600 people to restore the monument and cost a total of US$ 6,901,243. After the renovation was finished, UNESCO listed Borobudur as a World Heritage Site in 1991. It is listed under Cultural criteria "to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius", "to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design", and "to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance".
Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 square metres and they are distributed at the hidden foot and the five square platforms.
The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara,[69] are grouped into 11 series encircled the monument with the total length of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The hidden foot contains the first series with 160 narrative panels and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on the wall read from right to left, while on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right.[70]
The hidden foot depicts the workings of karmic law. The walls of the first gallery have two superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of the Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also balustrades in the first and the second galleries tell the story of the Buddha's former lives. The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana's further wandering about his search, terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom.
Apart from the story of the Buddhist cosmology carved in stone, Borobudur has many statues of various Buddhas. The cross-legged statues are seated in a lotus position and distributed on the five square platforms (the Rupadhatu level) as well as on the top platform (the Arupadhatu level).
The Buddha statues are in niches at the Rupadhatu level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the balustrades, the number of statues decreasing as platforms progressively diminish to the upper level. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, there are 432 Buddha statues at the Rupadhatu level. At the Arupadhatu level (or the three circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, that add up to 72 stupas. Of the original 504 Buddha statues, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless) and 43 are missing (since the monument's discovery, heads have been stolen as collector's items, mostly by Western museums).
At first glance, all the Buddha statues appear similar, but there is a subtle difference between them in the mudras or the position of the hands. There are five groups of mudra: North, East, South, West and Zenith, which represent the five cardinal compass points according to Mahayana. The first four balustrades have the first four mudras: North, East, South and West, of which the Buddha statues that face one compass direction have the corresponding mudra. Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and inside the 72 stupas on the top platform have the same mudra: Zenith. Each mudra represents one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas; each has its own symbolism.
On Sunday, December 19, 2010, Zone Night Club, 133 W 18th St, Erie PA devoted their monthly FACE Drag Show to benefiting Toys for Tots. $365 and about 20 toys were collected. Fundraising efforts included performers and support staff auctioning Barbie Dolls to look themselves. Performers included show organizer Michelle Michaels, Buffy Lynn Hayes, Mistress Vanitay, Celine Dashawn, Jill Jamison, Diva D'Vyne, Angelica Redd, and Siren, Lady of the Lake. In addition, stage manager Season auctioned a Barbie doll that included her signature clipboard with spikes and a riding crop. Erie Gay News co-editor Michael Mahler took photos.
For more about Zone Dance Club, browse to www.thezonedanceclub.com. For more about Erie Gay News, browse to www.eriegaynews.com.
. . . devoted to you - "Gartenzauber" :-x :-x :-x
. . . and to you - "Traudl2009" (by courtesy of "Gartenzauber") :-)))))))))))))))
Gerry Rafferty
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mvLUUZICeY
♫ ♥♫
Don’t speak of my heart, it hurts too much -- hurts to touch
I’m writing the book each and every day
Take a look at my face, I still need -- I still bleed
I’ve been running on empty since you went away.
The spirit world looks down on us
Sad that we’re apart
So please don’t speak of my heart.
♫ ♥♫
May - Divers 2018
KANAL - Centre Pompidou!
13 months of exhibitions and shows before conversion work begins
Before it becomes the largest cultural institution in Brussels, with 35,000 m2 devoted to artistic creation in all its forms, KANAL - Centre Pompidou proposes a unique cultural immersion in the buildings of the former Citroen garage.
Before conversion work begins, KANAL - Centre Pompidou will open its doors from May 2018 until June 2019 to allow the public to discover an exceptional cultural heritage, rich in history and preserved in its current state. Benefiting from the richness of the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the former Citroen garage will turn into a site hosting several exhibitions mixing visual arts, design, architecture, major installations and creations by Brussels-based artists, as well as a programme of performing-arts shows co-produced for this occasion with many of the city's cultural actors.
A future cultural hub
The ambition of KANAL - Centre Pompidou is to offer a centre of culture and exchange open to all, to put the creative scene of Brussels in the limelight, and to contribute to the capital's cultural appeal.
Driven by the Brussels-Capital Region, this ambitious project seeks to provide Brussels with a cultural hub favourable to the aura of the capital of Europe. In the context of a ten-year partnership with the Centre Pompidou, the future KANAL - Centre Pompidou will not only house a museum of modern and contemporary art, but also the rich collections of architecture and urbanism of the CIVA Foundation. It will also accommodate many public spaces with a range of functions, including several stages for the performing arts.
A wide-ranging programme
Events imagined in response to the identity of the site and its unique aesthetic qualities, but also its history
From 5 May 2018 until 10 June 2019, following a radically experimental approach, the former Citroen garage will turn into a platform open to a reflection on the stakes of the museum of the future. Curated by Bernard Blistene, the director of the Musee national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, a multidisciplinary programme will seek to fill the spaces that were recently emptied of their functions and left in their current state. Many of the proposals seek to echo the identity of the site, but also its human and social history, tangible across the different workshops and offices and in the different fittings of this vast complex.
Eager to integrate Kanal - Centre Pompidou in its context, the programme will let a vast audience have access, in one and the same venue, to a wide-ranging and unique cultural offer. The programme follows the rhythm of the Brussels cultural calendar, in partnership with, among others, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, BOZAR, Performatik Festival, Flagey, Kaaitheater and La Raffinerie (Charleroi Danse).
Photos of May 2018
Photos de mai 2018
( Diverses photos prisent en 2018 sans sujet reel.
Various pictures taken in 2018 without real subject. )
New Business Venture :D
Get them here inworld: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LUXORY%20WEST/160/163/22
Or Marketplace
Kentucky Railway Museum, New Haven, Kentucky. .... Try running a train without a man like this and see how many times the engineer gets to blow the whistle / horn. The backbone of the Railway Museum are the people that volunteer their time to restore and keep running the rolling stock of the museum. Most though not all, are retired railroad workers.
A big thanks to all of them!
..............................................................................................................................................................
All Aboard!
The Kentucky Railway Museum
At one time, more than 40 different companies operated railroad lines in Kentucky, offering both freight-hauling and passenger services over 5,000 miles of track. Since 1930, 40% of that track mileage—mostly secondary and branch lines—has been abandoned, and passenger trains are now almost a thing of the past. But many still find the call of the rails irresistible, and many others delight in building their own elaborate railroads in miniature.
For both groups, the former train depot at New Haven, in Nelson County, has indeed become a haven. It’s the headquarters of the Kentucky Railway Museum, one of the country’s oldest museums devoted to trains.
In addition to exhibits of photos and artifacts from the golden age of train travel, railroad buffs will find more than 80 units of restored rolling stock, from steam engines that hauled Kentucky coal to cars that took troops to the front lines in World War II Europe. A 3,000-square-foot exhibit hall showcases model railroad layouts of various vintages and various gauges. And from the embarkation point in the nearby small town of Boston, museum goers can climb aboard one of several excursion trains for a ride through the Southcentral Kentucky scenery along the 17 miles of mainline track operated by the museum. Many “retired” railroad workers have found new careers at the Kentucky Railway Museum as volunteers keeping the trains running.
35th annual Rosary Sunday draws thousands devoted to Mary, holy rosary
Story by Gina Keating
Photos by Ambria Hammel
The Catholic Sun
In a kaleidoscope of colors, sound and movement, more than 6,000 faithful in the Phoenix Diocese gathered to honor Mary in the most anticipated Catholic event of the year, Rosary Sunday.
Under her title Mary, Help of Christians, the 35th annual celebration continued its traditional offerings of confession, adoration, benediction and recitation of the rosary.
The downtown Phoenix Convention Center opened its doors Oct. 10 to ethnically diverse members of the Body of Christ whose public prayers in different tongues paid homage to Mary, especially for her protection of the unborn.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted was greeted with a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd that filled the seats, as others searched for open spots.
“Today, we see how Mary is the mother of all of us,” Bishop Olmsted said in his bilingual address.
Auxilary Bishop Eduardo Nevares, recently back from a trip to Rome, delivered an apostolic blessing from Pope Benedict, which was received with a round of applause.
Christy O’Gara said she attended the event for the second year with her six children so they could “see all those that love Jesus.”
“Now, more than ever, we desire to be together as witnesses to the world,” O’Gara said.
More: www.catholicsun.org
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Posted by Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) - The pinnacle of our #PerfectDay. Returning to this place. 5 years ago I devoted my life to this… t.co/aWO9EKdMJ5 #SonequaMG #SonequaMartinGreen #TWD #TheWalkingDead
Source: walkingdead.affiliatebrowser.com/the-pinnacle-of-our-perf...
Welcome to the Colorado Railroad Museum
The Colorado Railroad Museum is devoted to the collection and preservation of Colorado's unique history of railroading in the mountains and plains.
There are over 100 pieces of railroading equipment here on 15 acres. Our collections consist of historic and standard gauge rail cars and locomotives that ran on Colorado rails.
The Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library and the Cornelius W. Hauck Restoration Facility are also on the Museum grounds. The Library houses an extensive collection of railroading books and archives, and the Restoration Facility features an operating turntable and a roundhouse used to restore and maintain the rolling stock
The information panels you will find around the Museum's grounds have been made possible by the generous support of the North American Railway Foundation_
North American Railway Foundation.
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THE STREAMLINER ERA AND THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR
In the late 1940s, prompted by the need to replace older passenger to the pleasures of traveling by rail, railroads developed new passenger cars with an emphasis on style and comfort. Exteriors were often clad in stainless steel giving them a “streamlined” look. Interiors reflected modern design themes, such as fun art deco style, and had plush reclining seats, chrome and flashy new décor.
The railroad also changed the names of their trains to reflect the new equipment. There were the City trains on the Union Pacific, the Zephyrs on the Burlington and the Rio Grande, the Rockets on the Rock Island, to name a few.
One of the best-known passenger trains was the California Zephyr, which connected Chicago and San Francisco. It was pulled b engines from three different railroads, the Burlington Route, the Denver & Rio Grande Western, and the Western Pacific. It featured extremely popular “Vista Dome” cars – cars with glass domes over part of each cars roof, to allow passengers to enjoy mountain scenery all around.
On the Rio Grande portion of the trip between Denver and Salt Lake City, a diesel-electric locomotive like D&RGW No. 5771 would have pulled the Zephyr through the Rockies. The California Zephyr, shared by three railroads, ran until 1970. The Rio Grande continued its Denver-Salt Lake route as the Rio Grande Zephyr until 1983 when Amtrak took over. Today, it follows part of the original route and remains one of Amtrak’s more popular trains.
The Museum’s passenger car from the Streamliners – the Pullman Observation car Navajo – is the last car on your right behind the D&RGW locomotive No. 5771. It was used on the Santa Fe Super Chief between Chicago and Los Angeles and features air conditioning, … and an overall American Indian name appropriate to its southwestern route
Locomotive No. 5771, new on the Museum grounds, seen puffing the Rio Grande Zephyr through the snow near Denver.
Union Pacific’s streamlined train No. 910 – City of S… on a run through Wyoming.
The California Zephyr’s observation car, Silver Sky” was a Vista-Dome for first class passengers.
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Colorado Railroad Museum
Golden, CO
Brice and Melody Colcombe Wedding Trip
Viggo the dog, devoted member of our family, friend to everyone he ever met, gentlest of souls, inspiring personal trainer and best possible companion has passed away 3/26/15 unexpectedly. His last day was filled with joy as he bounded up the Cline Butte in Central Oregon in search of quail to flush from the sage brush. We will miss him terribly and are truly devastated but he lived a very happy life and brought joy to everyone that met him. We love you Viggo! Rest in peace.
Olive Jones devoted her entire career to the
university as its first full-time librarian, a
position she assumed in 1893. The 1887 Ohio
State alum earned her bachelor’s degree
while working part-time for the library. Jones
spent nearly 20 years trying to convince the
administration to build a stand-alone library
— the Main Library was then housed in Orton
Hall, where the Geology Library is now located
— and in 1913, the “New Library” opened. Jones
retired in 1927.
We are all gathered here today to recollect and reflect on the life of Mr. D. A. Rajapaksa who died on the 7th of November 1967. This is an annual expression of abiding gratitude to an outstanding gentleman of noble qualities.
It was the good fortune of the people of Ruhuna that he was there to succeed his elder brother, D. M. Rajapaksa, who represented the people of the Hambantota District in the Second State Council of Ceylon from the 7th of March 1936 till his untimely death on the 18th of May 1945.
On his death in the morning of that Friday there descended a gloom over the Ruhuna region. The Leader of the State Council, Hon. D. S. Senanayake, in moving a vote of condolence said that, "From the day, D. M. left Wesley College, during the First World War (1914-1918), he made the backwood people of Ruhuna his own cause.
He devoted his whole life to them with courage, independence and straightforward dedication." The Member for Dumbara, Mr. A. Ratnayake, followed the Leader's speech and mentioned that in the previous night, whilst having dinner in the House premises, D. M. was relating to the few Members around him of his sufferings of the poor peasants of Ruhuna whose cause he had championed throughout his life. Ratnayake "felt that D. M. would be born again to resume his earthly mission." Ratnayake was a lifelong friend from his Mahabodhi College days during D. M.'s stay at Wesley.
Vacancy
The vacancy for the Hambantota seat had to be filled. The mourning people there looked for a successor from the same family. D. M.'s eldest son, Lakshman was barely 21 years of age, the 2nd son, George was still a student at Royal College.
The only one to turn to was D.M.'s younger brother, D. A. Rajapaksa. He was a dedicated supporter of D. M.'s political life, but a most unwilling Rajapaksa to get involved in politics. D.A. had to be motivated, induced and persuaded to the ultimate conviction that it was his bounden duty, by his brother and his family and the peasants of Ruhuna, to follow in his revered brother's steps.
Finally it was with great difficulty that he was literally lured to the Hambantota Kachcheri to submit his nomination for the by-election. On the 14th of July 1945, he was duly declared elected uncontested in place of his brother's vacancy.
I want to divert a little to mention something about the Hambantota District - the home of the Rajapaksa family.
At the time when D.M.'s father decided to send his three sons to Richmond College, Galle, a few years before the war broke out in 1914, Hambantota was divided into three "pattus" - Giruwa Pattu West, Giruwa Pattu East and Magam Pattu.
The home of the Rajapaksa's was in Buddhiyagama, a village near Weeraketiya in Giruwa Pattu West where the Mudaliyar was Harry Jayawardene of Kataluwa, Galle. H. E. Amarasekere, Mudaliyar of Giruwa Pattu East, was also from a place outside Hambantota, and the 3rd Mudaliyar, B. H. Doole was a descendant of the Malays of long ancestry settled down in Hambantota Town.
Irrigation works
There were four large irrigation works in the District, namely Kirini ganga, the left bank scheme of which could irrigate over 6,000 acres at Tissa and Magama, the Walawe ganga right bank scheme which could irrigate over 5,000 acres in East Giruwa Pattu and the Kirama and the Urubokka schemes in West Giruwa Pattu. Besides, there were around 4,000 small village tanks being restored by using village labour.
The chief cultivation was paddy, producing almost a million bushels per year, along with kurakkan, corn, meneri, sweet potatoes and chillies. The principal industry was the distillation of citronella oil largely in West Giruwa Pattu with over 200 distilleries. The other industries were making coconut oil in chekkus, manufacture of furniture, brass and lacquer works.
At Richmond
It is from this rural deep South that D. M. was sent to Richmond by his father, Vidana Arachi (akin to a Korale Mahatmaya in the Kandyan Kingdom) of Buddiyagama. D.A. once told me that Mudaliyar Jayawardene had asked his father whether he did not love his sons, in that he imprisoned them in the school hostel. He had replied that he imprisoned them in school only because he loved them.
At Richmond D.M. turned out to be a moderate student, but a good cricketer. He had played in the college team and in the year when he was due to be elected captain (a practice at Richmond), a very liberally spending team-mate from an affluent family, resorted to extensive treating and unheard of bribery. Needless to say, the poor boy who was rich in high principles lost the much coveted captaincy.
The English Principal of Richmond in his unostentatious way arranged with Richmond's sister school in Colombo. Wesley College, for D.M. to be accepted as a scholar. Thence began D.M.'s career at Wesley, which was well-known for cricket, but better known for the greater opportunities that Wesley provided for the development of a student's inborn aptitudes rather than the mere study of books.
He met on the playing fields, boys from the then established schools like Royal, S. Thomas', Ananda, Zahira, St. Joseph's, St. Benedict's and Trinity.
He attended meetings at the YMCA and YMBA and enjoyed public meetings at the Town Hall and the Colombo Masonic Lodge where he heard the famous speech of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam on the 2nd April 1917 when he made his memorable speech on "Our Political Needs" to the Ceylon National Association of which D. R. Wijewardene of Lake House fame was the organizing secretary.
Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was a reputed Hindu who concluded one of his addresses to the Ceylon National Congress with the exhortation, "May the beautiful Chant of Universal Love, the
Karaniya Metta Sutta be realised".
Sabba satta bhavantu sukhi tatta
Sukhino va khemino hontu
(Let all living beings be joyous and safe
May it be theirs to dwell in happiness)
Ceylon National Congress
This was a decade of high political activity, the era in which the efforts of Ponnambalam Arunachalam to unite the Ceylon National Association, the Ceylon Reform League, the Chilaw Association and the Jaffna Youth Association led to their combining together and making a united bid for Reforms.
The result was the birth of the Ceylon National Congress in 1918, which unanimously elected Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam as its first President. He was a man of outstanding ability, erudite scholarship and dedicated to public service.
He was the first Ceylonese to succeed in the newly introduced examination for entry into the Civil Service in England in 1874. He had a brilliant career in Cambridge University as a scholar from Ceylon. 1918 was a year when the Ceylonese be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers looked upto Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam and his elder brother, Ramanathan, as truly representing the culture and aspirations of the Ceylonese people.
I will now briefly trace the history of the Government set up under British control, leading up to its development to the Reformed Legislative Council of 1920.
After the British East India Company came into possession in 1796 of the Dutch possessions in Ceyon, they were authorised by the British Government to recoup their expenses in that exercise - a sum of 20,000 pounds as reckoned at that time.
The Company Officials were not successful and the British Government took over those possessions as a Crown Colony in 1798. The first Governor sent from London was the Hon. Frederick North (afterwards the Earl of Guildford), the third son of a one time Prime Minister Lord North. The complete legislative power was left in the hands of the Governor, who was to form a Council of five persons to consult before passing any legislation, so that it might be understood that the laws were passed by the Governor in Council.
After the entire country went under the British in 1815 following the Kandyan Convention, the newly acquired provinces also came under the Governor's jurisdiction. The first English Agent in Kandy was John O'Doyly, the reputed Sinhala scholar. The Colebrook-Cameron Commission was sent to Ceylon in 1828 and t hey made their recommendations for a Legislative Council of 15 Members.
It provided for six Unofficial Members to be appointed by the Governor, three of whom were to represent the Non-Official European community in the Colony and one each to represent the Sinhalese, Tamil and Burgher communities respectively.
This composition of the Legislative Council remained till 1912, except that in 1889 two more Unofficial Members were appointed to represent the Kandyan and the Muslims respectively.
Meanwhile, the Colony which was divided into five provinces for purposes of Government in 1833, had the five provinces increased to nine by 1889 with the creation of the new North Central, the North Western, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces. These were British creations purely for their administrative convenience and not for any ethnic or religious or such other basis.
In 1912, due to the agitation of a number of people who had got well educated and of people who had advanced in plantations and trade, meagre reforms were made by introducing the elective principle in the form of changing the appointment of four of the Unofficial Members - two for the British interests, one for the Burgher and one for the "Educated Ceylonese" interests - This was as peculiar notion to election by educated Ceylonese to enable both educated Tamils and educated Sinhalese to elect one Member, needless to say by an electorate limited by stipulated education and property ownership qualifications.
Reformed Legislative Council
The Reformed Legislative Council of 1920 did not have provisions for a seat for the Tamils in the Western Province, something that was tacitly promised as a condition for the Jaffna Youth Association to join the National Congress. The elections under the new Constitution resulted in Sinhalese and Tamil Members being elected as follows:-
1. Western Province (Division A) - Mr. W. M. Rajapaksa
2. Western Province (Division B) - Mr. E. W. Perera
3. The Town of Colombo - Sir James Peiris
4. The Central Province - Sir A. C. G. Wijekoon
5. The Northern Province - Sir W. Duraiswamy
6. The Southern Province - Mr. O. C. Tillekeratne
7. The Eastern Province - Mr. E. R. Tambimuttu
8. The North Western Province - Mr. C. E. Corea
9. The North Central Province - Mr. E. R. Krishnaratne
10. Province of uva - Sir D. H. Kotalawala
11. Province of Sabaragamuwa - Rev. W. E. Boteju
12. Low-Country Products Association - Sir H. L. de Mel
But there was no seat for a Tamil in the Western Province. The seat that could have been given to a Tamil in the Western Province was the seat for the Town of Colombo for which Sir James Peiris appeared, and Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was not considered.
The newly created seat for the Low-Country Products Association, with an electorate of eleven voters, went on to elect H. L. De Mel unopposed, the brother-in-law of James Peiris, who appears to have entered National politics for the first time. Sir James Peiris was a brilliant student from Cambridge University, the first elected Ceylonese President of the Cambridge Union and the first Vice President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon in 1925.
Ponnambalam Arunachalam
Ponnambalam Arunachalam, the architect of the 1920 Reforms, the brain behind the creation of the Ceylon National Congress, became a sad disappointed man. The Tamils were made to feel that they had no recognition in the Western Province, which had become the home to thousands of them.
Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam resigned the Presidency of the Ceylon National Congress. Lesser men took over, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam then went to India on a pilgrimage. In the midst of his devotions at Madurai in South India, after a brief illness he passed away on the 9th of January 1924, leaving behind him memories of an illustrious life, well spent in the service of his country and its people.
This was the Colombo that D. M. Rajapaksa left behind to return to his remote village home to start a lifetime of dedicated service. He went round the region on a voyage of discovery and found great suffering, which he felt it was his mission to alleviate.
He got interested in politics and took part in the first public election for a member for the newly created Hambantota District seat in the Reformed Legislative Council of 1924. V. S. de S. Wickramanayake, a resident Proctor in Tangalle was contested by a Barrister living in Colombo, he was Mr. G. K. W. Perera, University Scholar in 1904 from Ananda College with B. A; and LL.B. Degree from Cambridge University, U. K. He was one time the President of the Ceylon National Congress. D. M. took a hand in the elections and supported the known resident of the area rather than the prestigious outsider from Colombo.
The election was won by the local Proctor. The story goes that G. K. W. was first declared the winner by a very small majority, but he challenged the count stating that he should have won by much more and demanded a recount. At the recount, some of the discarded votes as 'spoilt' were admitted as 'unspoilt'. The resultant final decision declared V. S. de S, the winner by 17 votes.
D. M. had developed his own novel methods of electioneering. He used the local music with trained singers and dancers in troupes and organised competitions to make Sinhala versed (Kavi Maduwas). These became the novel techniques of winning friends and influencing people. His increasing popularity was cause for concern amongst the powerful and the privileged.
It was around this time that the Assistant Government Agent at Hambantota, whilst on what was then called 'being on circuit' in the Middeniya area, received a complaint from a man of the village, Singho Appu by name, that D. M. had threatened to shoot him with a gun.
The A. G. A. the first Ceylonese member of the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service to be appointed to the Hambantota District directed a police headman to produce D. M. before him. When D. M. was duly produced, the AGA whilst still on circuit in Middeniya, acted in his other capacity as Police Magistrate, Tangalle, and stated that as all the parties were present, he thought it desirable to try the case at once.
He recorded the complaint of Singho Appu and appearing to have assumed jurisdiction as magistrate, framed the charge upon which he tried and convicted the accused, D. M. Rajapaksa. The Supreme Court heard this case in appeal.
It came up before Justice T. F. Garvin, K. C., who found it quite clear that in effect the accused had been tried by the very person at whose instance he was prosecuted. The Supreme Court further found it hardly necessary to observe that if confidence in the administration of justice is to be preserved, even the semblance of unfairness to which procedure of this nature gives rise, should be avoided. The proceedings were set aside on the 28th of November 1928 (NLR-Vol. XXX, p.348).
1931 elections
Soon thereafter came the fresh elections in 1931 after the grant of adult franchise and the creation of the State Council under the Donoughmore Constitution. Elections were planned for fifty territorial seats for constituencies in the country. Hambantota District was one of the seven electorates of the Southern Province.
The Hambantota election was held on the 13th June 1931 with only two candidates. V. S. de S. Wikramanayake of Tangalle won with a poll of 15,384 votes and the retired Mudaliyar, H. Jayawardene of the W. G. P., obtained only 4,467 votes thus yielding place to the Proctor a 10,917 majority. D. M. who supported the Proctor assisted his own relation and friend, Dr. S. A. Wickramasinghe of Aturaliya for the adjoining Morawaka seat, which he won. It was during the Morawaka elections in 1931 that D. M. and Dr. S. A. came to our home in Getamanna to discuss elections with my father. It was then, as a 9 year old boy, I first set eyes on these two public men.
Dr. S. A
Dr. S. A. won the Morawaka seat, a constituency in the Matara District to which our Getamanna village was attached from the Hambantota District, probably because it was shown on the map as jutting out from the Hambantota District as its most western placed village. Incidentally, Dr. S.A. was one of three doctors who was retrenched during the depression at that time. The other two were Dr. M. C. M. Kaleel and Dr. M. V. P. Peiris who later was a consultant surgeon at Colombo. They both also took to politics later and were Ministers in UNP Governments.
D. M., now feeling confident to enter national politics contested the sitting member in 1936, along with Mr. L. G. Poulier, a practising Proctor, a long resident of Tangalle. D. M. won with 17,046 votes beating also the sitting member, V. S. de S. Wikramanayake to third place.
His kinsman, David Wanigasekera was re-elected for Weligama, but Dr. S. A. lost Morawaka to Mr. R. C. Kannangara, a newcomer to National Politics, who was a superintendent of a Tea Estate in Deniyaya. On his death, a few years later, Dr. S.A. was returned at the by-election for Morawaka.
State Council
The new State Council of 1936 met on the 17th of March and proceeded to elect the Speaker. The old stalwarts of the Ceylon National Congress felt bound to honour.
Mr. Francis de Zoysa, K. C. with the Speakership and the certainty of a knighthood and proposed his name, but the new enthusiastic intellects of the rising generation led by Philip Gunawardena, Dr. N. M. Perera and D. M. Rajapaksa, fresh from the hustings, having defeated the sitting aristocrats in the form of Forester Obeyesekere and Mrs. Adeline Molamure from feudal Ruwanwella and the veteran Wickramanayake of Hambantota were determined to oppose the old stalwarts.
At the first ballot for the Speaker, Mr. C. Batuwantudawe, who was the Minister for Local Administration and the brother-in-low of Sir D. B. Jayathileke, was eliminated with 14 votes. At the second ballot, the remaining two candidates, namely Mr. Francis de Zoysa and Mr. W. Duraiswamy tied with 29 votes each.
At the resultant third ballot, Mr. Duraiswamy got 30 votes as against Mr. Francis de Zoysa's ballot of 28 votes. The secret of the manoeuvre, which gave the extra vote for victory was recealed by Dr. N.M. in Parliament, when N.M. made his moving speech on the death of Sir Waitialingam Duraiswamy in 1966.
He said that the one vote victory was due to the persuasion of Philip Gunawardena, the member for Avissawella. In fact, it was a little more than mere mental persuasion that was made on the member for Nuwara Eliya, Mr. E. W. Abeygunasekera.
After D.M. got into the State Council, I, as a school boy used to go to the Council meeting with some friends, got passes from him and watched proceedings in the house. It was an exciting revelation to us young lads to watch these gentlemen in debate. Then the war came and by that time, D.M.'s son, George Rajapaksa was a student at Royal College and boarded at the Maha Mudaliyar's house-'Maligawa', directly opposite Royal College.
At that time, I believe, his elder son, Lakshman was at Wesley. In 1944, when George captained Royal, I was watching the Royal-Thomian cricket match played that year at the old SSC grounds seated along with D.M. I was a student member of the SSC at that time.
Whilst watching the match, George was bowled out by Sam Elapata for a very small score and for the second time in the match. D.M. with a slight smile mentioned how Sam Elapata's father, who was later a Rate Mahatmaya of Atakalan Korale in Ratnapura, got him out also twice in the Wesley vs St. Thomas' match during the Martial law days of the great war.
D.M. was in an expansive mood and I asked him about his school days. He said they were exciting times with Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam leading us, how his speeches attracted big crowed and he laboured to from the Ceylon National Congress.
Then he said that it was sad the way our people let him down, in not giving him a place in the Reformed Legislative Council of 1920. That was the beginning of our present ethnic troubles, he thought. It was around this tie that he had seriously reflected on politics and went back to the village to take part in public life and to seek pastures new, but he found them withered.
After D.M's death in May 1945 and the entry of his brother, D. A. into politics, I took George, who had just passed the entrance examination, to the University hostel (Brodie), which was then at Ward Place. He completed his first exam in 1946 and started on Law studies and remained with me at Brodie.
D. A. as a new Member of the State Council used to come to the hostel to see his nephew. On one occasion, I was reading from Nehru's book "Discovery of India", when he dropped in, I left the book aside and was talking to him. He casually mentioned that his wife was expecting another baby. I told him" - "Uncle, that will be a son of the Member of the State Council".
But he said that he already had a son and a daughter and then I humorously suggested to him that they were born before he entered Parliament, but this one will be the son of the Parliamentarian. Then I showed him the page of Nehru's book, which I was reading when he came in and read out' - "Emperor Ashoka's messengers and ambassadors went to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, etc. conveying his greetings and Buddha's message.
They went to Central Asia and Burma and Siam and he sent his own son and daughter, Mahendra and Sangamitta to Ceylon in the South". I asked him rhetorically - "Why don't you call him - Mahendra?" Several months after, when he met me, he said, "I gave that name".
Member of Parliament
Now I want to get back to D.A.'s life as a Member of Parliament after the historic election of 1947 when the era of Independence began.
He was one of the earliest members who took up residence at the newly created hostel for Members of Parliamentary at Sravasti - the impressive mansion of the late Dr. W. A. de Silva, Member of the State Council for Moratuwa from 1931 till his death in 1942.
The first Speaker elected to the new Parliament was Sir Francis Molamure. This was his final lapse after being a Member of the Legislative Council of 1925 and of the State Council of 1931. He collapsed whilst presiding at a sitting of the House in January 1951.
A few months later, in June, Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the Leader of the House, the Minister of Health and Local Government resigned from all office and crossed the floor of the House to the Opposition in the traditionally symbolic manner of leaving the government itself, but not from Parliament.
On that solemn occasion, Mr. D. A. Rajapaksa was the only Member who had the courage to walk across the floor following his Leader immediately behind. There were others who joined Mr. Bandaranaike later, but D. A. alone had the courage to walk behind the Leader.
Today, crossing over to the Opposition in Parliament has become rather common and sometimes even popular.
They are generally for personal gain, sometimes for political prospects with the hope of reward and rarely even for fear of punishment. S. W. R. D. crossed the floor of the House on a matter of principle. His was the brilliant and epoch making speech expressing the gratitude of the House on the momentous occasion of opening the first Parliament of Independent Ceylon in 1948 by the Duke of Gloucester.
It was an oration full of hope for the dawn of a new era. Almost 4 years later after that historical occasion, S. W. R. D. sincerely felt that the country was not taking off on a prospective path. He saw no hope of a new world dawning for Ceylon.
Hence, he pondered long and took the extreme step of parting from his friends and colleagues in the hope of carving out a new era. He literally took the plunge into the unknown, fully mindful of the many vicissitudes ahead. The only other Member of the Government to boldly risk the decision was none other than our one D. A. or Ruhuna.
D. A. was not by any means an affluent person, but a loner, working honourably with dedication to his people. He had to bring up a large young family. He was abandoning a prospective position in politics to an abysmal valley of insecurity and despair.
However, he sincerely felt that the best hope for the rural masses lay in his bold decision. He continued in Parliament long enough to see his Leader assassinated in September 1959. He lost his seat at the following election in March 1960, but won it again four months later in July.
That was enough for him to hear his young nephew, George Rajapakse, make one of the finest speeches in the annals of the Legislature of this country on his resignation from the post of Parliamentary Secretary of Finance to his formidable Minister, the young Felix Dias Bandaranaike.
George started his speech saying, "I am in Parliament today, not because of any achievement of my own, I am here because of the services that were rendered to the peasants of the Hambantota District by my late father, a judgment-debtor lingering within the walls of Welikada prison.
The people of Ruhuna sent him to the State Council, and until his death, he fought relentlessly against the feudal overlords who were lording it over the backwoods from which I come. On his death, the only inheritance he left me was the heritage of a name and this little brown shawl that I wear round me of kurakkan colour, which symbolizes the struggle of the peasants in Ruhuna against the feudalists and the headman who were oppressing the people at that time".
"It was well researched with the virtues of lucidity, precision, order and method. It was a devastating revelation by what he called himself' - a political infant. He, time and again, fired his darts at those within his own ranks who had connived and given their consent to the gross betrayal of the people of this country.
He reminded the Members of the House of all their many duties and obligations, but that their fundamental and highest obligation was to the people of this country. The good cricketer that he was, he didn't bash around the wicket, but batted elegantly and scored a faultless century and more.
His main criticism was of his Minister of Finance whose budget proposal was to cut the rice ration, which he felt was a disastrous measure. His penultimate thrust was that - "This Government was very fond of talking about bribery and corruption.
They threatened to introduce a Bill for the declaration of assets. They talked plain humbug in their Throne speeches about elimination of corruption in our own ranks, our party, our trade unions and in our representation at International Organizations.
I do not talk about International racketeers, it is pointless wasting the time of the House". In concluding his speech, which takes several pages of the Hansard, he told the House - "Withdraw this proposed cut in the rice rations. Unless a statement is made in this House that the rice ration will be withdrawn, I will be reluctantly compelled to vote against this budget.
My final appeal to the Government is to use their good offices to restore this rice cut without committing suicide and if you cannot restore the rice cut, I offer you the advice that our late Prime Minister tendered, - "The first most important constructive suggestion I have to make to the Government is to - clear out". The Minister of Finance resigned on the 24th of August 1962.
That speech was made in the Parliament elected in July 1960, where all three electorates of the Hambantota District were represented by D. A. Rajapaksa, (Beliatta), by his brother, D. M.'s elder son, Lakshman (Tissamaharama), and by his second son, George (Mulkirigala). That was the last occasion that the whole District was represented by the family.
At the next election held on the 22nd of March 1965, D. A. lost his seat. He retired from politics, but continued to be of service to his people. He died on the 7th of November 1967, and today, we are gathered here to recollect and reflect on a life well lived, a life of humble service, without ostentation in self effacement.
He was sympathetic and kind and had an extremely happy family life and it was a good life well spent with contentment. Death has few consolations to offer the living. It is so final and uncompromising.
Nothing can replace the loss of a familiar face, the touch of a vanished hand or the sound of a voice that is still. But we need a compelling need to do whatever we can to keep some contact with the loved one even if it means sitting around and talking of him.
D. A. was a public figure and many have remarked on his integrity, courage and perseverance with which he carried out his duties. But to those around him he was a kind man and a good man in a sense in which very few are called kind and good.
He was sixty two years old when he died. But his family never heard a harsh word nor saw a lost temper. He abused no one personally or from a political platform, in parliament or in his personal relationships. That is the gentleman of whom, we are gathered here with respect and admiration.
(Sunday Observer, 25 December 2005 and 1 January 2006)