WORLD BEYOND...

Bang-bang-bangbangbang-bang–in the light of the fire, a necklace of wrought silver and ivory shines on the bare chest of the Kandyan dancer,the rhythm is passed on to the bracelets on his arms and ankles. Bang-bang-bangbangbang-bang–red ribbons hang from white fabric wrapped around the dancer’s head: another piece of white fabric which covers the lower part of the body brings out graceful, gentle movements alternated with an almost acrobatic dance. Bang-bang-bangbangbang-bang–the dancer jumps, does a backward somersault and leaps around the drummers – white, red and silver are prominent on the supple, slim and muscular body of the dancer. The reflection of the light is refracted on the sweating dark skin – white, red and silver. Bang-bang-bangbangbang-bang–the dancer is accompanied by drummers who bear complicated rhythms on Geta Bera,two-sided drums which taper towards the ends–skin and the other with cattle skin to give different tones.
We are in Kandy, a highland town surrounded on three sides by mountains crossed by Sri Lanka’s longest river, Mahaweli Ganga, a town also called Maha Nuwara (Great City). As the light of the fire is reflected on the silver decorations of the dancer, this place reflects the glory of the Sinhalese kingdom, which has roots in the third millennium BC. It links the history of Sri Lanka with the whole Buddhist world, and marks the end of the glory of Sinhalese kings who left behind the ruins of the two main towns, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. From the north of Sri Lanka inland where the soul of Buddhists and the landscape can touch the skies high up in the mountains at altitude of 2000 meters. End of the Ramajana stories, the beginning of changes – this is where the history of Sri Lanka seems to be immersed in legends. The traces of Adam, turned out of Paradise, end at this place. Or was it Buddha who left his footprint at an altitude of 2224 meters on Adam’s Peak called Sri Pada (Sacred Foot) in Sinhalese? The roots of Sri Maha Bodhi, the most scared tree to Buddhists and the oldest surviving historical tree in the world, reach as far as this place. It was brought from northern India by Princess Sangamitta, sister of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Here in Kandy, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) is the meeting place of the whole Buddhist world at the most sacred relic – Buddha’s Tooth. Its tale of woe is copied by the history of Sri Lanka….
Would U like to read the rest of the story? Maybe the dance of the history & excursion into the world of fantasy continue in Istanbul… Bang-bang-bangbangbang-bang;)