Browsing by Author "Manatunga, A."

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Ajanta and Sigiriya: A comparative study into mural paintings
(Reviewing International Encounters 2015, Research Center for Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2015) Manatunga, A.
Ajanta paintings have often been compared with that of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. The contemporariness of both paintings, their elegance, excellent preservation and some stylistic similarities are the factors behind this comparison. Accordingly, both sites have been considered as belonging to a same school of paintings which was nourished by Buddhism and spread over South and Southeast Asia during that period. The present paper is meant for examining this popular belief of similarity between Ajanta and Sigiriya by comparing the subject matter, context, style and technique of paintings in both places with casual attention to other paintings and sculptures in India and Sri Lanka. Ajanta is a cave temple complex and its paintings are essentially religious. Sigiriya is a palace complex and its paintings are in a secular context. Moreover, Sigiriya paintings are only female figures which are having a symbolic meaning than that of Ajanta where paintings are part of narrative scenes. The study shows that Ajanta and Sigiriya are examples of two schools of paintings though there are some similarities in style which is common to both paintings and sculptures at Anuradhaura and Polonnaruva in general. Further, it is noted that Ajanta is closer in the subject matter, context and style to paintings in the Tivanka Image House at Polonnaruva than that of Sigiriya. The style and elegance of old sculptures at Dambulla cave indicate some resemblance to Ajanta though early paintings at the cave have been replaced by new paintings of Kandyan style in the 18th century and presently preserved as the largest painted cave of the island. One may surmise that Dambulla caves might be somewhat resemblance to Ajanta if it were preserved with its old paintings
Early history of tea plantation in Assam and Sri Lanka: An antiquarian approach
(International Seminar on Assamese Culture & Heritage, 2018) Manatunga, A.
Tea is the most prolific item of the shared heritage of Assam and Sri Lanka. The tea plant is indigenous to Assam where it grows in wild and is used as a drink by locals from time immemorial. However, the cultivation of tea in Assam as a Cash Crop was initiated by the British in 1830’s with the help of Chinese expertise. They formed the Assam Tea Company in 1839 which is the first Indian company that dealt with tea manufacturing and exportation. Tea seeds were introduced to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon from Assam in 1839 and planted in Peradeniya Botanical Gardens as an experiment along with some plants from Botanical Gardens of Calcutta. The first tea estate in Sri Lanka was initiated in 1867 at Loolecondera near Kandy. During the next few decades, tea cultivation developed as the main export item of Sri Lanka replacing coffee which died due to a leaf disease. In 1900, there was approximately 380,000 acres of land under tea plantation in Sri Lanka mainly in the Central Highlands of the Island. The present research is an antiquarian approach into the early history of tea plantation in Assam and Sri Lanka in a comparative perspective. Deforestation of virgin tropical forests, recruitment of labour force, techniques of plantation, early machinery and factories, transportation, export and several other aspects of tea plantation in Assam and Sri Lanka will be surveyed in this research.
A glance at roadscape of principal roads from Colombo to provincial towns in the mid nineteenth century Sri Lanka
(The International Conference on Land Transportation, Locomotive Heritage and Road Culture - 2017, 2017) Manatunga, A.
The present study is a cursory survey on the roadscape of principal roads which have linked Colombo with provincial towns in the mid nineteenth century. There were seven principal roads from Colombo, the Capital City of Sri Lanka to provincial towns in and around the island. Some of these roads were passable by wheeled vehicles, but some of them were bridle paths which were used by horse riders and packed bull transporters. All these roads were leveled and remained as graveled roads and most of them developed as metaled roads used by mortar vehicles, at least partially, by the end of the century. Bridges were very rare over rivers and streams in these roads; hence, fords and ferries were used to cross water courses during this period. Toll stations were found usually in some of these places. Rest houses, postal stations, forts and garrisons were found in some places. Some roadside villages were transformed as bazars and townships and some places were newly developed as urban centers. Among these principal roads, the road which was known as ‘Round the island road’ linked all coastal towns with Colombo and were used by Portuguese and the Dutch who occupied the maritime provinces, prior to British. Starting from Colombo towards north, it goes to Jaffna in the North, Trincomalee and Baticaloa in the East and Hambantota, Matara and Galle in the South reaching Colombo, passing altogether 770 miles. Abandoning the traditional road from Colombo to Kandy via Hanwella and Attapitiya, a new road was constructed by British in 1821, via Mahara and Ambepussa to Kandy. This 72 miles road was the first road constructed in Sri Lanka during the British period and the present Colombo-Kandy road is a development of this road, with a few minor deviations. Apart from this road, three more roads were considered as alternative principal roads to Kandy from Colombo. One of them was the road, 84 miles via Kurunegala. Another road was 94 miles via Yatiyantota, Ginigathhena and Gampola to Kandy. The road which meets the main Kandy road at 45th mile stone, coming via Ruvanwella and Ballapana from Colombo which is 82 miles long was the third alternative road. Road to Badulla via Rathnapura and Balangoda which is 135 miles was a principal road of the mid nineteenth century. The road across the country to Trincomalee via Kurunegala and Dambulla which is 159 miles was considered only second to Colombo–Kandy main road in importance, by British during this period. A search on colonial records, photographs and remaining physical remnants will be the sources of this research which is asking for more advanced research on the subject.
Sigiriya paintings: lesser well-known paintings at the Boulder Garden area
(University of Mumbai, India, 2006) Manatunga, A.