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Sri
Lanka Profile
Wonderful
beaches, marvellous mountains, lush
green forests, exciting wildlife, spectacular
cities or ancient history, whatever
you are looking for, Sri Lanka is the
only unique holiday destination that
offers all the above excitements within
a very short reach and in different
climates. Sri Lanka , the magnificent
island of paradise, is on the Indian
Ocean south of India and is widely known
as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, owing
to the inexplicable beauty and majesty,
which Sri Lanka is fraught with.
Being a multi-religious and multi-ethnic
country with a total population of 19
million, Sri Lanka is very unlikely
to be described without being driven
into a great description as the island
is in possession of multiple cultural
values; traditional dance, a procession
of elephants, masked devil dance and
Ruins are to name a few.
On
top of what nature has to offer, what
is being greatly appreciated by the
visitors to the island is that the Sri
Lankan hospitality, the affable attitude
of Sri Lankans and the delicious delight
of the local food.
Apart
from all the beauty and joy that this
island of paradise is teemed with, Sri
Lanka has the highest literacy rate
in South Asia . English language is
widely spoken within the island. |
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People
& Culture
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Sri Lanka is a land
of great cultural diversity. Religion
pervades many aspects of life and constitutes
a basic element of this diversity. Buddhist
and Hindu temples, as well as mosques
and churches, with their own colourful
rituals, are the most readily visible
features of the cultural landscape.
Varying degrees of colonial impact,
modernizing influences, and wealth and
income add other shades to this cultural
mosaic. |
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Religion
plays an important role in Sri Lanka ;
a revival of Buddhism was associated with
the rise of Sinhalese nationalism. Most
public holidays are based on religious
festivals. The annual torchlight temple
procession, or Perahara, in which ornamentally
covered elephants and hundreds of dancers
participate, draws thousands of devotees.
Pilgrimages also play an important role
here. The most important pilgrimage is
to the top of Adams Peak . It is believed
that Adam and Eve lived here after they
left the Garden of Eden. Buddhists visit
a rock on the peak that they believe contains
one of Buddha's footprints. Another important
pilgrimage is to the Temple of the Tooth
in Kandy , where one of Lord Buddha's
teeth is enshrined. |
Foods & Drinks
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The
most popular breakfast dishes in Sri
Lanka are the hoppers (appa). These
wafer thin, cup-shaped pancakes are
made from a fermented batter of rice
flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm
toddy. A hopper, crisp on the outside,
yet soft and spongy in the centre, is
best eaten with curries and sambols
while still streaming hot. There are
many types of hoppers: plain hoppers,
egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and sweeter
varieties like vanduappa and paniappa. |
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Another
popular breakfast dish is a rice preparation
known as indi-appa or string hoppers.
These are small spaghetti-like strings
of rice-flour dough squeezed through
a sieve onto small woven trays, which
are steamed one atop the other. Light
and lacy, string hoppers make a mouthwatering
meal with curry and sambol. |
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Pittu
probably came to Sri Lanka with the
Malay regiments of the European colonial
period. It is however completely naturalized
now and is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine.
Pittu is a mixture of fresh rice meal,
every lightly roasted and mixed with
fresh grated coconut, then steamed in
a bamboo mould. It has a soft crumbly
texture and is eaten with fresh coconut
'milk' and a hot chilli relish or curry. |
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Rice
and Curry - boiled rice with curried
vegetable, fish and/or meat laced with
Sri Lankan spices is the typical Sri
Lankan main meal, a gourmet’s
delight. It is served for both lunch
and dinner and some do have it for breakfast
too. Curries are usually made hot but
can be mellowed to suit the pallet.
Rice and Curry is served for lunch and
dinner. Boiled or steamed rice with
a variety of curries, salads, sambols,
pappadam and chutney form the meal.
Spices are added to make the dishes
more delectable. The unaccustomed may
sometimes find the curries too hot but,
this is easily controlled by reducing
the quantities of spices used, specially
chilli and pepper, to suit the different
tastes. Everything is brought to the
table at once and there are no separate
courses as in a Western style meal.
It is perfectly correct to take a little
of everything and taste it against the
neutral rice. On special occasions yellow
rice is cooked in coconut milk and delicately
flavoured with spices. Turmeric is added
to give the rice a bright yellow. It
is served garnished with cashews raisins,
and hard-boiled eggs. |
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