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slideshow[2]="2.jpg";
slideshow[3]="do.jpg";
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slidetext[1]="This is the Dazzling spectacle of The rising Sun
paying Homage to Lord Buddha the knower of Three worlds.Devotees believe the quivering appearance of the Rising sun is a sign of The Star paying obeisance
to the Foot Print. Whatever the beliefs are; Tourists and locals alike
make it a point not to miss these awe-inspiring spectacle of Dancing Light and shadows in the heavens.
I trod the four and a half mile path that night not to miss this spectacle
among other things.
";
slidetext[2]="A respite from Fatigue at midway- The summit is about to cover in fog.A heavy downpour which started as we got in the bus lasted five days all over the country. No wonder we still whisper 'Saman Devindu Karunawai' ";
slidetext[3]="The Foot of the Mountain...No not yet....Youngsters 11 of them disappeared down below hours ago. The descent took elders six hours to finish. Last to finish were the girl in the foreground and her husband..! ";
slidetext[4]="We climbed this steep obstacle aptly named 'Maha Giri dambe' in the dark in order to arrive at the summit in time for 'Ira Sevaya' The season for the climb has just begun before the First moon of the new year. But we managed to have refreshment on the way from several ad-hoc kiosks that were coming up. Step by step we inched our way some doing a walking meditation others reciting pirith. It took most of us six hours to see the summit...We reached the summit to meet a famished group of youngsters who had to wait Hours for supplies to arrive.";
slidetext[5]="We were treated to a Dazzling spectacle of 'Light and Shadows' Playing on the heavenly abodes around the summit by God Saman. Unfortunately Photography of the summit is not allowed. So you have to Imagine the Benign smile on the face of god Saman who greeted us at his abode. The statue that is housed in the Devalaya is brought in a procession from Maha Devalaya at Ratnapura annually signaling the commencement of Sripada Season. The Dawn here is greeted with ritual blowing of Conch Shells and beating of drums. We were fortunate to participate in the 'Buddha Puja' conducted by a Radiant monk covered in saffron from head to toe. Muslims Tamils and sinhalese were seen worshipping the 'foot print' with selfless devotion";
slidetext[6]="Cetiya visible below this steep descent is 'The Peace Pagoda ' built by the Japanese. This large Temple is used by pilgrims to rest their aching limbs before the final descent. ";
slidetext[7]="Here the swift footed met the elders, Muslims and Hindus met the Christians and Buddhists, Laymen met the monks; Gods watched the humans at close quarters and the Elements of Earth and water Played with Elements of fire and Wind. Yet the Tranquility and Serenity of the place Belied the commotion around the summit...! ";
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