COVER N. 385 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P.O. Colombo - Mail -  01.01.2024

Posted on the 1st January; received on the 9th January 2024 

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Just to think that someone would care enough to go to the Post Office on the first day of the year so as to send another someone, miles and miles and miles away, a friendly letter, is something that fills me up to the brink with joy and appreciation. 

Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra! I really, really appreciated it!

At present, Sri Lanka has eight UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites, six of cultural and two of natural nature.

One of these sites is the Ancient city of Sigiriya, a site chosen by King Kashyapa on the late 5th century to be  Sri Lanka's capital, something that  could only be attributed to the facility in defending it from any ill intended creature, be it human or animal, since  the site is a huge rock massive, protruding from the forest below, which makes it quite difficult to reach or attack from below.

In fact, it turns out that  Kashyapa was a parricide and he build his palace on top of what is known as the Lion Mountain, so as to defend himself from the vengeance of his brother, who, nonetheless, succeeded in defeating him, Kashyapa committing suicide afterwards.

After this episode, the site was progressively abandoned, having served as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

The site was declared of WHS importance in 1982, UNESCO highlighting the fact that the frescoes existing on the site inaugurated a style which endured many centuries, and also that the poems inscribed on the rock walls bi visitors, known as Sigiri graffiti, are among the most ancient texts in Sinhalese language.

On 15JUN2023, Sri Lanka Post issued the four stamp set that Ravindra used on the cover, dedicated to the Sigiriya site, the stamps featuring several aerial views of it, the legends “Sigiryia”, “World Heritage Sites Sri Lanka” and the UNESCO logo.

As usual with Ravindra's covers, the Postmark indicates expedition through the PO Headquarters of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.