Art and Beauty in Coastal Sri Lanka

Its always a pleasure when dear friends travel and bring their memories live and share with you, isnt it?How happy are you to see the images and enjoy them.This was the perfect time for my dear friend Ambika  to travel to SriLanka coz i am head over heels in love with Srilanka :)- with  Geoffrey Bawa :)-

An amazing tour she did with whatever little time she got and has captured the essence of SriLanka in her gorgeous images..

 Ambika creates art wonderfully,she is a blogger and blogs at "My Sunny yellow Window".She also shares DIY'S,Decor ideas and travel stories..

Shall let Ambika speak now...

“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” and I couldn’t agree more with Ibn Batuta.

While noting the striking resemblance of Sri Lanka to India, there were some stark differences too - the cleanliness and aesthetics of the general public in Sri Lanka are many notches above.

Four days in the island nation whizzed past and I have just photographs as memoirs. A few among them are special to me, and I wish to share them with the readers of Celebrations Decor. Without further ado, I will let my pictures do justice..

Lotus picking for the boutique hotels

Red and whites swim around to add fragrance  to the decor

nooks of the lovely home stay

Inside the home stay

nooks and corners

lovely corners

charming office of the idle bikes at Unawatuna

at the beach side

outside galle fort

an antique store

shadow play in a Dutch Bungalow converted to a heritage resort

beautiful tiles

light streams in

the old rusted signboards stole the heart

gorgeous windows at the JApanese peace pagoda

painting at the ambalangoda mask factory

portuguese tiles and clock

Batik painting in progess

sculptures in tune with the surroundings

travel photographs framed by a dutch door

sun shining down on the Nooit Gedacht Heritage Hotel

I thank Ambika for accepting the offer to write and share images which she very readily did..Thanks  for the collaboration..Hope to do more in future.

All Photographs  courtesy Ambika Sudhakaran..please ask before reusing them..do not copy nor steal

Shekhawati via Behror

Remembering the last monsoons,wherein it was the first travel my little son did when he was 6 months old..Travelling to known and unknown places had been a part of life from the time we got married.My daughter already knows it and has been grown onto it.Looking at her  Almancs,we hurriedly look for vacations. Tripadvisors help a lot in planning and are inevitable for us with the two little ones..

We traveled last monsoons to the Shekhawati region ,which is at the tip of the triangle which includes the Delhi Jaipur circuit.Shekhawati once used to be the caravan trade routes linking Pali and Bhiwani Read more here .The palatial fresco painted buildings now deserted are a living memories the days that flourished .We took the route via Behror and even stopped for a night at the Rajasthan Motel Midway.It was nothing great ,but the next morning,some designs in the garden just made me stop and gaze..The hotel was in a mode of reconstruction.

All images:Lakshmi Arvind
Pl do not copy nor use without permission

The Jew Street,Fort kochi

Visiting Kerala every year during the summer vacations and Cochin being my maternal house, we keep travelling to many places in and out of Cochin. Rekindling childhood memories of Fort Kochi, we started out on a tour to the streets of Fort Kochi.

The spice markets on one side, antique stores on the other and the synagogue in its pride and glory, brightly painted walls and houses are all things which fetches Fort Kochi its name. It is one of the oldest Jewish settlements, when the jewish traders came to Cochin in 700 BC. Now there is only a single Jewish family here in this street.

Overflowing spice boxes,when we reached there,they were just starting to spread out their wares.

Antique shops lining the streets,their display is a sightClock tower and the synagogue at the end of the lanes.Star of the David can be seen on the gate opp the synagogue door, as in Israel's Flag along with candelabras.

what a name for a book shop.,"Incy Bella"

Embroidery units

Sarah embroidery is by "Sarah auntie", a jew whose family has been in kochi for years. The sign in Hebrew says "Shalom"

The lane going to the synagogue were painted in stark colors,green,blue,brown,yellow

Even we had our quiet time in Jew street, going through the various shops and their antiiques and I did find some things for our house too..