FRESCOS & THE LONELY TEMPLE

The last kings of Kandy were actually Tamil imports from the Nayak Dynasty of Madurai, India, though this did nothing to hinder their enthusiastic Buddhism. Kirti Sri Rajasinha was an especially passionate devotee, and it was his reforms that restored Buddhism, which had been badly damaged by the unrelenting forces of colonialism, especially at the time, from the Dutch.

Amid the many temple restorations, the king also commissioned numerous new temples, including Galmaduwa.

Alas, it was fated to become the loneliest of temples, too. Barely anyone goes there today; indeed, it is not even a proper temple, its construction being abandoned by the king whose busy mind had moved from temple making to fresco painting. Yet it is an arresting building, the most Hindu of Buddhist shrines with a high tapering gateway exactly like those used to highlight the entrances to temples across Tamil Nadu.

The frescoes that the king abandoned Galmaduwa Viharaya for can be seen a mile or so up the road at the Degaldoruwa Raja Maha Vihara. With hindsight, the king’s change of priority was bang on for the frescos that cover the walls of this temple are among the very greatest ever commissioned by any of the island’s kings.

Despite being inevitably religious in character, told with due piety, the story of Lord Buddha, with its subtext and sheer artistry, marks them out as exceptional. Into their scenes are incorporated the images of their times – Portuguese firearms, for example, the uniformed attendants of the kings, processional elephants, fish, trees as stylised as coral, the interiors of homes, flowers, furniture, coaches, queens, guest arrivals, and dinner parties.