Every July or August, thousands of Sri Lankans travel to the hill city of Kandy to watch dancers, acrobats, drummers, whip crackers, flame throwers and more than 100 elegantly decorated elephants…
U.S. News | Business/Science News Here are the key events in world news for the month of March, 2009. President of Guinea-Bissau Killed (March 2): President João Bernardo…
(Encyclopedia) DambullaDambulladämb&oobreve;lˈə [key], town, central Sri Lanka. A place of Buddhist pilgrimage, it has a well-preserved cave temple complex at Dambulla Rock that dates to the 1st…
(Encyclopedia) arrackarrackârˈək [key], strong spirits distilled chiefly in Asia from fermented fruits, grains, or sugarcane. In the 19th cent., Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became quite noted for palm…
(Encyclopedia) Ghose, AurobindoGhose, Aurobindoôrōbĭnˈdō gōsh [key], 1872–1950, Indian nationalist leader and mystic philosopher. Born in Bengal, he was sent to England and lived there for 14 years,…
(Encyclopedia) citronella, common name for a grass, Cymbopogon nardus, the source of oil of citronella, used in perfumes and soaps and as an insect repellent. The plant, with bluish green, lemon-…
(Encyclopedia) KurunegalaKurunegalak&oobreve;rˌ&oomacr;nāˈgələ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 29,500), W central Sri Lanka. It is a road junction and the administrative and commercial center of…
(Encyclopedia) bandicoot rat, giant rat of southern Asia, unrelated to true bandicoots. It is an agricultural pest in the grain crops and gardens of India and Sri Lanka and is known for the piglike…
(Encyclopedia) TrincomaleeTrincomaleetrĭngˌkəməlēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 50,000), capital of Eastern prov., NE Sri Lanka, on the Bay of Bengal. Trincomalee has one of the world's finest natural…
(Encyclopedia) Ramakrishna or Sri Ramakrishna ParamahansaRamakrishnashrē räˌməkrĭshˈnə pəräˌməhänˈsä [key], 1836–86, Hindu mystic. He was born of a poor Brahman family in Bengal, and his given name…
