Sri Lankawe Diya Eli (Waterfalls Of Sri Lanka)

[upashantha]

Note: This topic is split from the topic Guide to waterfalls of Sri Lanka

Dear Priyanjan,

I have a book call "Lankawe Diya Ali", published by "Lanka Diya Ali Sansadaya", author Darman Wickramasinghe or Wickramatunga. Unfortunatly I do'nt have it with me here to give you more details of the publisher.
That is the best book I ever found about water falls in Sri Lanka. It consist nearly 380 waterfalls including height of the fall, how to reach and if any related sories etc.
It was a gift from my sister and she purchased it from University book fare and I never see it in any book stores.
If somebody can find where the " Lanka Diya Ali Sansaday" is, I hope the book will be available to purchase or they may advise how to get.
If not I will definitely post all details of the book and publisher in mid August.

Indika
   

[Priyanjan]

Hello Indika,

Thanks a lot for the information. Yes, I had heard about this organization before but I am not at all impressed about their work. Many reasons as to why I think of them this way. If you have the time and are interested you can read my previous posts on this matter in this link. 

http://www.lakdasun.com/forum/index.php?topic=154.msg567#msg567

I did write to them sometime back and pointed out a lot of mistakes and incorrect information that is published in their web site. They have not even acknowledged the receipt of my correspondence. I even checked their web site today and I realized that they have not bothered to do any corrections to the many mistakes in their web site. Neither have they updated their site for a long long time.  .

For some reason, I strongly feel that they (meaning; who ever was responsible for this so called ‘Lanka Council on Water Falls (LCWF)’, were only doing only for what ever the personal advantages they would have had by running such a 'council'. I may be wrong, but, this is what I feel.

I will continue to use the book 'A Guide To The Waterfalls Of Sri Lanka' by Eberhard Kautzsch as my reference book. In fact, I find that the LCWF has copied a lot from this book by Eberhard Kautzsch.

Anyway, thanks for the information.

Best Regards,

Priyanjan.

[upashantha]

Dear Priyanjan,

I never knew about it, just wanted to share the information I had.
However, I don't believe we should ignore this book, just because the publisher is black.
Once again thanks for keep us inform and protect from all hooks and crooks.

Indika.
 

[Priyanjan]

Hello Indika,

Yes, yes, I do appriciate your giving us the information regarding this book so that we too will benefit from it.

My point is that I do not have any faith in the organization that calls it self the LCWF. The name it self sounds as if they (the LCWF) are the authority over the waterfalls in Sri Lanka. In that case, they need to act in a very resonsible way, which sadly is not the actual case. I am sure that there are lots of very dedicated persons who are true nature lovers within the membership of the LCWF. It's not them that I am pointing my finger at. It's the people in-charge 'running' the LCWF that are black. After all they do not even bother to correct any mistakes when it's pointed out to them or do not up date their site. They may have a long list of waterfalls. But, what's the point if the information is incorrect.

Thanks,

Priyanjan.

[NG]

hi, jumping in to this conversation....think both Indika and Priyanjan are correct ie I find the book useful and it has an excellent listing of waterfalls. As for the group that did it, the main body of people are a diverse grop of nature enthusiasts but as Priyanjan thinks the leadership could be more responsible. But for what ever the weaknesses, it has given us a book that enables us to access some great places. And in anycase with a subject like waterfalls we can simply visit and form our own opinion ....its not exactly high philosophy!!

So, here goes..... I had written this up before i saw this discussion...!

Title: Sri Lankawe Diya Eli
Language: Sinhala
Author: Dharman Wickramaratne and others
ISBN: 955-9161-31-8
Year: 2005
Pages: 560
Price: Rs.1000 ( when I got it in 2006)

This book has information on 382 waterfalls in Sri Lanka. With a few exceptions it has clear black and white photographs and sufficient directions to allow you to find the waterfall. In addition to the basic information such as the associated river, height, width, seasonality of flow, the text also describes associated legends, special environmental issues, etc.

There are all most 100 pages of ‘related information’  This section is not very clearly presented, and some of it is obviously secondary sources,  but has some very interesting information such as how a waterfall is defined and types of waterfalls, how waterfalls are formed, how to measure a waterfall, old and new names of listed waterfalls, how to prepare to visit waterfalls and guidelines for visitors and students of waterfalls.

The waterfalls are listed in the book in alphabetical order ( the English alphabet) but several indexes are provided which list the waterfalls by height, location (district only).

One of the weaknesses of this book is that it is not easy to use while on the road, or even when you are planning a trip. The locations are indexed only in terms of districts and in the case of districts such as Nuwera Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, the list is so long that finding the waterfalls in the area that you will be visiting is a project on its own! The closest town is listed in the index that is arranged according to the order of waterfall hight…this hardly helps when there are close to 400 waterfalls listed. It’s a pity that the closest town is not given with the district listing. It would have been very useful if a basic Sri Lanka road map – ideally separate maps for districts such as Nuwera Eliya, Ratnapura -  was provided with numbers for waterfalls.

I would highly recommend it as probably the most comprehensive listing – and descriptions – of waterfalls in Sri Lanka.

N

[Priyanjan]

Hello NG

But for what ever the weaknesses, it has given us a book that enables us to access some great places. And in anycase with a subject like waterfalls we can simply visit and form our own opinion ....its not exactly high philosophy!!

Agreed.

Priyanjan.

[upashantha]

Dear NG & Priaynjan,

I like both of yours points & view. It all brings us out from the dark.

We should always encourage constructive criticism.

Good job gentlemen.. Keep it up..

Thank you both once again..

Indika. 

[Priyanjan]

Hello All,

If anyone is planning to buy this book, I would suggest that you read the discussions at http://www.lakdasun.com/forum/index.php?topic=1097.msg5246#new before you make a final decision.

It's really up to you.

Priyanjan.