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| Sunday, 02 April 2006 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Adisham Bungalow: The house that Sir Villiers built In the cool climes of Haputale, exists a place called the Adisham Bungalow. This place inspired an Englishman 70 years ago, and now entices local and foreign tourists, with its elegant beauty and magnificent scenery. Once this grand house provided shelter to an Englishman named Sir Thomas Lister Villiers (for more details about him, read Variety page) and his family. Now it's one of the most fascinating tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
Sir Thomas Villiers found an idyllic (peaceful or romantic) place near Haputale to build his dream house, surrounded by virgin forests and commanding views of the hills and valleys, and the highest mountain range of Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon.Do you know how this bungalow got its name? Sir Villiers was born in an area known as Adisham in Kent, UK. As an honour to his birthplace, he used its name for his newly-built mansion. When the house was under construction, slowly, it started reflecting the mind-set of a homesick Englishman. The house was designed in the Tudor style, which was the same style used in the Leeds Castle in Kent, with stout granite walls of local quarried stone, long, narrow turret windows (like the ones in towers) and chimneys. In every detail, it looked like a mansion in the country of Queen Elizabeth. The roof was covered with Burma teak shingles (roof tiles). The doors, windows, panelling, staircase and floors were all made of Burma teak. The pillared landing on the main staircase, adorned by portraits of Sir Villiers' relatives, the Claredons and Dukes of Bedford, consisted of four stout English oaks, polished, but looking natural. Villiers wanted his house to give him the impression that he was in Britain. So he decorated it with British furniture, linen, carpets, porcelain, silver and glassware. He imported the finest items from England. Sir Villiers' wife, Lady Villiers was a painter, and her oil and water-colour paintings, mostly on marine themes, adorned the walls of the mansion's library and drawing room. Adisham was a dream house not just because of the beauty of the house, but also because of the garden that surrounds the house. The layout of the garden also followed the British style. The terraced lawns, flowerbeds and orchard, just like the drawing room, study, library and dining and bedrooms, looked out on lofty mountain ranges, all situated between 1,800 and 2,100 metres above sea level, and forming a curious outline called sleeping warriors on the skyline. English tea bushes and roses bloomed on the lawns, while Albertans and honeysuckle climbed over the porches and windows. Strawberries, apples and Victoria plums ripened in the cool mountain air and tropical sunshine. In 1949, when Sir Thomas was sick and old, he left the country. The Adisham Bungalow, with all its furniture, fittings and other items were sold to Sedawatta Mills.In 1961, the Roman Catholic Church acquired Adisham with its 12-acre grounds and turned it into a monastery where a small community of monks and novices follow a schedule of prayers, meditation and other religious work. Now, only a few rooms of the bungalow are open to the public. They still look glorious, as during the days of Sir Villiers, with their beauty and elegance still unchanged. - Compiled by Janani Amarasekara Rashtrapati Bhavan: Where India's President resides What do you know about the presidents' houses of the world? You may know that the most well-known president's house in the world is the White House, the residence of the American President. Today, we are going to talk about the president's house of our neighbouring country, India.
Known as Rashtrapati Bhavan, it's the residence of the President of the largest democracy in the world, and is built on the Raisina Hill, New Delhi. Only a few official residential premises of the Heads of State in the world will match this building, in terms of size and magnificence. Rashtrapati Bhavan is the creation of Edwin Landsdeer Lutyens, who was the architect of this outstanding building. The decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the British viceroy (leader of a colony) was taken after it was decided in the Delhi Durbar of 1911, that the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, in the same year. After India regained freedom from the British, and when the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was appointed on January 26, 1950, he occupied this place to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of India'. This building, which was earlier known as the President's House, was then renamed as the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Construction was carried out, not only by Edwin Lutyens, the Chief Architect and Chief Engineer, Hugh Keeling, but also by many Indian contractors. While Horoun-al-Rashid did most of the work of the main building, the forecourt was built by Sujan Singh and his son. Construction took 17 years to complete, and included a Mughal garden and staff quarters. The most ironic fact is that soon after the building's completion, India became independent. Rashtrapati Bhavan has got four floors and 340 rooms. It is spread across a floor area of 200,000 square feet. It was built with 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone, with hardly any steel being used in the construction. Lord Irwin, its first occupant, "kept losing his way". It is big and grand, and the stairs, ceilings and furniture are designed to reinforce the sense of importance of its occupant. The most magnificent room in Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Durbar Hall, which lies directly under the main dome. This ceremonial hall is the venue for all official functions of the President of India. The columns of the front entrance to the Durbar Hall have bells carved into their tops. This is a fine example of the fusion (mixing) of Indian and European designs. According to Lutyens, 'the ringing bells sound the end of an empire, while the stone bells never sound'. It is strongly believed by some analysts that the dome was structured in the pattern of the great stupa, Sanchi. The whole Rashtrapati Bhavan embodies Indian architectural patterns, while Lutyens also blended European styles to further enhance their aesthetics and utility. This magnificent structure is one of the greatest treasures of the Indians. - J.A |
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