lankatraveltime

A visit to Iran Salaam, said a resident greeting us in Niavaran street Tehran in the morning. We too reciprocated saying Salaam. Another Tehranian stopped near us and asked ‘Pakistani’? When we said we are from Sri Lanka, he said ‘Oh best tea country’ and went away. The two of us wanted to chat longer but the language barrier stood in our way. We saw him leaving looking back at us again and again. We waved till he disappeared into a by lane at the end of the Niavaran Street. The average Sri Lankan, like a friend of mine who had unfounded fears on Iran, are compelled to think of Iran as a country where strict rules of Islam have deprived people of their democratic freedom forcing them to live under pressure. This impression has been inculcated in the minds of many people in other countries as well by the international media backed by certain enemies of Iran in the Western world after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Rohollah Khomeini imposed

Engineering wonders light up rural Sri Lanka by Lionel Yodhasinghe K. Jayasena and his fellow villagers of Lunugalahena like many other typical Sri Lankans blamed the politicians for not fulfilling their election pledges, such as providing electricity and motorable road to this rustic village in the foothills of the Sripada Mountain range. However, an engineering wonder lit up 77 houses in the village recently. "Providing electricity was the talk of the town especially during elections but our children wouldn't have been able to switch on a light to do their homework at night had this wonder not taken place," villagers said. Neither Jayasena nor his fellow villagers would have enjoyed the beauty of the cascading waterfalls nor would they have understood the value of the rhythm of babbling brooks around them. But to their surprise, a small dam was built across the village stream,