Island of Srenedipity (Sri Lanka)
"In ancient times there existed in the country of Serendippo, in the Far East, a great and powerful king by the name of Giaffer. He had three sons who were very dear to him. And being a good father and very concerned about their education, he decided that he had to leave them endowed not only with great power, but also with all kinds of virtues of which princes are particularly in need.”(Wikipedia + The Three Princes of the Serendip by Cristoforo Armeno, Translated by Suzaku Watanabe, Quotation from Kadokawa Gakugei Syuppan Publishing)
This is the beginning of the famous serendipity story. The king sets the three princes out on a journey for training, and the story moves.
Serendipity means “ability to coincidently find things well (Progressive English-Japanese dictionary, Shogakkan)”. However, the princes seems to have been able to change the accidental opportunity to fortune since not only they were lucky but also they had practiced in advance and gotten the extraordinary skill .
Serendippo is the name of Sri Lanka in Persia. Persian folk tales set in Serendippo were published in Venice in the 16th century and eventually spread to Britain. Based on that, in 1754, Earl of Oxford, Hollis Walpole, used the coined word “serendipity” for the first time in letters, and it became widely used in the 20th century. Back in the past, the origin was the island of Sri Lanka itself.
Is Sri Lanka a suitable place to look for serendipity?
According to the influence of the central mountain range, the climate is diverse for a small island with 300 km from north to south and 200 kilometers from east to west. In other words, the island offers a chance to meet various sceneries. Though the eastern side of the island is in the dry season, the west side across the mountain is in the rainy season. It has a tropical rainforest designated as a World Heritage Site meanwhile a dry zone like savanna spreads in the central part. When going up the mountain road, a cool central highland like England's early summer appears and it is friendly for a body that is tired from the heat.
You must not also forget the diversity of religion. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity coexist actively on the small island. The coexistence of different cultures was caused by Europe's colonialism, and, even now, it is still influenced in a racial problem, but it may be a power to create a new possibility.
Somehow, for a journey to learn serendipity, don’t you think that Sri Lanka is a perfect place?
Well, what happened to the prince who went on a trip afterwards?
“The first prince inherited the kingdom. While being supported by highly thoughtful vassals and giving great pleasure to them, the new King ruled over the country for a long time. The second prince (An omission) went to the Queen's country to accompany the Queen of India, and in accordance with the promise he had with the Queen, he made her his wife and became the Lord of the kingdom.
By the way, the King Beramo, who was helped by them in the middle of the trip, had not forgotten his gratitude. He had one daughter, and after a while, he offered to the third Prince to marry her. The prince accepted that, (An omission) and went back to the court of Beramo. A big marriage took place there. And shortly after that, when Beramo died, the prince became the ruler of the whole Empire.”(Quotation from the above)
All is well that ends well.
Yes, if you come to Sri Lanka, you might be able to find a luck like that even if you need to acquire some wisdom like the princes by before boarding.
Transportation
The whole area of Sri Lanka.
Link
Accommodations
References
「セレンディッポの三人の王子」（クリストフォロ・アルメーノ著、徳橋曜監訳、角川学芸出版）
Wikipedia
Upload
2008.08 Photos in English version, and photos and text in Japanese version
Update
2010.06 Japanese text
2018.01 Change of photos in Japanese version and change of photos and tex in English version.
Copyright (C) 2010 Future-scape Architects. All Rights Reserved.
無断転載は、ご遠慮いただくようにお願いいたします。
