Piliyandala

It is said that prince Sapumal after capturing Yapa-Patuna (modern day Jaffna) in the 15th century AD, changed his attire in the area of Piliyandala before meeting the king in the Kotte kingdom. Thus, the name Piliyandala is derived from the words 'Pili+Andi+Dola' (පිළි+ඇඳි+දොල), meaning the stream where the king had a bath and changed clothes. This stream is still running through Piliyandala, but its now reduced to a little stream.[1]

According to local residents and documentation, Piliyandala clock tower is one of the tallest in the island rising to a height of 78 feet with a 16-foot girth. The clock tower was erected by D. Simon Samarakoon, in the memory of his parents Cornelis Wijewickrema Samarakoon and his wife. The foundation stone for the erection of the clock tower was laid by the then Minister of Local Government C.W.W. Kannangara on 11 September 1952. The construction being completed in seven months, the clock tower was commissioned on 30 April 1953 and has been running ever since.

The clock tower in existence for more than 60 years is considered to be of archaeological value thus providing the Piliyandala town with a historical background.[2]

Piliyandala Clock Tower

Piliyandala Central College, the first national sports school established in Sri Lanka is situated in this suburb. It is one of the first central colleges founded by Hon. C. W. W. Kannangara and has about 5,000 students. The school provides facilities for sports such as Rugby, Carrom, Cricket, Football, Girls' Football, Chess, Wushu, Badminton, Karate, Swimming, Athletics, Basketball, Volleyball and Netball. Other popular schools in the area include;[3]

Beyond the schools in the region, Piliyandala remains only a mere 3.5 kilometers away from the University of Moratuwa, The most prestigious Engineering university in the country.

Piliyandala have gifted Sri Lanka many notable people such as, Sri Jhon Kothalawala, MP Somaweera Chandrasiri, cricketer Hashan Thilakarathna, singer Kalhari.

Piliyandala is a Sinhala majority area; there are minor communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as the Moors and Tamils.

Piliyandala has a number of Buddhist religious places which follow the teachings of the Theravada school, including:

• Sri Bimbaramaya, Kolamunna
• Sri Sudarshanaramaya, Hedigama
• Sri Jayabodhi Viharaya, Piliyandala

Piliyandala also has a number of churches, including:

• St. Luke's Church, Mampe, Piliyandala
• Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Dampe, Piliyandala

The narration of Jātaka tales has been developed into Thoran tradition which is unique to Sri Lankan Buddhist culture. Continuing this iconic tradition, in Vesak season of Sri Lanka, an electrically lit pandol which is famous as Piliyandala Thorana is erected in front of the Piliyandala Central College. In these pandols, each scene of a selected Jataka tale will be boarded with different colored lights which created attractive patterns and sequence of different lighting patterns was electronically programmed.

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Piliyandala Thorana is usually accompanied by singing or reciting the story in verses and they are in the special form of poetry reciting or singing which is known as “viridu”; and certain thorana is accompanied by dialog in addition to the reciting. Piliyandala Thorana is sponsored by local donors, religious societies and mainly organized by Vaishakya Pujothsava Kamituwa of Piliyandala.