Sin: දෙහිවල-ගල්කිස්ස dehivala-galkissa – Tam: தெஹிவளை-கல்கிசை dehivaḷai-galkisai
‘Lime Tree Forest’ Suburb (of Colombo), WP, Sri Lanka
From Sin: dehi, ‘lime’; and Sin: val/vala, ‘forest, wood, jungle’.
Sir Thomas Maitland, Governor of Ceylon 1805-1811, built a palace by the sea at ‘Galkissa’ (Mount Lavinia), a few kilometers south of the city of Colombo. During his time as Governor, Maitland fell in love with a half-caste dancing-girl named Lovina (half Portuguese, half Sinhalese). When the palace was being built Maitland had a special tunnel dug which led from a wine cellar in the palace to a well in Lovina’s house. Unfortunately, the tunnel was sealed up in 1920.
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is the largest suburb of Colombo featuring beaches, a zoo, a 5-star hotel, and some of the worst traffic congestion in Sri Lanka.
Mount Lavinia Hotel Hansueli Krapf
