The area is a mostly residential suburb, known as Colombo's beach retreat it is famed for its "Golden Mile" of beaches[1][2] and has long been a hot spot for tourism and nightlife. It is one of the most liberal regions in Sri Lanka and has played host to the island's annual Gay Pride and Rainbow Kite Festival since 2005.[3][4]
The suburb also boasts S.Thomas' College, one of Sri Lanka's most prestigious primary and secondary schools.
Etymologyedit
The area's name arose when the second Governor of Ceylon, Sir Thomas Maitland, acquired land at "Galkissa" (Mount Lavinia) and decided in 1806 to construct a personal residence there. Maitland fell in love with Lovina Aponsuwa, a local mestiço dancer, and continued a romantic affair with her until he was recalled to England in 1811. The Governor's mansion, which he named "Mount Lavinia House" is now the Mount Lavinia Hotel and the village that surrounded the building has subsequently developed into a bustling area, taking its name from the Governor's mistress, Lovina. In 2023, a song based on this story titled "Loveena" was released by Chitral Somapala and Kanchana Anuradhi. The song was written by Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.[5]
There are other explanations rooted in geography and the natural surroundings, when it comes to the origin of the name Mount Lavinia. The Sinhalese who lived on the coastal belt had named the promontory "Lihiniya Kanda" (Sinhala: ලිහිණියා කන්ද) or "Lihiniyagala" (Sinhala: ලිහිණියාගල) meaning the hill of the sea gull or the rock of the sea gull.
The local name for the town today is Galkissa - "kissa" (කිස්ස) being a somewhat obsolete Sinhala word for rock.
Referencesedit
^Jayasinghe, Amal (8 August 2016). "Tourist boom threatens Sri Lanka's golden beaches". GMA News. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^Coombe, Juliet (11 March 2016). "See the Island before it changes". Daily News. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^Peipzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi (19 July 2006). "Gaining Ground in Sri Lanka". Daily Xtra. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^"Colombo Gay Pride Seeks Financial Help". UK Gay News. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^(17 July 2023). "Defence Secretary launches new song ‘Loveena’". NewsWire. Retrieved on 4 October 2023.
mount, lavinia, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2017,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mount Lavinia news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Mount Lavinia Sinhala ගල ක ස ස Tamil கல க ச is a suburb in Colombo Sri Lanka located within the administrative boundaries of the Dehiwala Mount Lavinia municipal limits Mount Lavinia ගල ක ස සகல க ச SuburbMount LaviniaCoordinates 6 52 0 N 79 52 0 E 6 86667 N 79 86667 E 6 86667 79 86667CountrySri LankaProvinceWestern ProvinceDistrictColombo DistrictTime zoneUTC 5 30 Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone The area is a mostly residential suburb known as Colombo s beach retreat it is famed for its Golden Mile of beaches 1 2 and has long been a hot spot for tourism and nightlife It is one of the most liberal regions in Sri Lanka and has played host to the island s annual Gay Pride and Rainbow Kite Festival since 2005 3 4 The town came into official recognition when Governor Sir Thomas Maitland used the postal address Mt Lavinia Ceylon in 1805 while writing to the British Secretary of State Lord Castlereagh The suburb also boasts S Thomas College one of Sri Lanka s most prestigious primary and secondary schools Etymology editThe area s name arose when the second Governor of Ceylon Sir Thomas Maitland acquired land at Galkissa Mount Lavinia and decided in 1806 to construct a personal residence there Maitland fell in love with Lovina Aponsuwa a local mestico dancer and continued a romantic affair with her until he was recalled to England in 1811 The Governor s mansion which he named Mount Lavinia House is now the Mount Lavinia Hotel and the village that surrounded the building has subsequently developed into a bustling area taking its name from the Governor s mistress Lovina In 2023 a song based on this story titled Loveena was released by Chitral Somapala and Kanchana Anuradhi The song was written by Kamal Gunaratne Secretary to the Ministry of Defence 5 There are other explanations rooted in geography and the natural surroundings when it comes to the origin of the name Mount Lavinia The Sinhalese who lived on the coastal belt had named the promontory Lihiniya Kanda Sinhala ල හ ණ ය කන ද or Lihiniyagala Sinhala ල හ ණ ය ගල meaning the hill of the sea gull or the rock of the sea gull The local name for the town today is Galkissa kissa ක ස ස being a somewhat obsolete Sinhala word for rock References edit Jayasinghe Amal 8 August 2016 Tourist boom threatens Sri Lanka s golden beaches GMA News Retrieved 4 September 2016 Coombe Juliet 11 March 2016 See the Island before it changes Daily News Retrieved 4 September 2016 Peipzna Samarasinha Leah Lakshmi 19 July 2006 Gaining Ground in Sri Lanka Daily Xtra Retrieved 4 September 2016 Colombo Gay Pride Seeks Financial Help UK Gay News 11 April 2007 Retrieved 4 September 2016 17 July 2023 Defence Secretary launches new song Loveena NewsWire Retrieved on 4 October 2023 nbsp This Western Province Sri Lanka location article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mount Lavinia amp oldid 1178593963, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
