Located in the outskirts of Colombo, surrounded by a magnificent picturesque mountain range and Seethawaka River, Avissawella sits on the periphery of Western Province. Known as a city with a rich historical background and cultural value, Avissawella shows its own character as a city with a multi-racial and multi-religious locality.
With written history of the region dating back to 1521 AD, it is believed that Avissawella, formerly known as Seethawaka came into existence with the tragic event of Vijayaba Kollaya where the three sons of king Vijayabahu VI revolted against him. According to the Ramayana Trail, the name ‘Seethawaka’ is derived from the name of the female protagonist of the Indian Ramayana epic. The place where Sita was held captive by Ravana later became Seethawaka.
According to the historical records, Seetwaka kingdom had its glorious days under the leadership of King Mayadunne and king Rajasingha. Over the course of the next seventy years what began as a small kingdom expanded across the island except for the Vanni region and Colombo Portuguese fort by 1582 AD. After the death of King Rajasingha the Portuguese were able to get involved with governing the Seethawaka kingdom and thus by 1594 AD it was completely under the Portuguese. After the Portuguese, Dutch and British rule followed consecutively in the region. Awissawella was identified as an agricultural city and a transportation nod that connects the hill country to the lowlands by both the Dutch and British. During the Colonial period the greatest assets received was the Kelani Valley Railway line that is widened and used even today.
Today Avissawella is primarily considered as a residential city with an upcoming industrial zone located in the outskirts of the main city. The city center located in the heart of the city becomes the social hub where numerous types of people gather for socio-economical activities. The huge social diversity of ethnical, racial and religious composition gives the city a rich cultural background. While majority of the people are Buddhist Hindus, Roman Catholics, Christians and Islamic live in harmony sharing the resources. The plantation industry established by the British administration plays a major role in creating a social character to Avissawella, which still contributes as the major economical & social factor in the town. Due to the long-established plantation industry, a mutual connection has been created between Sinhala & Tamil ethnic groups. Large plantations of tea and rubber surround the city. However due to the new opportunities created by the free trade zone the existing plantation industry has fallen back to some extent while transforming the city into an industrial city. Addition to that the population of Avissawella has increased rapidly due to migrant workers resulting in the increase in residents.
Apart from being identified as an agricultural city Avissawella is known as a service & transportation hub since the British period. Located in the heart of the country Avissawella sits as the junction from where the oldest route to the Hill Country via Hatton and the road down south via Ratnapura diverge by road and train. What is special about transportation and Avissawella is the Kaleni Valley Railway line built from Colombo to Yatiyanthota via Avisssawella during 1900-1092 that was branched off at Avissawlla and later extended up to Opanayaka via Ratnapura. Originally it was built as a narrow-gauge line to serve the rubber plantations in the area. However later on the railway line between Avissawella and Yatiyanthota was removed in 1942 and the line from Homagama to Opanayaka abandoned in 1973. Today the railway services have been reestablished up to Avissawella as a broad gauge line that is used mainly by passengers traveling in and out of the city.
Truly Avissawella is a beautiful city. The cultural value of the city is mainly as the kingdom of Seethawaka is located in close proximity to Avissawella. Even at present there are places with a great heritage value within the city limits. Today the commercial valve of the city has become immense due to its location and development projects. With many significant places and a unique cultural characteristic of its own Avissawella stands out as a suburban city bordering the Sabaragamuwa Province with an identity of its own.
by Punsarani Wijeyaratne