The Weight of Devotion

The Ruwanweli Maha Seya dominates the skyline of Anuradhapura, its brilliant white dome standing as it has for more than two thousand years. As pilgrims moved quietly around the stupa, a young monk stood at its base holding the saffron cloth that wrapped around the lower terrace. 

Against the immense scale of the monument, he appeared almost insignificant, yet it was impossible not to notice him. The scene lasted only a few moments before he disappeared into the crowd, but it became the photograph I remembered most from that evening.

20th Auguest 2014

Anuradhapura,

Sri Lanka.