KANDY, Sri Lanka -- It is August, and I have arrived in Kandy, Sri Lanka, to witness the Kandy Esala Perahera, one of the world's oldest and most grandiose cultural processions. This annual event, dating back to 200 B.C., honors a sacred tooth of the Buddha, housed in Kandy's magnificent Sri Dalada Maligawa temple, a World Heritage Site.
The 10-day festival aligns with the Esala full moon, an important event in Sinhalese Buddhism, and a buzz fills the bustling streets as dusk settles. But the clamor of the crowd is soon drowned out by the rhythmic crack of whips, signaling the arrival of the first of five peraheras, or processions.








