“In the middle of the village is a sacred tank or lake, three sides of which are surrounded by forest trees and creepers; on the fourth is the bazaar, which lined the road, with which it is level, though the rear of the buildings, supported on piles, overhung the water of the lake.”
– Robert Talbot Kelly, ‘Burma, painted and described’, 1905
The years have not been especially kind to the small lake of Wingaba. Its original, roughly horseshoe shape, is still just visible from above. Now mostly dry and grown over with green, a small patch of permanent water remains in the bottom right corner. Information on the lake is scant, but one possible explanation is that the lake would likely have been a water source for the village, but as the city grew and centralised water sources came online there would have been less pressure to maintain it. Given the amount of change, this was a pretty challenging shot to try to line up – so please forgive any discrepancy!