On board one such vessel, the captain's log includes the tusks and legs of elephant herds; rubies, emeralds, topaz; fragrant mountains of cinnamon, cardamom, mustard seeds; forests of bony, teak, and sandalwood; screeching peacocks; caged and pacing leopards; ten - foot - long
monitor lizards whipping their razor
tails; barrels of fermented coconut toddy; the jewel - encrusted thrones of Kandyan kings; the weapons of Chola warriors; priceless texts in Pali and Sanskrit, Sinhala and Tamil.
Monitors are a large and varied genus of lizards that includes the legendary Komodo monitor and diminutive dwarfs like the popular spiny - tailed and Timor m
Monitors are a large and varied genus of
lizards that includes the legendary Komodo
monitor and diminutive dwarfs like the popular spiny -
tailed and Timor
monitorsmonitors.