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| Sunday, 19 May 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Getting ready for Vesak by Umangi de Mel The Esala blossoms silky and amber, drape the lime green branches of
many a tree in and around Colombo. Downy winds nuzzle the We strolled around to see how the city folk are getting ready to celebrate the virtues the sacred month has to offer. Kirillapone is a `happening' place during Vesak. the lengthy line of shops along the main road are filled with people and decorations. From greeting cards to lanterns made out of a variety of materials ranging from bamboo sticks to plastic; and masks, the makeshift stalls are colourfully stacked. And the prices of these items range from Rs.60 to Rs.30 or Rs.100 to Rs.35. The pandals in Peliyagoda, Piliyandala, Kottawa just beginning to take shape are known to be all time favourites of the city people.
It is another 10 minutes drive from Malabe to Rukmale, a village that appears to be in a truly Vesak mood, with flags and buntings in all the five colours of the season; red, yellow, white, blue and orange, decorating the streets. Sarath Wijesiri who makes lanterns as a hobby reveals that the number of people who actually buy these decorations have gone up,"I always manage to attract plenty of customers during Vesak, but this time it is much better. I guess it has something to do with the change that has taken place in the country," Gayanthi, a mother of two is having a hard time with her children at one of the stores in Nugegoda.
Vesak is the month during which Sri Lankans comamorate the Birth, Enlightment and Death of Lord Buddah, whose gift to the world was a great philosophy-a path through which humans achieve a cure for all the grief and pain life contains. Veasak has always brought a fresh breath to the country and its people. but this time, as the joys of Vesak unfolds, the Thrice Blessed event is welcomed with open arms and open hearts as an occasion of true joy that will usher in a peaceful tomorrow. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
dainty frills of
the lanterns that are being made... Showers of May tone down the city heat
to a great degree. The seasonal joys of the month of May silently unfold.
Vesak is here, and Sri Lankans, young and old, men and women are getting
ready to celebrate the sacred event with a heady mixture of reverence and
joyful zest.
Testimony is the enthusiastic teams working towards getting the huge
pandals up and ready by next week. For now the pandals are bare skelitons.
" But wait and see. the end result will be something to truly
behold" says one of the workers in Kottawa. R.Piyasiri, owner of
Kumari Stores from Malabe says that it does not take much time to finish a
lantern. "But at the same time it needs a lot of hard work and
concentration," He points out quite content with his sales during the
season. "My shop is one of the tiniest in town yet the amount of
cards and decorations I have sold is very satisfactory," he says
getting himself excused to help yet another customer at his humble
boutique.
"I have bought them enough but they are never satisfied." A
wife of a soldier, she says" Honestly, my hopes and prayers will not
be the same as previous years, my husband is safe now and what more can I
ask for?," she asks with a happy smile.
