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| Sunday, 22 May 2005 |
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Dansalas :
Vesak's refreshing interlude by Lakmal Welabada and Rikaza Hassan The Vesak full moon poya will see devout Buddhists the world over who commemorate the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and Parinibbana (demise) on, with Prathipatti Pooja and Aamisa Pooja.
The concept behind the dansalas is to satisfy the hunger and quench the thirst of the less fortunate as well as the sightseers who roam about in groups with their families, friends and relatives during the two nights of Vesak, taking in the colourful sights such as pandals, lanterns, Buddhists stage plays and Rookada (puppet dancing) shows which depict Jathaka stories, in every city and village. In the past, dansalas were limited to offering a main meal of rice and curry with a glass of water to wash it down and perhaps even a banana or other local fruit for dessert to lend a helping hand to the digestive system. Nowadays though there are also dansalas which offer anything and everthing from noodles to, string-hoppers, bread and seeni sambol, oil cakes such as kevum and kokis, cool drinks, fruit salads, herbal drinks like corriander and Polpala to ice cream, plain tea and coffee. A little group of junior school kids in Nugegoda have even come up with the novel idea of a yoghurt dansala, though of course on a small scale so as to fit their budget. Dansalas are a Buddhist religious event. But more singificantly, they help bring together all members of society regardless of religion, ethnicity or caste. As most dansalas are organised on a village or town, or even street level, where it is not just the Buddhists bunched up together, one sees Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims waking up at the break of dawn and staying up till the wee hours of the night, erecting the stands and preparing the meals or drinks. In a country where communal conflicts are still seen to flare up on occasions, such events are a means of strengthening the ties between the people. While most dansalas are organised without any permission from the relevant authorities, the Municipal Councils issue free permits for conducting a dansala. They issue a letter of permission to the applicants as well as send a copy to the police who make sure that the stalls do not obstruct the road. It is usually the organisers of large annual dansalas that apply for a permit. The Colombo Municipal Council had issued 19 such permits at the time of writing. The Kirullapone police station under the patronage of Elkaduwe Nagitha Thera of Pushparamaya, Kirullapone and with the collaboration of nearly 20-30 groups and societies in the Kirullapone area including members of the three main political parties, business people, temples, Grama Sevakas and other officials are organising a Maha Bath Dansala to be held on May 23 and 24 at the Kirullapone junction. "We hope to offer fried rice with seeni sambol, parippu and tempered sprats. We have budgeted to cook 50 Muttas of rice. Each Muttaya consists 60 kg," says OIC Suresh Warnasooriya of the Kirullapone police. "On Wednesday, we hope to offer a full alms-giving to more than 19 Buddhist priests in all seven temples in the Kirullapone area at the 'Dansala premises'," he explains. Herbal drinks, plain tea and bicuits will be on offer at the dansala organised by the Prisons Department. A Vesak lantern competition is also to be held in front of the Welikada prison premises tomorrow. "We are organising the event with the collaboration of Vatinapaha Somananda Thera from Sri Vajiraramaya Temple, Borella," says Rumy Marzook, Commissioner of Prisons. "Prisoners in the seven prisons across the island, along with six schools will be taking part in the Vesak lanterns competition. Three handsome cash prizes will be awarded for the best lanterns. Other than that, we hope to conduct a Sil campaign and a meditaional program for the prisoners tomorrow. Our main theme is that prisoners are also human beings and they are in prison for rehabilitation. Hence society should admire their good work and should also aprreciate the prison officers who do their best to change these people," he emphasises. Organising a dansala is deemed a meritorious act, but it is not unusual for the unscrupulous to use the danasala as a means to extort money from the unsuspecting, or to transfer a portion of the funds collected into their own pockets or sell a part of the grains back to the shops. Commisioner of Buddhist Affairs at the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, H. W. D. Sunil is of the opinion that while dansalas are basically a good thing, they should however be done in a proper, organised manner. "The organisers must make sure that they do not block roads or turn it into a bajawwa by having louspeakers blaring out loud music. This breaks the quiet of what should be a peaceful day and disturbs the people observing sil at temples?. He says it would be preferable to organise dansalas under the guidance of the chief incumbent of the village temple ensuring greater transparency and harmony." Asked about the allegations of extortion of money, he admits they had already received several complaints include one from a businessman in Ratmalana, who had been asked to hand over a sum to purchase two litres of ice cream. The unscrupulous acts aside, what about the quality of the food supplies used and the methods of preparation? The Colombo Municipal Council confirmed that they do conduct random checks on danslas. "We do carry out checks and have six officers, though we have no legal authority to take action against any places where the food is prepared in an unhygienic manner. Instead we advise them on how best to rectify their mistake, which is usually to do with improper supply of water," says Dr. Kariyawasam, the Chief Health Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council. He also says that as a general rule most dansalas are quite hygienic as they are not conducted for commercial purposes and that he himself has partaken of their meals. Ariyathileke, a three wheeler driver and a resident of Kirullapone, who is one of the organisers of the town's dansala says, "I see dansalas as a good thing though it would be better to divert at least a portion of the monies collected towards helping the tsunami victims. This year though there aren't much celebrations planned since we are just recovering from a national disaster." At a time when Sri Lanka is just beginning to get back on its feet after the horrendous physical, emotional and economical destruction caused by the tsunami, it is perhaps a better idea to not only tone down on the lights and celebrations but also to allocate some of the funds collected towards reconstruction and rehabilitation of the millions affected. The theme of the dansala itself could be taken to the coasts by setting up the dansalas, not in the city but at the villages and towns of the victims. This will not only ensure them getting a tasty full meal cooked with love but also provide a form of emotional support especially for the little children who would find a release from their emotional turmoils to be involved in helping around with the dansala as well as definitely enjoy the ice cream in the current hot weather. As in almost every other aspect of our lives, it may now be possible to take the dansala online. A blog at club.lk.us under the handle of Dilee6 had an ingenious suggestion. While she conceded that it was not possible to be distributing food online, it was most definitely possible and quite easy to hold a daham karunu dansala online. Perhaps at least next year or may be even at the Poson Poya next month we shall see web forums hosting such a dansala. From kaha bath and seeni sambola to parippu and pan, kiri kopi or belli mal, the dansalas will be titillating your taste buds and getting those stomach juices flowing as it caters to your choice of food, while feeding the less fortunate and poverty stricken with three square meals and a whole load of in betweens the next three days. So while you enjoy the sights and the smells, feast not on gourmet cuisine but even more delicious simple home cooking, make sure that you not only respect the sanctity of the celebration but remember the true meaning of Vesak and its significance. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
The Prathipatti Pooja entails following the eight precepts and
meditational programmes, while the Aamisa Pooja varies in many ways such as
offering flowers, alms-giving (Dana) and many others. The Dansala plays an
important role in the practise of the Aamisa pooja. 
