The meaning of ‘dansal’
by Kamalanath Liyanage
As we all know, Vesak is the
season which is respectably celebrated by Buddhists all over the world
to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. During this
period, we can see numerous seasonal activities such as the display of
Vesak lanterns, huge ‘thorana’, attractive types of bulbs, largely
decorated temples and houses and many more interesting attractions. It
is during this time of year that the roads are filled with people who
stare in awe and wonder of the Vesak.
The existence of a variety of ‘dansal’ or alms-giving stalls provide
a massive social service during the Vesak. The history of a typical
‘dansala’ dates back to the era when Buddha lived. Kings and other
upper-class leaders during that period did their social responsibilies
with charity for the poor people.
 Since then, this phenomenon has been applied for various occasions
and we can observe many ‘dansal’ during the Vesak season. Today, the
situation regarding a ‘dansala’ had drastically changed. Vesak ‘dansal’
are open to every person in society and a majority are often keen in
making the most of its service irrespectively their social class or
income generation. Organizing a ‘dansala’ is some sort of social event
and now we can observe a very high youth participation for fulfilling
this task.
Men, in particular, get together with others especially to arrange
their ‘dansala’ with good quality and various attractive features like
loud music and good food in comparison to other ‘dansal’.
They collaborate in gathering funds, collecting necessities and
decorating the ‘dansal’ stalls in advance. The aim of a ‘dansala’ is to
satisfy anyone’s hunger (a starving passer-by or even a passing VIP in a
car) which can even be applicable to animals like passing dogs and cats.
It is possible to exercise different food items in the ‘dansala’ such as
rice, noodles, bread, biscuits, manioc, pickles, jack fruit, bread fruit
and more in addition to various beverages in a ‘dansala’ like cool
drinks, ice coffee, tea, coffee, milk tea, herbal drinks, soup and many
more.
There are even dessert ‘dansal’ which offers ice cream and fruit
salad attracts more people irrespectively of their ages. Men are the
main subset of the population who vastly utilize the service of the
‘dansala’ because they prefer to go outside with their colleagues as a
group. Group formation and making friends emphasise the confidence to
partake a meal at a ‘dansala’.
Watching Vesak beauties and lasses also make a ‘dansala’ an
interesting place where one can meet a potential partner. However, there
are also some drawbacks in a ‘dansal’. Conflicts among different
‘dansal’ organizers can arise including fraudulent money collections,
fund misplacement, disputes among organizers, unnecessary forced entry
to the ‘dansal’, a massive degree of wastage, queue problems, arguments
within the ‘dansal’ utilizers and more.
So, we shall try to minimize these mistakes and enjoy the Vesak
season decently!
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