From High Security Zone to Vesak Zone:

Jaffna celebrates Vesak in peace

By ANANTH PALAKIDNAR - in JAFFNA

The ‘Dhamma Zone’ replaced the High Security Zone; depicting Karuna, Meththa, Muditha and Upekha (kindness, loving-kindness, delight and equanimity) with the appearance of the Vesak Full Moon on May 27. It was the first mega spiritual event which made more than 200,000 people in Jaffna as well as people from various parts of southern Sri Lanka mingle freely, exchanging Vesak greetings with each other and going around viewing the Vesak decorations put up in areas covering the Jaffna Public Library, Duraiyappah Stadium, and the Jaffna Fortress.

Major Lal Nanayakkara, the Senior Coordinator of Sri Lanka Army’s Civil Administration Affairs office in Jaffna, told the Sunday Observer that on the directive of Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, various units in the Jaffna peninsula had planned the Vesak decorations in Jaffna to highlight the true meaning of the Dhammapada in the peninsula which was devastated by death and destruction for nearly three decades.

The vast area which was referred to by Major Nanayakkara as the Vesak Zone could also be described as the `Dhamma Zone’ as it depicted the Buddha’s preaching in various forms such as through pandals and paintings.

The area which was selected by the Security Forces for the Vesak Zone, on the directive of Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj.Gen Hathurusinghe, was praise-worthy as that was the area worst affected when the conflict was at its peak in the peninsula in the early nineties.

The picturesque Jaffna Dutch Fort surrounded by Jaffna’s prime land including the Jaffna Public Library, Victoria clock tower along with the area covering the Jaffna Central College, saw pitched battles when the Armed Forces occupied the Dutch Fort.

The militants outside the Fort area and the soldiers who remained inside the Fort exchanged artillery gunfire and mortars, inflicting heavy damage on all.

However, the entire scenario around the Jaffna Dutch Fort totally changed with the Security Forces enjoying tremendous success with `Operation Riviresa’ in 1994.

The whole peninsula was brought under the control of the Security Forces with the LTTE witnessing its `waterloo’ in the heartland of Jaffna.

Since then, the Jaffna Fort area which links several islets including Kayts in the North along the Pannai causeway has become more active, with the movement of civilians improving significantly.

As the LTTE retreated to Vanni following their debacle in Jaffna in 1994, the region was struggling to enjoy peace while the battle continued in Vanni.

Landmines remained a huge threat in the surrounding areas of the Jaffna Fort, Duraiyappah stadium and in places closer to the Jaffna Public Library and Open Air Stadium.

Landmines cleared

A dansal in Jaffna Jaffna singers presenting devotional songs

The bold and untiring efforts of the Security Forces succeeded in unearthing the landmines.

Since then the Jaffna Fort and its adjoining areas became more active with civilian movements and with the total annihilation of the LTTE in Vanni area in May last year, the heartland of Jaffna regained its lost glory with many spiritual, cultural and sporting events taking place.

The Security Forces in Jaffna played an important and responsible role in bringing back the enthusiasm of the Jaffna people, organising cultural and sporting events in the Jaffna heartland on and off.

Sponsorships from leading private institutions in the South were gained to make the program a continuous success.

Since the clashes came to an end with the total annihilation of the LTTE in Vanni in May last year, every important event in the Hindu calender was celebrated in the heartland of Jaffna, with the participation of people from all walks of life in Jaffna.

For Southerners, travelling to Jaffna was more of a pilgrimage. According to the Army’s Civil Affairs office in Jaffna, more than four million civilians from the South have travelled to Jaffna in the recent past.

However, despite shortcomings with regard to their accommodation, it was moving to see them adjusting themselves to the conditions in Jaffna and enjoying their visit by travelling to various locations of spiritual importance such as the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, Nagadeepa and the site of the Kantharodai Buddhist Relics in Chunnakam.

This year’s Vesak festival in Jaffna could be rated as one of the major spiritual events in the island where more than 200,000 pilgrims from various parts of the South and people from every nook and corner in the peninsula gathered together to enjoy the Vesak celebrations.

The spiritual observances at the Jaffna Naga Vihara began in the early hours of the morning on Vesak Day and continued till late in the night.

The Vesak Zone created on the directive of Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj.Gen Hathurusinghe was the focal point for Northerners as well as Southerners.

Mega dansal

A mega dansal was created near the Muiyappar Temple adjoining the Jaffna Fort. From the time the dansal was opened, Maj. Nanayakkara of the Army’s Jaffna Civil office said it had catered to more than 200,000 people.”It would have been the only dansal in Sri Lanka which distributed meals to Tamils and Sinhalese in a mega scale on Vesak day.It was a pleasant sight that the people gathered at this huge dansal waited patiently and enjoyed their meals, conversing in both Tamil and Sinhala”.

Apart from this dansal, there were several big and small dansals within the Jaffna Vesak Zone which covered an area of around two km.

Soft drinks, coffee, tea, ice cream and other refreshments were served in plenty by Army men along with volunteers.

Another significant aspect of the Vesak celebrations in the North this year was the participation of Jaffna singers in rendering Buddhist spiritual songs in Tamil.

Music teachers chosen from various parts of Jaffna sang Buddhist devotional songs with their accompaning instruments. The event was staged at the Open Air Theatre and at the Duraiyappah Stadium.

The singers rendered their songs with devotion to the admiration of the huge gathering of pilgrims from the South; to them it was a big surprise.

“The entire agenda with regard to the Vesak celebrations in Jaffna was well planned and executed within two weeks. Our soldiers who usually keep vigil with their weapons throughout day and night in the North made it a point to make the Vesak celebrations in Jaffna a success from the time they began to create the Vesak zone,” sources said.

It was not only the heartland of Jaffna that was filled with the spirit of Vesak, but the camps of the Security Forces in every nook and corner of the peninsula were gaily decorated with Vesak lanterns in various shapes.

E.R. Thiruchelvam, a former teacher of the prestigious Jaffna Hindu College, admiring the decorations put up by the soldiers in Jaffna, commented that those men were far away from their homes and what they had done during the Vesak period in the North showed that there was a cheerful child in every soldier.

Peace with spiritual touch

G.K. Kodituwakku, a trader from Anuradhapura who came with his family members to Jaffna, said: “I have been longing for an opportunity like this to visit Jaffna. It is wonderful to enjoy peace with the spiritual touch. I worshipped at the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, went to Nagadeepa and the Keerimalai Holy Tank where I saw faces with great smiles and hospitality galore.”

Dr. Kalupahana, an Ayurvedic physician from Kandy said: “When I was small, I had visited Jaffna with my parents. Since then, I have been longing to visit Jaffna with my children and family, to enjoy the same experience I had had in the North. The end of the conflict has now paved the way for me and thousands of Southerners like myself to see Jaffna which was a forbidden area for three decades”.

“The message I am taking back to my hometown is the peace and hospitality I enjoyed in Jaffna. What I had understood while in the peninsula was that even the people in Jaffna were looking forward to receive the people of the South and treat them with love and affection,” he said.

When asked about the problems in finding accommodation, Kalupahana said that Jaffna was now gradually improving from the previous conditions it had experienced. “We cannot grumble much about the shortcomings. Things are progressing satisfactorily with plenty of interaction between the North and South.I believe that the conditions will improve to a greater extent in the years to come,” he said.

Therefore, the spiritual celebrations under the calmness of the Vesak Full Moon in Jaffna indicate that in the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of the 21st century, Sri Lanka becoming a Dhamma Bhoomi is not a distant dream.

Pix Courtesy: - Army Media Unit