Grand Vesak Dansala organised in Ipoh
by Manjula FERNANDO
|
Alfred and Kamalawathie |
A grand Vesak Dansala was organised in Ipoh, the second important
town in Malaysia, 200 kilometres North of Kuala Lumpur to celebrate the
2600th Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi.
Hundreds of people were treated to rice and curry, Sri Lankan style
at the 'open house' as Malays would call it, organised by the Sinhalese
Bar - a restaurant run by a couple of Sri Lankan decent.
It is a tradition they have been following for the past so many
years, Dr.P.A.Denegama, a doctor who is currently under going
consultancy training in Malaysia told the Sunday Observer. The
proprietor of the Sinhalese Bar Alfred Perera inherited the business
from his father who established it in 1931. His father left his
ancestral home in Unawatuna in his youth. In Malaysia he met his soul
mate a pretty damsel from Myanmar. They have eight children. Some of
them had remained in Malaysia while others had opted to reunite with
their paternal family in Sri Lanka. One of Alfred's brothers is a
Buddhist monk in Taipeng, the town of that peace accord in Malaysia.
Dr.Denegama said that the wife of the proprietor Kamalawathie has a
Sinhalese father and a Tamil mother and their mixed cultures and
religions have never todate affected this long Vesak tradition. Alfred
and Kamalawathie have a daughter who is an IT graduate. The dining area
of the Dansala resembled a Sri Lankan home wedding lunch table. Food was
served by dedicated attendants and fruits and sweetmeats were served at
the end of each meal.
Hundreds of people visit the Sinhalese Bar every Vesak to enjoy its
vegetarian meal. The expenditure which is quite significant is borne by
the family as well as well wishers. Dr. Denegama said he saw quite a
number of Indian Tamils and a few Chinese among the huge crowd. As it
was a Buddhist function, they were paying obeisance to the Buddha
statues in the main hall. |
