The Maha Sivarathri is an important annual observance of the Saivite Hindus which coincides with the new moon in February.
This particular darkest night of the month is dedicated to God Siva. Siva is the third godhead of the Hindu Triad (Thirumoorthi) the other two being the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer of the universe and the cosmic forces. However, as Mahadeva, God Siva is acclaimed by the Saivites as an incarnation of Creator.
The parable of the Maha Sivarathiri is woven into the fabric of Hindu mythology. It says that one day a hunter, promising to bring his wife a good catch of flesh, went into the wilderness to hunt. He kept on hunting the whole day and as a veil of darkness began to cover the wilderness, he made his homeward journey with the little flesh he had with him.
As he could not get out of the wilderness in time, and apprehensive of the danger from wild beasts, he thought of spending the night in the jungle and going home the following morning. So he climbed a nearby tree, kept the flesh on one of the branches, and he himself sat on another branch, wishing to spend the night on the tree. As hours passed, he felt sleepy but he did not sleep fearing he might fall down. However he began to doze and in that dull stupefied state of drowsiness he began to make himself more comfortable by making small movements.
As the hunter did so, the branch began to shake and a few leaves fell to the ground.
The tree happened to be a beli or (Aogle Marmelos), a favourite of the god. The leaves had accidentally fallen upon a sacred lingam of the god that had been placed there by some devout hunters, with a view to propitiate the god in times of calamity or danger. The hunter at top of the tree, was completely unaware that such a thing was happening.
God Siva, having come to know that someone was performing a pooja in the name of the god, surveyed the terrestrial sphere with his divine eye and saw the man seated on the branch of the tree.
Wishing to do him good, the god made a divine decree that the man, after his death should be brought to Kailas (the celestial abode of the god). After a few years, the hunter died, having accumulated the mortal sin of taking life and was, at once, born in hell to be punished for his sins. The hunter was produced before the Yamaraja (lord of the underworld) and was sentenced to undergo the bloody ordeal in the Raurava hell. In the meantime, God Siva saw the unfortunate plight of the hunter and forthwith commanded that the man be released from hell and sent to Kailas.
This explains the importance of Maha Sivarathiri and how a pooja conducted in the name of God Siva, on the particular night, is capable of washing away sins already committed during the course of earthly existence. All Saivite Hindus believe in the divine attributes of God Siva culminating in Lingam worship. Lingam is the Shakthi (power) of the god whose manifold manifestations are highly acclaimed by the votaries.
God Siva is known by many other names such as Rudra, Maheswara, Shankara, Mahakala, Nataraja, Trilochana, Neelakanda, Pasupathi, Ugradeva, Vishvanatha, Neelagriva, Mahendra, Jegadrom, Kalanjara, Gangadhara, Mahayogi, etc.
The worship of the Siva Lingam by Saivite Hindus is done with great faith and devotion. The three principal Kovils (Hindu temples or devales) dedicated to the god in Sri Lanka are the Munneswaram Kovil in Chilaw, the Koneswaram Kovil in Trincomalee and the Thiruketheswaram Kovil in the North, Mannar. The Siva Devale No. 2 (Vanvan Madhavi Iswaran Kovil) in Polonnaruwa stands testimony to the prevalence of Hinduism during the Polonnaruwa period (1088- 1231).
The worship of the phallus used in fertility rituals was in vogue among the ancient Greeks, the people of the Asia Minor, among the Saivite Hindus, and many others. In various parts of the world, young couples who have failed to bring forth children seek the help of this very divine power to fulfil their expectations.
The divine vehicle of the God Siva is Nandi. It is an offspring born of Rishi Kasyapa to Surabhi. Accordingly all cattle is held with reverence by the Hindus and cutting beef is taboo to them.
There is a belief that during the Iswara Vinsathiya (the 20 year period attributed to God Siva) beef cutting brings the wrath of the god resulting in untold misery to the consumers and the slaughterers at large.
East Side Story directed by Dolores de Lanerolle and Haig Karunaratne with a large cast of students from St. Mary's Convent Matara, played at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on January 7.
The theme is a satiric comment on the socio-political scene both in Sri Lanka today and in many other modern societies. It is set in a mythical land, Zitan. An authoritarian Emperor and his Generals with their secret police of thugs and torturers are forced into exile by a popular revolution.
The revolution is fanned by religious fanatics - the Scribahs - and their leader Ruleni who prove to be equally ruthless in their suppression of dissent once they come to power. Ultimately the 'jackal' a contract killer, is hired by the religious revolutionaries to kill the Emperor who is now in exile.
The killer however, is bought off by the Emperor for an even higher figure. It is a world and a time where the 'jackal' calls the shots - the 'Day of the Jackal' one might say. In a land where contract killings, tortures and bodies of missing people being exhumed are part of the daily accounts in newspapers, Haig's script is a bold attempt to bring such issues before the English theatre going public who (unlike Sinhala audiences) are not often exposed to "serious" or "contemporary" themes in the theatre.
What struck me was the sheer energy and vitality of the production.
The large cast of young students performed with such enthusiasm, so obviously enjoying their chance to be part of a performance that aimed to be much more than an amateur school play. The choreography - music, dance, lighting, costumes - all revealed Haig Karunaratne's experienced hand. To train such a large and motley collection of school children to dance, sing and perform as a coherent whole must have been a herculean task that only a dedicated and committed theatre person would undertake. That commitment had clearly inspired the cast who gave their best with unflagging energy and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, on the night I saw the performance there must have been some technical hitch with the mikes or the acoustics of the hall because from where I sat I could hardly hear the words. Finally, I gave up straining to catch the odd line and viewed it as a performance of dance, music and mime.
What came through even without the words was the vitality and energy of the performers and the creative choreography as in the dance of the whirling dervishes or the miming of the jackals in their slick mod outfits. There were occasions when dances could have been cut and tightened. The producers were no doubt trying to give as many young actors as they could a 'space' on the stage but what was often an excellent sequence when first performed lost its interest when repeated. This happened with some of the Ruleni scenes and with the long drawn out wedding scene with its inset mini-dance performance.
Cut and tightened to a two hour production with a little more attention to projecting the voices (or the use of better mikes) it would hold its audience not just as yet another 'school show' but as a bold experiment in serious theatre for the English stage in Sri Lanka.
Anyone who has worked in the Sri Lankan theatre knows the innumerable obstacles one has to surmount, coping with limited resources, unlimited problems of rehearsal time and space, the logistics of transporting large casts and sets, and all the million other hassles a director has to face.
One can therefore only admire the dedication of theatre directors like Haig Karunaratne who take on such tasks, give generously of their time and long experience in the theatre, and because of their commitment make theatre come alive for young people both as performers and as audience.
Ranjini Obeyesekere
Continue to Plus page 14 * A logical analysis of the package * New interesting historical evidence
Return to the Plus contents page
| HOME PAGE | FRONT PAGE | EDITORIAL/OPINION | NEWS / COMMENT | BUSINESS
Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk