Fountain of diversity
View(s):Many months ago, a friend wrote to the Sri Lanka Tourism office in Colombo and suggested that the authorities should organise a food festival during the forthcoming Sri Lanka Day celebrations next month bringing in the diversity of food from different communities. He said that this rich tapestry of food would be an occasion to celebrate diversity.
The suggestion came just as the government announced the Sri Lanka Day event to be held in December as a means of bridging the ethnic divide and celebrating Sri Lanka’s multicultural societies. He is still waiting for a reply!
That person was our young economist Ruwanputha. He called me on this Thursday morning to discuss the same topic, after reading about JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva, during a visit to London, inviting Sri Lankans to come home for the three-day festival from December 14 to 16 and celebrate the event’s unity theme.
“I wrote to Sri Lanka Tourism many months ago to organise a food fiesta featuring the food of many communities for tourists and Sri Lankans, but sadly they didn’t respond. Not even an acknowledgement of the email. This is the kind of public service that we have today. Here is an idea that they should take forward, as food is a great way to bring communities together, but sadly they didn’t respond,” he said.
“This is the problem in Sri Lanka…..there is limited space in the public service for creativity and innovation. No one listens if you have a good idea. That happens only in the private sector,” I said. “Maybe if I had proposed the idea to tourism industry associations it may have been taken on board,” he said.
Ruwanputha’s suggestion was a simple one. December is the period when the country is filled with tourists (coming during the winter season) and also Sri Lankans resident abroad returning home for their annual year-end vacation and it is good to celebrate Sri Lanka Day with a food festival.
The National Peace Council (NPC) in a statement said that the government was promoting Sri Lankan Day as a national platform to bring every community together. While the vision behind this event would be to create a space where all citizens can feel included and respected regardless of political, religious or cultural identity, it pointed out that it is “important that opposition parties and civil society organisations are also included, so that the event reflects the full diversity of the country”.
While peace and reconciliation are considered the barometer of success of a society, one of the most forgotten aspects of culture and diversity is the colourful range of food of the different communities. Real peace and reconciliation has eluded Sri Lanka, despite efforts by many governments.
One very easy aspect of bridging the ethnic divide is food and music. The diversity of food cuts across many cultural barriers. In fact in recent times, many tourists keen on learning the country’s culture have visited villages and watched how food is prepared. In one step further in this process, they have also joined in the cooking, pounding ingredients in a stone mortar, preparing string hoppers and hoppers and other everyday food.
Consider the rich variety of Sri Lankan food coming down the ages and influenced by our colonial masters. From the Sinhalese, you have Ambul Thiyal, a sour fish curry, Kaju Maluwa, a cashew curry, Kottu, a battered mixture of meat, vegetables and rotti made to the exciting sounds of the baila, Kiribath and Pol Sambola. From the Tamils come Appam and Indiappam (hoppers and string hoppers) from South India, Murukku, Pittu and Kiri Toffee, though some may argue that the latter is a food developed by the Sinhalese. Nevertheless, it’s the food and its exquisite taste that matters, not from where it originated.
The Malay community is famous for Dodol, Satay (fried beef) and Achcharu which comes from the Malay word Achar known as Malay pickle, while the Burghers celebrate their rich past with Lamprais, Rich Cake and Breudher. The small Borah community contribution is through Bombay sweets which includes Muskat.
Then consider the variety of music and dances with baila, a Portuguese-origin musical song and dance form, taking pride of place. In fact, when the baila is played at family and public functions, guests let their hair down and join in the singing and dancing…….communities get together and it’s like time spent in the kindergarten where it didn’t matter if your fellow student came from a different community. There was no class distinction or barriers on racial lines. Everyone was alike and teachers made sure everyone was treated equally.
Food and music are great ways to overcome divisions and hostility among races and bring better results than speeches and special events heralding Sri Lanka’s diversity. Consider a band like the Gypsies and its late, legendary leader Sunil Perera. He would have been the ideal ambassador of peace. His iconic song ‘Piti Kotapan None’ is a staple offering at many functions and weddings.
Music and food indeed bring the world together and what better place than Sri Lanka where you enjoy a shot of arrack among friends with a variety of side dishes as bites. After becoming tipsy, enmity and bitterness are forgotten – we all become machans! Hotels sometimes organise festivals of food of other countries – why not the food of Sri Lanka’s cultural tapestry!
The government has chosen an ideal time – December, to celebrate Sri Lanka’s diversity. As stated before, this is the month when tourists come in droves and Sri Lanka expatriates in the West migrate to their more pleasant (weather-wise) homeland. What better time to organise a food, music and dance fiesta in all hotels and other public areas like the BMICH.
One of the missing links in the entertainment scene for tourists in Colombo is a weekly dance event just like what Kandy does, in having a once-a-week show of Kandyan dancing and song. Why not a similar event in Colombo and in addition to Kandyan dancing, portray Tamil dances like the Bharata Natyam, an elegant dance form, and musical and dance influences from the Burghers (Baila) and the Malays. Each dance and art form should be accompanied with a running commentary on its significance and engagement in Sri Lankan life.
Oh, heavens, I forgot about my trio of friends today! Maybe I’ll catch up with them next week. Winding up on a subject that I enjoyed writing, here’s hoping that the authorities will still consider organising events on the lines I have suggested.
It is still not too late for hotels (always jumping on the bandwagon to celebrate special occasions like Christmas), to have a food fiesta bringing together communities in song, dance and music.
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