Vesak evening: as the sun sinks lower on the horizon, impending darkness is conquered. The night sparkles in a million lights. Every Buddhist temple in the country, every homestead, rural or poor, light up with pahan, lanterns or a number of carefully structured Vesak kudus. The cities, especially Colombo, where people habitually flock to experience Vesak gaiety, sport thousands of tiny electric lights. Tall buildings are often draped with strands of electric bulbs ever flickering to a pattern.They adorn immense pandals that come up by the roadside.
Light is an essential ingredient of the celebrations of Vesak, the most revered day for Buddhists in this country.
In weeks preceding the Vesak poya, the preparations for Vesak are quite evident. Structures for the thoranas being firmly rooted in place by bare bodied labourers, frames for Vesak lanterns carefully turned out by young children or experts hoping to exhibit their prize creations, structures come up for the dansalas which dot the roads offering free food and drink to pilgrims.
For many, these Vesak features have become ritual, an annual celebration little different to the year before. But when and how such features as pandals and lanterns and dansals became associated with the very sober celebrations for Vesak is not clear, lost in the mists of history.
In the time when Fa hein came to Sri Lanka in the 5th century AD, he had recorded that in times of religious processions or peraheras the streets were often decorated with paintings of Buddhist stories. Commemoration of Vesak is recorded as early as 8th Century AD. Offering of light to the Buddha was also a practise of the old times. “In the early days they used the split half of a papaw fruit to light a pahana,” Prof. J.B. Dissanayaka said. He explained that light was used as a means of veneration since it is symbolic of the dispelling of ignorance. A symbol of enlightenment.
Prof. Disanayaka said that it is not clear as to when exactly the custom of building lanterns and pandals came about.
“It would probably have been in the early years of this century, when the Buddhist revival was very strong,” he said.
Jayasiri Semage the famous pandal designer who has exhibited his work abroad as well, said that there are various descriptions of pandals built in the early days in old literary work.
“But this was not in connection with Vesak,” he said. He also placed the history of the modern pandal at around the time of Anagarika Dharmapala, early this century.
He said that the aim of a pandal is to spread the message of Buddha far and wide.
“The depiction of Jataka stories on the pandals is used as means of teaching and enlightening the public.” He also said that it serves the purpose by being very attractive and eye catching, decorated with colourful paintings and thousands of lights.
Vesak lanterns also have a confusing history. The use of lanterns in religious festivals is a practised in, China, Singapore and Japan. Both Prof. Disanayaka and Semage believed that the art of lantern making was borrowed from one or many of these countries.
“In China and Singapore I have seen lanterns in the shape of stars and lotus flowers. These shapes are very popular here also. So there is evidence that our close links to these countries have resulted in the practise of Vesak kudu making,” Semage said.
Upali Dharmadasa a Director of Nawaloka Group of Companies who yearly sponsor a massive thorana at the Peliyagoda junction said that they do it as an act of merit and to fulfil their duty to propagate the religion.
A pandal could cost anything from a lakh to a million depending on the size and complexity of lighting.
“People from all over the country, from many villages come to see the pandal. And we are encouraged by the letters we recieve about the pandals, sometimes giving ideas for next years pandal,” Dharmadasa said.
His company has been building this pandal every year for the last 39 years. “The only time we could not have the pandal was the two years of political disturbance in the late eighties. It was a practise started by my farther, the founder of the company,” he said.
So, aptly clothed in a mass of light, the city and the rest of the country observed the solemnity of Vesak last week.
Light, the very symbol of Vesak, of the dispelling of darkness and ignorance , of enlightenment, regardless whether the light came from half a papaw or a Chinese-influenced lantern or a massive 40-foot pandal.
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