All Sri Lankans, both young and old await the call of the koha or koel. The cry of the koha is an essential feature of the Avurudda. It heralds the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year. Everyone celebrates the New Year on 1st January, we do too, but, Avurudu is the traditional New Year.
The date is fixed
according to astrological calculations. Then, it so happens that there is a period of time between the old year and the New Year. This time is called Nonagathe, which means it's not an auspicious time. During this period
everyone stops work in
Sri Lanka.
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| Art by Savindu Herat (8 years) |
No cooking or cleaning is done, and
mostly everyone stays home. The children are not allowed to read or write, but they can play, which is far better for children,
isn't it?
After nonagathe is over, mother, dressed in the
avurudu colour specified, lights the hearth facing the direction given. Then she boils milk in a new pot till it flows over. Next she cooks the first meal. Milk rice or kiribath is the main dish on a table laden with kevun, kokis, athiraha, aggala, aasmi and
kolikuttu and sweets and sambols and fish curry and others.
This table is replenished and kept open till evening for visitors, relations and neighbours who come to taste the food as a token of goodwill and friendship.
All this happens in my house, but most of all, after the milk rice is brought to the table decorated with other goodies most of which are previously made, father, mother and children light the oil lamp. Father reads a page from the 'Banapotha.'
Then, he eats a piece of milk rice and as customary, feeds mother and us children, a piece each. We are all dressed in new clothes in the
appropriate colour and then it is time to exchange gifts which are mostly clothes.
Next, mother and father do ganu, denu, receiving and giving cash. For the children it's mostly ganu. Next, we wait for the
visitors and we children eagerly await their gifts. Then it is time for the
traditional games.
In our family, we pack ourselves with gifts and food into our station wagon and go off to Padukka to our grandparents place.
This place is less than an hour from Colombo on the Ratnapura road. There, at that time all the family assembles and the house is agog with uncles, aunts and cousins. When we arrive there, all of us, including father, bend and touch the feet of the
grandparents.
It is a
traditional mark of respect for elders. Grandma,
however, hugs all the grandchildren. More gifts are exchanged and then we all wend ourselves to the large green of the
village where everyone gathers for the games and festivities.
There is an air of
excitement on the village green as there are kiosks for drinks and tea and the raban players are tapping their big rabanas placed high on short stands on the ground. There is a raban playing competition too as well as scraping coconut for the women. We take part in the tug o' war, where, with much laughter, a long thick rope is pulled by two teams.
First, it heaves one way and then the other.
At the end, when the stronger team pulls the other across the middle line, it is hilarious to see so many tumbling on the green and on top of each other and the winning team doing a victory dance.
A funny spectacle is climbing the grease pole which is mostly done by young men. There are short races and much cheering on the green as well as bicycle races. Games like 'gudu' and jumping inside four large marked squares without the catcher, catching you, are our favourites.
The catcher can only run along the lines and the children have to jump from one square to the other without the catcher tapping you.
My cousin Manel and I like to get on the big swing, especially tied for Avurudu. There are small swings too for little children but the big swing is special. It's in size, like a door, held flat and tied strongly at the end with thick ropes and it stands at a height of about ten feet from the ground. There is a platform too made so that we can get on the swing from it. About six or seven people can swing on it at a time and it's great fun.
Mostly, village damsels get on the swing. The swing is pulled near the platform and we get on it gingerly helped by the young men. Then the swing is pushed and all of us swing to and fro and someone bursts into song and the tune tallies with the swinging. It is an exhilarating experience.
Manel and I saw that when the damsels are helped by the young men to get to and from the swing, some hold on to each other longer than needed. Thus, we are delayed as Manel and I are impatient to get in or get down. Anyway, it is a happy time.
I have always viewed this swing from afar too. The damsels with their long hair and some wearing flowers in their hair are clad in bright coloured cloth and blouses.
They look like some exotic birds swinging this way and that. When they swing amidst squeals and laughter, it is one of the sights that I will never
forget. The creak of the ropes, the songs and the
ripple of their laughter is sweet to the ear.
All this is taken by the wind and rushed along. Manel and I feel that the wind is taking something and we run with the wind. We come to a nearby stream and stop. There, we can see the gurgling stream splash its waters upwards. We know that the waters are eager to catch the happy sounds of the young
laughter and songs in the wind. |
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