The author of the article, Stanislav Pavlikovsky, is a third-year student of the Faculty of Journalism in Russia, a Sri Lankan culture enthusiast
View(s):My friends told me that there are new exhibits from Sri Lanka in the Kunstkamera. They asked me «to supervise» the exhibition. I considered the museum staff to be surprised when they find out that I went to «сheck» them.
The job seemed to be important for me. The meaning of Kunstkamera is great in Russia – it’s still the first museum in our country. The title could be translated as «a саbinet of curiosities», and curiosities like pickled embryos or two-headed fawn made it famous. There is also a popular museum department of Ethnography in which exhibits from Sri Lanka were probably placed as I thought then.
On the way from the subway, I felt a pleasant excitement. It was hard to believe that I was carrying out an embassy assignment! Well, not exactly, it was more like a friendly request. Anyway, I felt as I was the hero of a spy novel.
It was the early holiday morning. For some reason, I thought that few people besides me went on the same cultural trip. The first thing I saw was a huge queue. It was useless to be indignant, so we had to pass the time. I asked my companion (every spy has a stunning companion) what she knew about Sri Lanka. She told how the famous Russian writer Chekhov brought a mongoose from there. The mongoose’s name was «riff raff». That’s what I call a cultural exchange.
The wardrobe was the most difficult place to get through. We had to figure out where to go next. I was staring intently at the plan of the building and could not find the right exhibition. We decided to be more consistent. We, as ordinary visitors, toured Latin America, and then passed China and Japan. Ceylon still did not show up.
While my companion was enthusiastically studying interactive whiteboards, I approached the museum employee.
- I’m sorry, I haven’t heard anything about the Sri Lanka exhibition. You probably need to go to the India department. It’s right through the Indonesia department.
Unfortunately, that’s where they put all the stuff from Sri Lanka. We didn’t even realise right away that this was what we were looking for. The inscriptions “Sri Lanka, The Sinhalese” were barely discernible. Some of them I learned thanks to the unique Sinhalese script. But all the exhibits were integrated into the Indian part of the exposition. Sri Lanka did not stand out against this background.
For example, household items from different countries were placed together. The fork could be Indian and the spoon was already Lankan. In this photo you can see Sinhalese writing next to a Tibetan ritual bell. Imagine that! But on the other hand, the Vedic altar is completely Lankan. A rag doll, a small silver house, an ancient horoscope on a palm leaf… What an amazing story these things must have! Then I’m attaching a photo of the Lankan things. Almost all the vases were from Ceylon.
Well, the items have reached the Kunstkamera, they have been exposed. And that’s good. I express my gratitude to Ms. Nirosha Herath (Former First Secretary (Cultural) of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia), for providing these wonderful works of art. And also thanks for the reason to go to a place I haven’t been to since junior high. We, Russian intellectuals, want to live in harmony with the world around us and learn more from it. So I hope the cultural exchange is not finished yet.
HitAd.lk is the best and biggest mobile phone market in Sri Lanka, and we guarantee you will find what you need here from our extensive listing of mobile phones for sale in Sri Lanka. Whether it’s a budget-priced smartphone for communication, or higher end features with advanced connectivity, there are many different options from which to choose from on our site!