Vesak Full Moon Day is a day of utmost significance to Buddhists, marking the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. Sri Lankans tend to commemorate the holiday with religious observances, as well as lanterns, pandals, and “dansal”. The latter is particularly important this year, as many face financial difficulties and challenges.

The Daily Morning Brunch reached out to organisers of “dansal” to better understand how this Vesak custom has been impacted by the economic crisis and what challenges the organisers themselves face.

A family tradition

“We usually organise the “dansala” annually, but this is the first time we are holding it since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is done by our family, where the siblings come together and donate the funds to organise it,” Krishantha, whose family organises a roti, lunu miris and plain tea “dansala” in Angoda, said.

When asked about the quantity, he said they usually feed around 3,000 people, but that they have actually increased the quantity this year. The reason, he said, is because people are facing various hardships and difficulties given the economic crisis. “During a time when people are facing difficulties, we are happy to be able to provide them some relief,” he said, adding that they hope to continue the tradition of holding the “dansala” annually.

Adapting to inflation

A few youth in the area are organising a small-scale “dansala” in Kivulgala, where they are serving coriander or koththamalli and soft drinks. “We didn’t collect money as we normally do. We put money by ourselves and went to a few houses we know very personally and they contributed,” Thamaru, one of the organisers, said, adding that they hold the “dansala” annually.

He shared that the quantity has dropped slightly due to inflation, as they usually make soft drinks and corianderwith 100 kg of sugar, and this year will be making coriander with 25 kg of sugar with the remaining sugar used for coriander.

In terms of what drives them to hold the “dansala”, Thamaru shared that the importance was the act of giving. However, he added that it was also a way of relieving stress.

The importance of community efforts

While a “dansala” is born out of the concept of giving alms and is a way of accumulating merit, a “dansal” organiser who spoke to The Daily Morning Brunch highlighted the message of communal unity spread through such activities.

Bandula Premalal Pathirana is a member of Black Lions, a community organisation, in Narammala, Pelawatte in the Dambadeniya area. He shared that the organisation is holding a malted milk and biscuit “dansala” this year. Last year, the organisation carried out renovations in the village temple and the year before that, in 2021, they held a breadfruit or “del” “dansala”.

“We have purchased items to feed over 2,000 people, and decided to hold this ‘dansala’ given the situation in the country. However, due to the difficulties people face, we could raise funds from the village community as usual so the members of Black Lions collected funds privately. We did accept any donations that came in,” Pathirana said.

He added that they wanted to spread the message of unity and community through the “dansala”, showing people the importance of working together to organise an event of this nature.

‘Dansala’ sans pandal

The Pettah Eksath Bodhiraja Society will be holding their annual rice and curry “dansala” today (5) and tomorrow. The quantity of food has not changed, Treasurer W.G. Wimalarathna said, adding that as per usual the “dansala” will begin at 11.30 a.m. after “buddha pujawa” is offered at 11 a.m. and will continue until late in the night.

“Given the situation in the country, we will not be setting up our pandal, which is an annual tradition, which means that there won’t be any lights to illuminate the area. However, given the cost of electricity today, we decided it was a better use of money to hold the ‘dansala’ instead of spending it on the pandal,” Wimalarathna said.

He explained that many have asked about the pandal, as it is something many expect to see during Vesak commemorations.

Difficulty sourcing ingredients

Speaking to The Daily Morning Brunch, the Kelaniya Eksath Suhada Samajaya shared that they are not holding a “dansala” this year either, given the difficulties in sourcing items and ingredients. A member of the organisation shared that they carried out the “dansala” for 10 years before the Easter Attacks in 2019 put an end to the tradition.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis following soon after, they were unable to get the “dansala” back on track. A member of the organisation, who wished to remain anonymous, said that when organising a “dansala” of a large scale, the contributions of others played a vital role. He explained that they usually feed 10,000 people, preparing rice and curries. This requires a large quantity of ingredients as well as large pots and pans, given the number of people the “dansala” caters to.

However, sourcing these ingredients and cooking appliances cannot be done by the organisation alone, and they rely on people to donate various items, which they do annually. As an example, someone who sells rice may donate a certain quantity of rice for the “dansala”. However, most of these donors have today migrated or moved on to other fields of business.

The organisers are thus required to secure new donors, which is quite a task. Planning a “dansala”, especially one of this scale, typically takes 2-3 months, but the Kelaniya Eksath Suhada Samajaya added that as the situation in the country improves, they are hopeful of bringing back their “dansala” next year.