MATARA, September 5, 2012 | The Hindu
This
is a sight that has become familiar across Sri Lanka since the Kapilavastu
relics arrived here mid-August: Thousands of people, young and old, all clad in
white — the colour associated with purity and peace — wait hours on end for a
second’s glimpse of an object they consider divine.
People
move in the queues round the clock. With three queues moving sequentially – one
for men, another for women and a third for infirm and VIPs – each person gets
just about enough time to offer his or her prayers and move on.
“None
of us can see Buddha. This is the next best thing we can revere and worship,”
said Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Sri Lankan Minister, who was overseeing the
arrangements for the devotees at Matara Kotikagoda Rajamaha Viharaya, about 160
km from Colombo.
The
relics came from their ‘home’ in India, the National Museum in New Delhi on
August 20. President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited each one of the sites where the
relics are on display. He has inspected arrangements; and has offered worship.
The
exhibition should have ended on September 4. But in response to a request
received from Colombo, New Delhi agreed to extend it by a week at three
additional venues.
Head
of State status
The
relics have been accorded the status of a Head of State in Sri Lanka. They move
from one site to another in bullet proof cars or helicopters or a combination
of the two. They were on display round the clock at the Jayanthi Viharaya,
Anuradhapura for three days.
The
country, which had received scanty rainfall from the south-west monsoon,
witnessed copious showers after the relics arrived here. Many worshippers —
both in government and lay people — believe that relics brought the rains with
them. It did not matter to those who had gathered that the rains delayed the
transport of the relics from one place to another. They waited patiently.
Some
devotees had come to the venue the day before and had spent the night outside
the venue at most places.
“I
am told that there are people already in Tissamaharama, the venue for the exposition
from September 5,” said the Indian Consul General in Hambantota, R.Raghunathan.
On Tuesday, the relics will be taken on a procession from Matara to
Tissamaharama, just over 100 km away.
The
relics might also swing votes in at least two of the three provinces going to
polls on September
The
opposition UNP has alleged that the government is deliberately taking it to
places where provincial polls have been announced; while its leader Ranil
Wickramasinghe, has cast doubts over the authenticity of the relics. Of course,
hundreds of leaders, big and small, from his party and outside, have drowned
out his voice.
