Pilgrims irked by cell use inside Maligawa

by Anjana Gamage

The Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy is considered as the citadel of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and the most sacred Buddhist pilgrim site in the country. Thousands of devotees from all corners of the country flock daily to pay homage to this most sacred place. Therefore it behoves all devotees to conduct themselves exemplarily in keeping with the hallowed nature of this site most sacred to Buddhists.

However a recent incident that I witnessed inside the Dalada Maligawa premises compelled me pen this item hoping it would catch the attention and convey a message to all devotees.

After an assignment in Kandy, on our way back to Colombo we stopped at the Dalada Maligawa to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic. We bought some Nelum mal at the entrance and entered the Dalada Maligawa premises. A large crowd was inside the Sri Dalada Maligawa. After offering flowers before the Sacred Tooth Relic, we were reciting some Gathas.

But we could not concentrate on our meditation for a long time due to the noisy ringing tone of a mobile phone. An interlude of a popular Sinhala song was playing and the woman owner did not show any urgency or interest to switch it off. She started the phone conversation loudly and paid no heed to the other devotees around the premises.

Without switching off the mobile phone she kept on talking loudly and said: "Mal pooja karanna yanakotama thami me kol eka awe". (I received your phone call when I was ready to offer flowers)- Perhaps replying to a question from the other end she said: "Meheta vahinne Ne" (Here it is not raining) and kept on talking for a few more minutes disturbing and intruding into the meditative thoughts of the other devotees.

The other pilgrims looked at each other in consternation. A woman police constable also passed by and no advice came out from her as well. For me, the whole incident was a "show off" drama. I heard some of the devotees who came out from the Dalada Maligawa after the incident, criticising the authorities. They posed the question : We don't know why pilgrims are allowed to switch on their mobile phones inside the Sri Dalada Maligawa?

Instead of being forced by authority why can't we cultivate responsible behaviour by simply using our common sense? was the question in my mind.