Bonsai art of aristocracy exhibition of bonsai on october 31

The Chinese were the first to plant miniature trees in dishes and even today bonsai is part of Chinese culture. However it was not the Chinese who introduced the art of bonsai to the rest of world; it was the Japanese.

Buddhist monks probably took Bonsai to Japan in the 10th and 11th centuries. For them they were religious objects, 'verdant stairways leading to Heaven'.

During the Yuan dynasty (AD 1280-1368) Japanese government ministers and merchants brought home bonsai as presents from China. Around 1644, a Chinese official fled from the rule of Manchu's to Japan.

He took with him his entire collection of bonsai literature and it was his specialist knowledge that contributed to the spread of the art in Japan. Around this time Japan was beginning to establish its own form of bonsai cultivation.

This art which was at first the preserve of the Japanese aristocracy, the Samurai, because a hobby for all only at the end of the last century.

No one can fail to be enchanted by these perfect little trees growing in dishes and resembling in every detail except size, trees growing in the wild. A little bit of skill is needed to shape and tend to the bonsai.

But anyone who has had the luck with other plants will get a great deal of pleasure from creating a bonsai.

The members of the Sri Lanka Bonsai Association will be exhibiting bonsai, which have been created recently to ones that have been with them for over 15 years.

There will be over 100 bonsai on display. The visitor will be able to see the magnificent trees found in Sri Lanka in miniature form and marvel at the skill of the local bonsai enthusiasts. The Sri Lanka Bonsai Association will hold its 16th Annual Exhibition "Reflections 2008 Natural Images" at the Art Gallery, Green Path, Colombo 7 from October 31 to November 2.

The exhibition will be open from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm. Demonstrations in Sinhala and English will be on November 1 and 2 at 11.00 am. and 4.00 pm.

His Excellency Kiyoshi Araki, Ambassador of Japan and Madam Araki will open this exhibition on October 31st at 11.00 am.

Green Fingers:

Time to go

Ravindhu MAHENDRA

"Have you been to Gala ( the rock) yet? There is a surprise for you, go find it."

My mother pointed at the great Talpot palm tree flowering behind the house.

Gala the huge rock platform spread out on my grandmother's coconut field was our favourite place to play during the school holidays. I went along to see the surprise and saw the massive Talpot palm tree (Corypha umbraculifera) by the rock had turned into another tree. The palm tree had been there as long as I remember, but there was another cone shape tree erected on the top of that tree.

"Tal tree is going to flower soon. It's not a good omen. I waited for you to see it before I cut it down."

"Why is it a bad omen?" I asked

"That's the end. It doesn't normally flower roughly for hundred years and when it does, that's the end of its life. It's believed to be bringing bad luck for the family,"grandmother said. We used to call her Meewala Amma.

"I remember there was a Tala flower during our father's funeral," my mother joined in.

"Yes I remember too, it was on the other side of the rock, wasn't it?" That was my little aunt.

"But nothing is going to happen now, all fit and healthy no one is going to die because of a flower?" I said.

"Sh ... Sh ...never say that again, do you know how old your grandmother is?" one of my aunties whispered in my ear.

Father and I started to talk about the Tala flower ( Tala mala).

"I think there are lots of reasons to take that flower as a bad omen, before we started using papers all the writings were done on palm leaves. You might have heard about palm leaf manuscripts. I'll show you one when we get home. All the Buddhist scripts, Ayurveda scripts and all other ancient writings were written on processed palm leaves. So people treat it as a sacred tree."

"And also its young leaves are very useful for making mats; they are tough and long lasting. Monks still use them as their sleeping mats as do lay people. It would be very difficult for us to dry rice before it goes to the mill without those mats. I'm really sad about losing this tree. We used to make lots of mats from this tree. Never mind... Nothing is permanent. Fortunately we've got another one taking over its job, growing just behind the house. That tree is a bit younger than this. So it will stay for a while,"grandmother added.

"There will be thousands and thousands of little flowers and the pollen can cause asthma and other medical conditions like that, and also thousands of seedlings will come up soon and spread over miles. As they are very resilient, farmers and the land owners won't be very happy." That was the explanation from one of my uncles who always like to analyse something scientifically.

"Somehow any tree should reproduce and die," I added.

"You are right, but that is the actual problem here. As it takes a very long time to get mature generations and generations benefit from it. Eventually the tree becomes part of their life like a great family member, so its sudden death after flowering must be a major event. That must be the reason for the people to take it as a bad omen." My father concluded while grandmother nodded.

It didn't matter for me what people believed about the palm tree flowering and it was just a great event for me to see this gigantic flower opening. But I knew the whole bad omen idea really troubled my grandmother and the tree was at risk before its flowered properly. I begged my grandmother to save it until it flowered and naturally died.

"Oh .... Well omens are omens and the life goes on. Whatever is going to happen it will happen and no one could stop it. If you want me to save it I will... promise. Make sure you come and enjoy it though," she said and it really surprised me as I knew what she really believed.

It took a whole year for the flowers to open and produce seeds. Finally it scattered seeds and died. During that time I managed to get closer and closer to my grandmother and learnt lots from her. It was the most beautiful one I've ever had with my ever sweet grandmother. She was still making mats from the other palm tree for the temple and she hoped it wouldn't flower before it was time for her to go.

Exactly a couple of years ago I received a text message from my little brother: "Meewela amma is gone."

She was 92 and led a very meaningful life. I flew back home to see her to say a final good bye and it was the oddest feeling I've ever had in my life. She didn't come to say hello to me as usual. I felt everything was frozen and lifeless. The front door was open and I could see her sleeping with a peaceful smile. My mother pointed at the great Talpot palm tree flowering behind the house. It almost looked like she was sleeping underneath the tree.

"Be realistic," I forced myself.

A few minutes later I found myself sitting alone under the palm tree until my stubborn tears froze.

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My notes on Samson - 13

They say 13 brings bad luck. It is closely linked with Christianity and neighbouring themes. I never thought I could write at least this far, but on and off I have slowly reached my thirteenth note on Samson. I am happy.

My mother was with my elder brother's Saturday phone call. She was in fact responding to the customary inquiry about Samson - this happens mostly towards the end of the two-hour conversation. She sounded so unnerved about one particular habit of Samson.

"Whenever father takes the car out of the garage, he goes around it. I just can't tell you how it freaks me out."

"So what are you doing then? Aren't you putting him in the kennel?"

"No father doesn't like that. And malli doesn't care about that too. I have given up him now."

I heard my brother laughing over this. Mother still hasn't smelt of my trespass over the other phone located somewhere else.

"How long has this been happening mother?"

"For the past few weeks. I forgot to tell you."

"But he is still alive, isn't he?"

He is always like that. He passes some prankish comment and it scares off my mother who doesn't even want to listen to.

"Don't even dare say something like that. I am so worried about his habit. One day he will suffer. Remember what happened to previous Hippo?"

She referred to Hippo senior, who became a road kill in our absence. It was another shock for mother, though not bigger than Samson senior's death.

"Mother haven't I told you the brain capacity of a Doberman? Here they do thousand times advanced things with Dobermans. They are a lot who like adventure a lot."

"But, say he does it on a rainy day, and by any chance if he loses control. His legs are so slippery, you know that."

"Don't worry mother he will take care of it."

By this time I heard father stepping into the conversation. Mother passed him the phone.

"What I told mother," he started in a triumphant tone, "if she is so worried about my reversing, why can't she get the wheel for me?"

Mother, though off the phone now, was talking to father.

"You don't even let me put him in the kennel."

No need to repeat that to brother. He normally overhears it.

"You know, I don't like to have him caged just because I take the car out. By the way he should get used to it. You all said he is such a brainy guy, didn't you?" Our own trap had shut on us.

"Don't worry both of you," my brother started voicing his opinion, "I know for sure he will take care of you. But father, be a little cautious when taking the car out. Keep tabs on his movements."

"That I am already doing. I am so careful, and Samson knows what a good driver I am, and an easy old chap to deal with."

A triumphant Samson, without knowing what has taken place, still goes ahead with his routine. And my father - a self-claimed good driver - still takes the car out, driving mother wild.

Me? Well, I enjoy my thirteenth note actually taking place.

The Ceylon jungle :

Fowl
 

The Ceylon jungle fowl lives throughout Sri Lanka, wherever jungle or dense scrub of any extent is to be found, but it is nowadays common only in the wilder parts of the dry zone. It spends its life in the forest or its outskirts, never venturing from cover. However, in a wet weather, it likes to frequent open places, such as roadsides or glades, for the purpose of feeding free from drippings from the trees. Most of the daylight hours are spent on the ground. In the evening, they fly up into the trees to roost - usually singly, but sometimes in pairs or family parties. Unless disturbed they will use the same perch for a considerable period of time.

The Jungle fowl feeds on grain, weed-seeds, berries, various succulent leaves and buds and a large proportion of small animals, such as crickets, centipedes and termites: the latter form the main food of the chicks.

The main breeding season of the Jungle fowl is in the first quarter of each year, but often a second clutch is laid in August-September, and breeding may go on throughout the year. The chicks are very precocious, learning to scratch as soon as they leave the nest. However, they instantly scatter and hide at the mother's alarm call.

The Ceylon Jungle fowl, has rather surprisingly adapted to life in tea estates, where it spends the day under the dense cover, and the nights often up in a tree. It is found in well-shaded tea estates even far away from any natural forest. It is an endemic bird of Sri Lanka and has the distinction of being the National Bird of the country.

Source:

Henry, G.M.(1998). A Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka K.V.G.de Silva & Sons, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Picture by Gihan Jayasinghe

Shoot for fun N fame

"Hey, guys! You must see this...Why don't you join me up here?"

"Wow! You are correct, Doby. What a lovely view it is from up here..."

They could not find any mountains so they chose a tree. The ground was bare so they enjoyed a snack on the boughs. How on earth they managed it is still a mystery to me.

Ruwini J.