HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
Monday 14th April is New Years day in Sri Lanka and is truly celebrated in style. Fire crackers start the day early and milk is boiled, kiribath made and lots and lots of sweet sugary treats adorn the tables of all Sri Lankan homes. Gifts of colourful traditional clothing are exchanged and everyone dances late into the night.
Here at SEDA Vocational Training Centre it was no different, although we celebrated early, we celebrated with much laughter, happiness, sugar, and lots and lots of dancing!
After a busy first month at the centre it was time to put down the scissors and glue, leave the envelopes and bags aside; now it was time for the young trainees to let their hair down and have some fun. The centre was awakened at 9am with a rainbow of brightly coloured tradition sarongs and skirts worn by all the trainees, accessorized of course with their bright orange uniform tops. It was a feast for the eyes and momentarily drew my attention away from the table full of sweet treats in the centre of the room!
Monday 14th April is New Years day in Sri Lanka and is truly celebrated in style. Fire crackers start the day early and milk is boiled, kiribath made and lots and lots of sweet sugary treats adorn the tables of all Sri Lankan homes. Gifts of colourful traditional clothing are exchanged and everyone dances late into the night.
Here at SEDA Vocational Training Centre it was no different, although we celebrated early, we celebrated with much laughter, happiness, sugar, and lots and lots of dancing!
After a busy first month at the centre it was time to put down the scissors and glue, leave the envelopes and bags aside; now it was time for the young trainees to let their hair down and have some fun. The centre was awakened at 9am with a rainbow of brightly coloured tradition sarongs and skirts worn by all the trainees, accessorized of course with their bright orange uniform tops. It was a feast for the eyes and momentarily drew my attention away from the table full of sweet treats in the centre of the room!
Before any sweet treats could be eaten the first event was the boiling of milk in a traditional clay pot fire. Now, i had to do this myself recently and it really isn't an easy task, and usually results in a pile of adults all crouched around the fire poking sticks and paper into the flames in a desperate bid to keep the flames alive. And today was no exception! Patiently the young trainees sat around watching their parents frantically bent on all fours around the flames as smoked billowed through the centre, i am sure they've seen this many times before! We all wanted one thing, sweets, so eventually the trainees moved forward around the clay pot fire, working together as they have been taught to do they quickly managed to get the flames settled and just as quick as they started the milk was boiled and fire crackers were set off....
Finally the attention was drawn back to the table full of sweet treats, was it time to eat now? Well a few more ceremonial traditions were conducted and gifts presented to all the trainees and teachers, and finally the table was surrounded by sugar hungry guests piling plates high with cakes and traditional treats, washed down with lashings of sweet milky tea.... With all that sugar intake there was only one way to get rid of the energy, lots of games and dancing, and boy are these young people good at doing all that!!
They have a unique version of pinata over here, a terracotta jar filled with coloured liquid hung from a line across the yard of the VTC, the young trainees armed with a large wooden stick, blind folded and spun around 3 times. One at a time they stumbled across the yard aimlessly swinging the large wooden stick into mid air, a few of them catching the edge of the jar, but not enough to smash it open. Then, when least expected, up steps a young lad, troubled with co-ordination but determined none the less. Just as all the others had done before him hes spun round with the blind fold and left to stagger around trying to guess where the hanging jug might be, it seems he is way off the mark when he swings back the heavy wooden stick ready to make his move.... Then, out of no where he swings himself round and with all his might the wooden stick comes hurling round and WHAAAAAMMMMMMMM... The jar smashes into pieces and the coloured liquid splatters all over the coconut trees, dripping onto the floor as the crowd of trainees erupts into a frenzy of excited applause. Its a beautiful sight, such genuine happiness, and that young lad mesmerized that despite his clumsy coordination he could shatter a jug blindfolded in true ninja style!!!
But i think what really touched me on this special day of celebration was coming next, back in the VTC the music had started to play and the vibes were starting to excite the trainees even further. One by one the more confident ones grabbed the hands of their friends and made some space, as i looked around the girls were starting to move their hips to the rhythm, and the guys were stepping to the beat. Enticing me in one girl started to move her arms just like all the traditional Sri Lankan dancers ive seen at festivals, the boys followed suit moving their arms like all the vibrant male dancers at our wedding a few months prior. Before i knew it i was pulled in and dancing with the most passionate dancers i had seen, hips bouncing, arms enticing, boys clapping and stamping, smiles abound from every view i had. Some of the guys took the hands of some of the girls and started swirling them around, it was like Strictly Come Dancing had taken over SEDA Sri Lanka.
But i think what really touched me on this special day of celebration was coming next, back in the VTC the music had started to play and the vibes were starting to excite the trainees even further. One by one the more confident ones grabbed the hands of their friends and made some space, as i looked around the girls were starting to move their hips to the rhythm, and the guys were stepping to the beat. Enticing me in one girl started to move her arms just like all the traditional Sri Lankan dancers ive seen at festivals, the boys followed suit moving their arms like all the vibrant male dancers at our wedding a few months prior. Before i knew it i was pulled in and dancing with the most passionate dancers i had seen, hips bouncing, arms enticing, boys clapping and stamping, smiles abound from every view i had. Some of the guys took the hands of some of the girls and started swirling them around, it was like Strictly Come Dancing had taken over SEDA Sri Lanka.
For those of you who know me i love to dance, in my life i have been fortunate to be surrounded by dance, some of the most talented dancers, some of the most passionate dancers that i have taught and been taught with. But this was something different that i hadn't experienced before, there was a happiness about this that was deeply meaningful, a sense of freedom from the boundaries that surround their daily lives. This New Years celebrations i sense were just the start of a very magical journey these young people have started, and the freedom they expressed in their dance was just a small insight into the freedom they are experiencing in their new roles as trainees at the VTC.
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