Story of the Ratmalana Maha Pahan Kuduwa

 

Pics by Chandana Wijesinghe

It was Vesak season late 1950s. An innovative 12 year old kid from Ratmalana was bored with the usual lanterns he made for Vesak. He wanted to do something new, something different.  But during this period they didn’t have electricity. Yet he wanted to break new ground. After trying out few plans, he understood that he could make use of the Kuppi Lampuwa (kerosene lamp) to light up the lantern. He made a lantern which could rotate around the lamp. Also the light of the lamp made the lantern more ‘alive’. The 12-year-old was proud and overjoyed as the villagers flocked to see his creation. Unfortunately his happiness was short lived. Wind was strong that day and the lantern caught fire.

Within seconds the lantern was burnt to a crisp. Other kids, who weren’t happy with his new lantern because it distracted villagers from their lanterns, made fun of him. This was too much for the 12-year-old. He was shocked and disappointed that his days of hard work were destroyed within seconds. “But I wasn’t demotivated. Next year, I used a patrol max instead of the lamp. It was a success and my lantern became popular among the villagers,” that 12-year-old who tried to rotate a lantern around a kerosene lamp, today, the creator of the most popular as well as the largest lantern, the Ratmalana Maha Pahan Kuduwa, Gunasena Kurukulasuriya recalled how he was inspired to make magnificent lanterns employing the finest of engineering and art.

He was the eldest son of a single-parent family. His father had passed away when he was a child and he had a younger sister to take care of. After finishing his studies he joined a private company in 1969. The same year, one of his colleagues who knew what Kurukulasuriya was capable of, invited him to make a Vesak lantern at his hometown in Ratnapura. Kurukulasuriya agreed. With the help of the villagers in Ratnapura he created his first ever lantern using electricity. People in Ratnapura were excited by his creativity and invited him to construct another giant lantern the following year. “It was near the Ratnapura hospital. A massive crowd came to see the lantern. It was exhibited free of charge at the time. I remember that the buses that came to the bus stand were empty. The queue was so long that people had to walk a long distance to see the lantern,” he recalled.

In 1972, he started to build the lantern in Ratmalana, near the railway station. “My first lantern made in Ratmalana using electricity wasn’t very big, but was eye-catching enough to make people enthusiastic about Vesak decorations. And I was motivated,” he said. Next year, with the help and encouragement of the villagers he created a giant awe-inspiring lantern. He recounted his memories about this lantern made in 1973. “The lantern was built atop a giant iguana which moved its legs as if it was walking. A dog started barking nonstop, since it was switched on. We tried to chase the dog away but it kept on coming back,” he said.

The next morning while he was still tired from the previous day’s work, a group came to his house claiming that the lantern has been vandalized. He was shocked and ran to the lantern. “It was no thief. It was the dog. It had waited until we left to see this giant iguana and has pulled out the iguana’s legs.” He said that was enough proof for how lively his creation was. However, he managed to repair the lantern before it was opened for public again in the evening.

He started making a large scale lantern for Vesak 43 years ago and the lantern has been built in Ratmalana most of the time. Kurukulasuriya had also taken his annual Vesak lantern to various parts of the island including, Ratnapura, Borella Campbell Park, Seeduwa, Peliyagoda near Kelanitissa power plant and Bellanwila. In 2003, he was invited to display his lantern in Singapore for five days. “I was surprised to receive such an invitation. I was hesitant to go but the maha sangha and my friends encouraged me to go. It was a great opportunity to display the talent of our country. It attracted a large crowd,” he recalled.

He said, each year he attempts to make a lantern better than the previous year. His lanterns are designed around a particular Jathaka story. He explained how it takes him one whole year to find the best Jathaka story, get the material ready and build the lantern.

It is no surprise that it takes such a long time, looking at the complex designs and how he has gone over every little detail. He also said that choosing a Jathaka story for the lanterns is not an easy task. “It should convey a striking message to the society as well as be vivid enough to be conveyed through a lantern. I have to read the Jathaka Potha many a times to select the best story each year,” he said.

The total cost of making this extravagant lantern exceeds Rs six million today. He explained that this is why he has to charge the public for viewing, so that it will cover the cost. “The price of a ticket started from five cents. It gradually became 50 rupees. And I don’t want to increase it further,” he iterated. He said that his intention is not to make money from the lantern and if he is to charge the public more, his motive will be lost. However, he has been living with what he earned from the lantern as he lost his job in 1983, for the simple reason that his priority was the lantern. Explaining further he said that this is the same reason he has decided to stop creating the lantern. “The cost is too much,” he confided.

He drew attention to the thousands of Vesak lanterns transforming the city during Vesak season. “The Vesak lantern should be something which brings the family together. It nurtures the creativity of the child. If he or she was encouraged to make something this Vesak season and his or her creativity is admired, next year he will think of improving his lantern,” he said. “Parents may wonder about the significance of letting the child waste his or her time on creating a lantern rather than buying something from a wayside stall. But what they cannot see is how the child hones his skills and creativity through the process,” Kurukulasuriya reiterated.

He also said that he is worried that there won’t be anyone to carry on his lantern-making tradition. He also expressed his concern about frauds that make use of his name to promote their lanterns. Kurukulasuriya, over the years, has tried to train someone using his skills and teach him to create something similar. “Few years ago, I invited students from Prince of Wales, Moratuwa to show them how the lantern was made. But I didn’t find the person I was searching for,” he said. “I would be glad if someone comes to me to learn this art, but he should acquire all the necessary skills from engineering to art and sculpture. It is no easy task,” he added.

In conclusion, he emphasized that he would not continue to create this outstanding Vesak lantern, the largest in Sri Lanka, if he has to increase the price of the ticket. “I cannot afford to continue to build the lantern without increasing the ticket price, which I will not do. But I will be more than happy to work on it again, if someone or some company volunteers to sponsor it. I will do it under their name so that they can promote themselves,” he said. “But on one condition; they have to exhibit the lantern free of charge to the general public.”