The Melsiripura Sirisangabo Poson Dansala (alms hall) which is considered the oldest dansala in the island will be held for the 78th consecutive year on June 21, 22 and 23.
The dansala which was started 77 years ago even before the country gained independence is very popular among pilgrims who travel along the Kurunegala- Dambulla main road to visit sacred places such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Seruwila, Nagadeepa and Mihintale during the Poson season.
Sirisangabo Poson dansala Society President H.P.K.M.K. Perera said that the main objective of conducting the dansala is to provide the pilgrims who travel to sacred places during the Poson season with refreshments and meals. “We started this dansala on May 10, 1947 in a cadjan hut.
But today, we have a large building complex of our own with all the facilities such as a well equipped kitchen, a store room, a room to keep the cooked food, modern toilets, a special alms hall for clergy , an office and a water supply project. Residents in 18 villages around the Melsiripura town extend their fullest co-operation towards this meritorious deed. Nearly 75,000 pilgrims visited our dansala last year. We expect more than 85,000 pilgrims this year,” he said.
Perera said that even the Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike visited this dansala and enjoyed refreshments during the Poson season in 1956 on his way back to Colombo with some foreign Ambassadors after attending Buddha Jayanthi festival in Anuradhapura.
When the Ambassadors had tried to pay money for the food, Prime Minister Bandaranaike had said that Sri Lankans are very hospitable and they do not charge money for food served in the festive season. Then, the Ambassadors had said that they had never seen any other place in the world that provides delicious food free.
Islamists, Hindus and Christians in the area have also become members of the dansal society. There are nearly 1,000 registered members in the society.
