Elanka shop donation programme

Visit eLanka Shop if you wish to give a grocery pack to your friend or family in Sri Lanka. Click here or on the image below to vist eLanka Shop https://elankashop.com/ 

You can also donate a grocery pack and as per the video above we will add your name ot the pack and donate to a poor family in Sri Lanka 

Simply wan tto donate? Visit our Go Fund Me page – https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-poor-family-in-sri-lanka-with-groceries 

Sunday Fair – A way of life: By Arundathie Abeysinghe

Vegetables to fruits, spices to sweets, dry fish, household goods including clay pots and cooking utensils, clothes, toys and plastic items such as plates, baskets, trays and cups are sold in plenty at a Sunday Fair in Sri Lanka. As almost everything under the sun is sold at a village fair, from the past to date a fair is very popular among village folk who visit it weekly to buy vegetables, fruits and essential household items. At present, urban dwellers too prefer to buy goods from a fair as vegetables and fruits are fresh and cheap at a fair.

Vivid colors of clothing materials, vegetables and fruits, sounds of vendors trying to sell their goods as well as the fragrance of fried peanuts, oil cakes and the aroma of freshly ground spices fill the air in a fair, a hive of activity from dawn to dusk.

As stalls are situated within a small space and there are lots of goods, there is limited space to move in between the stalls. Way of life in Sri Lanka can be seen at its best in a fair with traditional methods of trading.

As a fair is held close to a main road and there are traders on either side of the road including those in makeshift huts, it is a great opportunity for them to sell their produce and earn a good income. In the past, village fairs were a tradition and the only place to buy weekly essentials;   vegetables, fruits and grocery, household items as well as toys for kids.

Most of the items available in a fair can fit anyone’s purse. Yet, people have the habit of bargaining even for a few rupees. Some traders have the habit of adding a few more items than the purchased quantity, especially nuts and spices to attract more customers.

At present, the majority of vendors sell their goods, especially dry fish, cereals, nuts including peanuts and plastic goods in fairs in many parts of the country during weekdays too. These weekday fairs also equally popular among villagers and urban dwellers too.

Commonly known as ‘pola’ (fair), ‘sathi pola’ (weekly fair) or ‘game pola’ (village fair) in Sinhala, the Sunday Fair serves as the backbone of rural economies, a great boon to traders, a place where they can sell fresh vegetables and fruits grown by them. Pola forms a tradition amongst most Sri Lankans and although there are markets in town, many people prefer to buy from a ‘pola’. For the majority of people buying from a fair is a deviation although, there are markets and supermarkets all over the country.

Apart from selling and buying goods, ‘pola’ is also a meeting place for villagers and many people prefer to have a chit- chat with their neighbors or village folk while buying goods. 

At present, some fairs in Sri Lanka are ‘semi urban’ with an ‘urban feel’, especially those located near main roads. Yet, there are fairs which have the ‘rural feel’; the traders dressed in Sri Lankan native attire, males clad in sarong and females clad in cloth and jacket displaying their goods in large round baskets woven from green coconut palm leaves. Majority of them bring their produce in small lorries whereas, some traders bring their produce on bicycles, a scene which renders vivid memories of the past when public transport and private vehicles were not available in plenty in Sri Lanka.  

At the entrance to a fair there are wayside stalls with children’s toys such as dolls, toy cars and planes with traders trying to draw children’s attention by moving a car with flashing lights and horns. These items attract children and very often parents cannot leave the fair without buying at least a single item for the children who accompany them.

There are also stalls with knick-knacks of interest for females such as hair pins, bangles, jewelry (costume or plastic jewelry) including ear studs and necklaces. Very often females talk to each other and seek another female’s opinion before buying those items, whereas traders try their best to sell an item boasting about the quality of the item.

Cooking utensils, mainly clay pots are in great demand in a fair as there is a belief that those sold in a fair are of high quality. They are mostly in demand a few days before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April as milk rice as well as many curries are being prepared in these clay pots on hearths at the auspicious time. The clay pots are carefully stacked on straw for protection.

The king coconut seller popularly known as ‘thembili welenda’ has a good sale at a fair, if it is a sunny day. People make a bee line to the trader to sip a king coconut after buying their goods.

There is also a large kettle full of aromatic tea with bottles of sugar and jiggery as some people prefer to drink tea with jiggery instead of mixing sugar to tea.

Many traders bring their garden crops such as ‘kesel kena’ (banana clusters) and ‘pala’ (green leaves) which can be sold like hot cakes as they are fresh and cheaper than market products.

The stalls selling varieties of nuts including peanuts is a popular store as many people prefer to munch these nuts while they are walking and some buy them to be eaten during the day. Many traders selling nuts also sell ‘seeni bola’ (sugar candy), a favorite of children. There is also a trader selling candy floss in every fair and children are easily attracted to the trader. As candy floss melts in the mouth within seconds, children crave for more while they are in the fair. There are also small ice cream vans at the entrance to many fairs, popular among everybody.

A visitor to a fair can experience the rich warmth and rustic charm of typical ancient trading of Sri Lanka in the past.