Come with me and do the devil mask dance in Sri Lanka! Elsie Gabriel

Come with me and do the devil mask dance in Sri Lanka! Elsie Gabriel

 I loved the drama, the entertainment, historic ritual and of course the anthropology involved in the beautiful colorful ‘masks’ worn during the charade. Sri Lanka is fascinating. An island famous for its pristine beaches and wild life, you have to give in to the ancient cultural mythological stories when it comes to the history of ‘Masks’. Masks used in various dramatic rituals in Sri Lanka can be classified as demonic, animal-spirit and human figures. The significance and designs of mythological masks are associated with iconography of the folk religions of the historical period.

The Mask dance is said to have been a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka’s pre-Buddhist past. The Lankans love their visual art and the ‘Mask’ is one highly coloured and revered piece of artifact used in religious ceremonies as well as entertainment. The masks are mainly made from a durable wood called ‘Kaduru’.  The wood is light and allows carvings to be made very easily.

 The ‘mask’ rules in most ceremonial and devotional performances. The use of masks in  rituals and ceremonies is a very ancient human practice across the world, although masks can also be worn for protection, in hunting, in sports, in feasts or in wars or simply used as ornamentation. Some ceremonial or decorative masks were not designed to be worn. Although the religious use of masks has waned, masks are used sometimes in drama therapy or psychotherapy.

If you ever go to Sri Lanka do not miss the ‘devil mask’ dancing which is generally performed with the motive of healing. These are also accompanied by drummers, to enhance the accompanying crazy steps and movements of dancers wearing the geometrically brightly coloured masks.

It is an extraordinary cultural phenomenon .Mask dancing and drama are mostly  attempts at invoking the supernatural. But the most elaborate masks are for drama. It is more like an opera, having a central theme and a series of episodes enacted by dances wearing masks of different sizes, culminating in the dramatic presentation of a story. 

Try and find a local Mask maker and see how well it is chiseled, crafted and painted. Each one is a master piece!

By hiding your face the mask allows you to play a totally different role, it gives you the liberty to assume another personality. It is symbolic and magical, anonymous and mysterious.Well when I danced the mask dance in Sri Lanka, I felt liberated; the mask did not hide my persona but accentuated my feeling s of freedom. 

Try one next time. 

Think of it, the Mardi
gras, the African cultures, South Indians and Chinese dragon mask dances all simply celebrate cultural well being!

The New Zealand experience. Elsie Gabriel .Beacon Holidays. Food Bloggers Association.

 Exploring the Kiwi Experience.

The New Zealand experience was brought alive on the APB cooking studio tables recently by Beacon Holidays in association with New Zealand Tourism and the Food Bloggers Association, India.
I walked into a room full of delightful aromas arising from Lamb mince pie,Lamb cutlets and Lam Kababs, all cooking in Kiwi style.

Heena Munshaw played the perfect host, dynamic and informative, Munshaw knows every spot on the globe on the back of her hand. You want to travel, just ask her, more than details she spins out passion for travelling with minute attraction and cultural habits of the destination. She has been there and done that. She is the traveling expert alright! Heena Munshaw is the Managing Director of Beacon Holidays, worldwide.

‘ There are ‘farm stays’ in New Zealand which let you soak in the culture of the farm and outdoors, “ says Heena, “ Fruits and vegetables growing in plenty with so much to share. People simple share their produce of nature at the farm gates in baskets where people passing by drop in ‘honour money’ whatever they feel for the produce they pick up. Natural fresh food is in plenty. It is a joy to see abundance of natural environment around.”
Being an avid traveler I had sold my soul to New Zealand already.
The New Zealand wines offered was generous, at the ‘Bloggers cook off ‘ which was got together by the Food Bloggers association. What a brilliant idea of getting all the bloggers together Sameer Malkani of FBAI, you did do justice to New Zealand.

Farmers in New Zealand cater to excellent world class lamb, beef and dairy. The grasslands are pure and meadows so organic, what more could one ask for? A piping-hot roast lamb is a kiwi staple surrounded by  fresh vegetables. As a nation surrounded by the sea, in New Zealand you can get spoilt with fresh seafood year-round, they say. Many exotic sea food dishes hence turn up at every gourmet table there.

New Zealanders also love their Pavlova.  And one of the contestants made the most perfect one.

A meringue dessert that’s topped with cream and fresh fruit, Pavlova is a permanent fixture at many family meals too.Almost everything has the delicious kiwifruit which is a small and furry green fruits.

The cooks that day made several lip smacking dishes like Lamb Kababs which stole the show that afternoon. The Lamb cutlets were very close behind , I must say the cutlets were paired with the most amazing Salsa-Mustard-Kiwi combo sauce which was a tantalizing delight flavouring the cutlets.

These dishes distinctly had a New Zealand style with a sweet twist which made the afternoon blissfully Kiwi.

The New Zealand summer sees many eat outdoors, often in a barbecue setting. Kiwi barbecues - featuring New Zealand beef, lamb and seafood - are a big part of the culture, and typify the laid-back nature of the New Zealand people.

Another style of all-year-round outdoor cooking is the traditional Maori hangi ,cooked underground on hot coals, usually prepared for special occasions. It includes a vegetable called the Kumara, along with chicken, pork, lamb, potatoes and other vegetables.

I want to go to New Zealand only to bring back tales of the smoky flavours of the' hangi ' cooked underground, which is delicious and an essential culinary experience while in New Zealand.

I gottya mouth watering didn’t I, well New Zealand it is!

On an indulgence trip in neon lit Chinatown, Sydney! Australia. Elsie Gabriel

On an indulgence trip in neon lit Chinatown, Sydney! Australia.

Salt and Pepper squid, Yum cha, soupy noodles, dumplings, crispy duck, tapioca pearls or just a simple chili chicken dripping with sauce and peaking duck, you can have your pick? From Thai to Malaysian, Cantonese to Vietnamese, the melting pot of eateries, gracious staff courteously beckoning you join the tables laid out on the streets, there was no stopping me, I was on an indulgence trip. Red décor, Chinese lanterns everywhere and neon-lit food in Chinatown are downright irresistible. So, where are we? Sydney, imagine!

After a fortnight in main Australia my taste buds yearned for some hot spicy Asian cuisine. Bang on, right next to our hotel the Sheraton Sydney, close to the heart of the city, there seemed hope for this gourmet lover who tracked down  Chinatown is an urban locality in the southern part of the Sydney Central Business District,Australia.

It is a beautiful pedestrian street filled with Chinese restaurants and you are spoiled for choice. Chinatown is centered around Dixon Street and Haymarket area.

The Chinese neighborhood is brimming with business and lots of chatter. Lively place alright. You can absorb all the Chinese culture around you. We didn’t know where to start, it was quite over whelming with all Chinese stalls around you, each one as enticing as the other.

A good hot plate of sumptuous Chinese food made our day and we could now shop. I got the best traditional Asian food outside of Asia right here in Chinatown Sydney.

 You can also visit some of the dessert and bakeries that are around the town. All at affordable prices. The Emperors Puff center was amazing, a heavily guarded secret recipe place where they churn out soft tiny puffs that simply melt in your mouth. An excellent desert place where you have to stand in a long queue to simply get a taste of some, the wait is worth the line. It is said it is an ancestral bakery and the ingredients are passed down from one generation of Chinese to the next.

When most Sydney restaurants are closed, Chinatown is open for a sumptuous meal. They have ‘all you can eat’ fixed menus and a la carte ones too but the assorted dimsum carts that follow you around simply make you sign up first. You can choose and pick or simply have them all. That is what Chinatown in Sydney does to yaaaaa

Getting to Chinatown-

We simply walked across to the Chinatown from the Sheraton But if you are driving, your most convenient carpark would be the Entertainment Carpark with entrances from Quay St in the south or Pier St in the north. Alternatively, park at the Goulburn Parking Station at the corner of Goulburn and Elizabeth Sts and walk west.

If going by public transport:

• The tram and Darling Harbour monorail have stops at Haymarket.
• Take any bus passing through George St and get off at a bus stop close to Hay St.
• If taking the train, get off at Central Station, walk north along Belmore Park to Hay St, then walk west on Hay.