Guest guest Posted September 4, 2000 Report Share Posted September 4, 2000 >Ronald Landry <webhawks >webhawks >vrin parker <vedic108 >Discovery Channel discovers Kataragama >Sun, 03 Sep 2000 05:03:19 -0400 > >http://hinduism.about.com/religion/hinduism/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://\ xlweb.com/heritage/skanda/index.htm > >Discovery Channel discovers Kataragama > > (Kataragama: 12 July 2000) > > The Discovery Channel, a US-based television documentary network, has >dispatched one of its television teams to Sri Lanka from 6-19 July 2000 >to produce a documentary about the Kataragama Pada Yatra and Esala >festival. The finished 18-minute segment will be telecast worldwide in >late October as part of a Discovery Channel special documentary. > > Director Ms Heidi Ewing of Gabriel Films (USA) is presently in >Kataragama with producer-cameraman Marcos Franzoni of Italy along with >Sri Lankan support from the Kataragama Devotees Trust (KDT) and Warner >Innovations. The film unit just returned from Pottuvil, Panama and >Okanda where it videotaped scenes of foot pilgrimage, jungle wildlife, >and interviews with pilgrims. > > In May director Ms Ewing accidentally discovered the new Internet >website of Kataragama (www.kataragama.org). Her original intention was >to make a documentary about kavadi rituals at Palani in South India. But >one visit to the extensive KDT website was enough to convince her that >the multi-religious Kataragama Esala festival would provide more >on-screen variety and colour. > > According to Ms Ewing, American television viewers are completely >unfamiliar with Kataragama or, for that matter, Sri Lanka at all. The >present documentary, masterly crafted with technical input from Sri >Lankan director and Kataragama devotee Manik Sandrasagra, will give >worldwide exposure to Kataragama and place it overnight on the map of >adventurous spiritual seekers everywhere. > > Ms Ewing says that she would like to undertake a series of >co-productions in collaboration with the Kataragama Devotees Trust and >the Cultural Survival Trust of Sri Lanka in the near future but declined >to give details. "It will be a big surprise for Sri Lankan and American >television viewers alike, so please stay tuned," she says. > > "The world deserves to learn about Kataragama as its traditional >custodians understand it," says Sandrasagra. "Only when the rest of the >world raves about Kataragama will the average Sri Lankan once again >respect our cultural heritage the way older generations once did." > > > Note: Visit www.kataragama.org regularly or to Murugan Bhakti >for latest details on these and other forthcoming documentaries about >Kataragama. > > Kataragama.org home page > > More about Kataragama Devotees Trust activities. > > > _______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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