Discovery Channel discovers Kataragama

[Guest guest]

>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.