Kumala Wijeratne, GPJ Sri Lanka
Mahendra Sellammah’s daughter, 14-year-old Varshini, wears earrings purchased on Akshaya Thritiya last year. The earrings were an unusual purchase for Sellammah, who, like others who can’t afford to purchase gold or other high-end items each year, usually celebrates the day by preparing special meals or buying small household items.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA ─ Shanmuganathan Shanthi, 52, planned her gold purchases long before May 9, the day of this year’s Akshaya Tritiya festival.
Hindus believe the festival to be an auspicious day of prosperity, and during the event many buy gold and other high-value items and even launch businesses.
Raised partly in India, Shanmuganathan says she was influenced by the Akshaya Tritiya celebration held among Hindus there.
“The North Indians believe that even a gram of gold purchased on Akshaya Tritiya would bring a fortune,” she says. “For about three years, I too joined this gold rush and always bought different items, adding to my collection.”
Even when her three daughters were growing up, Shanmuganathan says she always bought at least one item of gold jewelry each year. It has sentimental value, she says, and it can be used as collateral for cash.
“It was a habit to buy gold, even in a small way on special occasions,” she says. “This habit has helped to get over hard times when gold could be pawned, redeemed and sold for a better price.”
Shanmuganathan’s jewelry is in a bank locker. She says she only wears a few items during festive occasions.
Tamils believe the value of gold extends beyond its monetary worth, she says.
“The Tamil community believes that gold is a symbol of prosperity,” she says. “Even during riots and civil war, it did not deter them from investing in gold. The rituals were always taken care of.”
The Akshaya Tritiya festival originated with Hindu Brahmins and those practicing Jainism in India, says Mani Srinivasa, a Hindu chief priest.
“The word Akshaya in Sanskrit means ‘not diminishing’ or ‘bountiful’ and brings positive results when one makes a good start,” Srinivasa says. “Long-term investments such as gold, silver, gems, property increases in number, and inaugurating any business venture or construction undertaken will prosper.”
For some devout Hindus, the Akshaya Tritiya festival is primarily a religious event. Many seek blessings from gods, mainly Vishnu and Lakshmi.
“Devotion to the gods is a priority for me, and Lakshmi is the goddess of prosperity,” said S. Rajeswari Rajendran, 60, in a phone interview. “Lakshmi is always pictured with much gold and depicts prosperity. This is one reason why women in the community traditionally wear a lot of gold.”
But Srinivasa, the Hindu chief priest, says Akshaya Tritiya no longer has a religious focus.
“The festival has been commercialized, mainly by jewelers,” he says.
The festival has been celebrated in Sri Lanka by Tamil Hindus for generations, but when the country’s civil war ended in 2009, the festival shifted focus to emphasize buying gold, he says.
Nivetha Thangaraj is marketing manager of Devi Jewellers, a traditional gold jewelry store that has been in operation in Colombo for 50 years. The store prepares months in advance of Akshaya Tritiya, she says.
Customers come and place their orders weeks or even months before the Akshaya Tritiya day, and then come to the store on the day of the festival to collect their gold jewelry, she says.
Almost all of the store’s regular customers buy gold on the day of the festival, she says.
“Gold is a good investment, a parallel to cash in hand, and the price of gold is always on the increase,” Thangaraj says. “Women view this as their main saving and the value given to jewelry among Tamil Hindus is great.”
Rajendran says she has collected gold over the years and she has sold or pawned the items when money was needed in an emergency.
“Owning gold gives one a sense of security,” she says.
Chamindri Hemachandra is managing director of Mallika Hemachandra Jewellers, a family-owned and -managed jewelry business.
She says that while the majority of the customers who buy jewelry on Akshaya Tritiya are from the Tamil community, there are also a few from the Sinhalese and Muslim communities who take advantage of the potential blessings that could come from purchasing on that day.
“While the Sinhalese give priority to investing on property, Tamils give preference to gold, as they collect gold for dowry,” she says, based on her experience with clients. “On Akshaya Tritiya, the emphasis is on gold, and the weight in gold, even if small, is considered significant.”
Not all Hindu devotees from the Tamil community can afford to buy gold during Akshaya Tritiya, Srinivasa says. Some emphasize buying expensive items on this day, but the Hindu religion does not insist on it, he says.
Saffron, salt and paddy (unhusked rice grains) can also be purchased to bring good fortune, he says, in addition to gold, silver, gems, houses, vehicles and property.
Mahendra Sellammah, 50, is the mother of a teenage daughter and the sole breadwinner in her family. Her husband is partially blind and unable to work.
“My in-laws considered it as a tradition, and since then I have performed the rituals to celebrate and gain blessings from the gods,” Sellammah says.
Sellammah only bought gold jewelry once during the festival, a pair of small earrings for her daughter. She celebrates the day without focusing on gold and expensive items, she says.
Sellammah earns 750 Sri Lankan rupees a day ($5.10) as an office worker in Colombo.
She says her family celebrates the festival at home in simple ways. For example, she begins the day by cleaning the house and cooking a special milk rice with green gram, rice, jaggery (unrefined palm sugar), nuts and coconut milk.
“On Akshaya Tritiya day, we make it a priority to purchase something of value for the house,” she says. “It could be a stainless steel pot or utensil.”
Kumala Wijeratne, GPJ, translated two interviews from Tamil and one interview from Sinhala.
