Sri Lanka, April 6 -- Among all festive seasons celebrated in Sri Lanka, Avurudu must be the one that captures the national mood quite unlike any other. The country's media apparatus buzzes with what we have already heard and seen. Experts offer explanations and analyses, mostly unoriginal, about the history and other aspects of the ceremony. A minority camp takes a different path to question the festival's growing commercialism. Questioning is admirable and sometimes looks quite an edgy option.

The natural question is whether questioning or critiquing festival will serve any purpose. We can conveniently dismiss the Sinhala Tamil New Year solely for its commercial aspects. And the questioner often feels a self-assured sense of being unco...