Every month,the Buddhist poya holiday celebrates the full moon. Believers wear white and spend the day in temple, praying, meditating, being. At Karagampitiya in Colombo, these men dyed the fabric for monks' robes. Historically, monks' robes were made from rags and clothing of the deceased. Plant material provided the "discolor" of the cloth. Blue, yellow and black were proscribed. Brown and its brilliant sister, saffron, remain the signature hues.  The fabric is torn and restitched to to resemble the patterns of rice paddies. All this to ward off attachment to possessions or luxuries. In a perverse logic, such a humbly attired monk will squat over an ornate commode, demonstrating disregard for any niceties.