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| Sunday, 09 April 2006 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Death of tortoise saddens many It was a sad day for the officials as well as the visitors to the Kolkata Zoo in India. The famous 255-year-old tortoise, which had entertained visitors for over 130 years, was dead! Two hundred and fifty five years? you may ask. Well, this doesn't seem so unusual for a tortoise, as the animal's average lifespan is said to exceed 100 years. In fact, it's one of the longest living animals in the world. The giant Aldabra tortoise in the Indian zoo, known as Adwaitya (The One and Only in Bengali), died after a string of illnesses including liver failure. Despite his long life, he only became sick eight years ago when an infection was detected in his legs, for which he was successfully treated. Adwaitya again became ill several months ago after a crack developed around a wound on his chest. "Adwaitya will be missed by all the zoo employees, who are saddened by his death. His shell will be preserved in the zoo," Kolkata Zoo Director, Subir Chowdhury said. The tortoise was brought to the eastern Indian city (earlier known as Calcutta) during the rule of the British East India Company. It was one of four tortoises brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands, as gifts to the British general Robert Clive of this company (the famous British military officer in colonial India around the middle of the 18th century). The other three died soon after they arrived in Kolkata. Adwaitya spent many years in Clive's large estate before being brought to the zoo, 130 years ago. Adwaitya was known as the oldest tortoise in the world although there's no scientific proof for this claim. There are records that he is over 150 years old, but after analysing statements from authentic sources, it has been decided that he's over 250 years old. "Our records show the tortoise was born in 1750, but some have claimed he was born in 1705," Chowdhury said. He added that the zoo will use a scientific method known as carbon-dating to determine his real age. Aldabra tortoises are mostly found in Aldabra, an atoll in the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles. The atoll is protected from human influence, and is home to some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world's largest population of the animal, according to the United Nations world heritage body. A tortoise of this species weighs about 120kg (265 pounds) and lives for over 100 years. Special radio channel for children by Nihal P. Abeysinghe It was an amazing sight. Stilt-walkers about 10-12 feet tall were walking along Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. Beside them, there were little nilames dressed in full regalia and a few drummers. Following them closely was a perahera with up country and low country dancers.
What was this and where were they headed? The children's perahera was organised in connection with the launch of Vidula, the first dedicated radio channel for children, which took place on March 28. It was making its way to the Independence Square from the Viharamahadevi Park. After the perahera arrived at its destination, Vidula was launched by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), heralding the freedom granted to the creative spirit of all the children in the island. Vidula was launched by President Mahinda Rajapakse, under the initiative of the National Year for Children. It will be carried out under the supervision of Media Minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and SLBC Chairman, Sunil Sarath Perera. Vidula got under way with the 'Rajadani Tharanaya' launched beside the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi on March 15. This was a marathon, comprising students taking turns between Anuradhapura and Colombo to deliver a special message to the President.
Children from all parts of the country, from areas like Matara, Anuradhapura, Puttalam and Ragama got the opportunity to get on stage and sing, dance, present dramas and display other talents for the whole country to hear. This laid the foundation for Vidula's objective; to provide a stage for children from all corners of the country, to display their talents. Some of the experiences that the children were able to witness were, how to make konda kavum and kitul jaggery, how a newspaper comes off the press, how to bring up a plant properly and making paper bags at home. Some of these experiences proved to be useful not only for children, but for adults as well. A novel experience for most of the children was a low-flying helicopter, which extended its greetings to the newly launched radio channel. A show presented by police dogs was going on at the main stage, after which the drama 'Nari Bena' was staged. The event came to a close with the children's movie 'Handaya' being screened, but not before all participating children had been presented with certificates. Meanwhile, at the SLBC headquarters, children were conducting the programmes with support from professional announcers. It is the view of most critics that there are hardly any children's programmes in modern radio, and that even the existing programmes are of a low standard. Although local children are vastly talented, the opportunity to display their talents through the media, especially for rural children, is limited. Only the SLBC has offered such programmes and the children who emerged through them are today professional artists of repute. Vidula will be broadcast through the frequencies FM 102.6 from Colombo and 86.7 from Udaradella, from 5.30am to 10.00pm. Important week for all communities This week is important for all communities and religions in this country, not only because we celebrate the Sinhala and Hindu New Year, but also because the Holy Prophet's Birthday, Bak Poya, Good Friday and Easter Sunday also fall within the week. Milad-Un-Nabi or Holy Prophet's Birthday will be commemorated by Muslims all over the world on Tuesday the 11th. Prophet Mohammed (Muhammad), who is the central figure and founding prophet of the Muslim faith, is said to have been born in c570 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe that the angel Gabriel appeared to Prophet Muhammad when he was 40 years old, and told him that he was to be the messenger of god. Thereafter, he spent his life winning converts and uniting Arabia behind his faith, which came to be known as Islam. The Bak Poya falls on the 13th and will be observed by Buddhists in the country with religious activities such as visiting temples and observing sil. The Bak Poya commemorates the Buddha's second visit to Sri Lanka on the fifth year of His enlightenment. Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which are important days for Catholics and Christians, will be celebrated on April 14 and 16 respectively. Good Friday is a day of grief and sorrow for Christians and Catholics all over the world, as it was on a similar day that Jesus was nailed to the cross, where he eventually died. Jesus, who died on Good Friday, is believed to have risen from the
dead, three days later, on Easter Sunday. This day marks Jesus' rising
from the dead. It is one of the most important and joyous occasions in the
calendar for Christians and Catholics.
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