Bhakthi Gee festival

Sri Nanda Sunday School is situated at Madinnagoda. Every Vesak, the school holds a bhakthi gee festival. For this Vesak too they organised a bhakthi gee festival on May 9. It was named `Srinada Sathsara'.

Everyone in the village helped to organise the festival. The Development Society of this Sunday school took priority in this festival. Every child in the Sunday School participated. Children sang songs going by their grade. That is, Grade One students had one song to sing and Grade Two students another.

This year three special items were also presented. One was a song sung by the teachers of the Sunday School, another item was a song sung by the members of the Elders' Society of the village.

They also presented a playlet for the prefect's song. Among all these items, the most attractive was the Grade Ten item presented by the students. The music for this item was provided by the students of the Sunday School.

Two other girl students and I played our violins and a boy played the keyboard. An uncle played the thabla for this song. Everyone played their instruments very nicely. I'm so proud because this item was the most attractive and I was also a member of the orchestra.

The main sponsor of this Bhakthi Gee Festival was the Ran FM Radio channel. Everyone got refreshments. The chief guests were the well-known actress, Semini Iddamalgoda, members of the Pradeshiya Sabha, the Chairman of the RTT Group and the officials of the Dayaka Sabha.It was a colourful night with lanterns, Buddhist flags and bulbs all over the place.

They had made a stage also. So when one item was taking place at the Sandakadapahana at the entrance of the Pagoda, the children were getting ready for the other one on the stage. It showed the talent of the organising committee. I wish that they could organise a better festival next year, with this year's experience.

Uvini Edirisinghe, Grade 7, Sri Nanda Sunday School, Madinnagoda, Rajagiriya.

Computers, marvellous machines!

The computer is a man-made machine which is used to ease our daily tasks. There are some special features endemic to computers, such as high speed; at the blink of an eye, it can perform thousands of tasks.

Although it is accurate it has no intelligence. It only performs tasks it is asked to do by us.

A computer's storage capacity is very high. There are various types of computers like main frames which are used in military areas, mini computer, micro computers, personal computers and laptops.

E-mail and Internet cannot be accessed without computers. Software are programmes which are used to perform tasks. Such application software are word processing software, spreadsheet, data base management and powerpoint.

The central processing unit (CPU), UPS (uninterrupted power supply), keyboard, mouse and monitor comprises a computer system. They are designed to perform various tasks.

Computer viruses are some illegal programmes which enter computers and destroy the system. There are also laws that have been passed to encourage people to use computer technology responsibly.

The data protection act is one such act. When we talk about computers, we cannot forget Charles Babbaage. We are indebted to him for creating such a marvellous machine. Even though he didn't create the modern computer, the concept for its design was adapted from his original computer.

S. Sindu Shamini, Grade 10-A, R/Rathnaloka Maha Vidyalaya, Rakwana.

Peace, at last!

After nearly 30 years of war, we finally reached the last step in the "liberation" of our Motherland. For us, Sri Lankans, the sound of guns ending this war, was a great joy. We welcome peace in this small island and hope fervently that it would bring joy, happiness and freedom to all communities.

We must always salute and respect the valiant war heroes. It is because of them that we are celebrating and enjoying freedom today.

The fears that grieved our souls during the times of war vanished after we heard that the Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated finally. Many soldiers sacrificed their lives for this civil war, not thinking about their families, even their children.

They wanted them to be safe at home, but they gave their lives for the country.

A majority of people wished for peace because a war only brings grief. A war cannot be waged without the loss of lives. It may be children, youth or the elders. Everyone suffers from this fighting.

The war fields are covered with the blood of the noble soldiers. There's nothing pleasant to capture our eyes during a war.

But, after all the dark years, the sun has dawned in Sri Lanka. Now we could develop our country and fill it with peace and prosperity. "Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and others are no longer minorities".

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that we must reunite and promote greater success.

Peace at last and an end to the war! One problem is solved, but there's a lot more to sort out ahead of us. So, let's get together and give a helping hand, to support and rebuild the nation.

Devindi Gunaratne, Grade 10-D, Musaeus College, Colombo.

Let's eradicate dengue

Dengue is prevailing throughout the country as a menace. We must get-together to put an end to the crisis situation that has arisen due to dengue. Unlike most diseases, dengue cannot be prevented by a vaccine or treatment.Dengue is caused by a mosquito called "Aedes aegypti". It begins its life in pure, clean water. This disease is very dangerous and could be fatal.

And most of all, the mosquito stings between 6-7 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. At this time we cannot be under mosquito nets as we are doing our daily chores at these hours. So, prevention is the best thing we could do.

We must keep our environment clean. At least once a week we should clean it. If there are any places or items that collect water, such as empty tins, coconut and king coconut shells and so on we should bury all such items. If we don't bury them and throw them, in the rainy season, water will get collected in them. The mosquito will then lay eggs in these containers.

Even inside the houses, we should change the water in vases and any other items that are kept with water.

In this way, we can arrest the dangerous dengue mosquito from breeding and spreading the deadly virus. By this we can eradicate the fatal dengue virus that has affected thousands of people.

Let's all get-together to eradicate dengue from our country. It's our duty.

W. Ann Sachini Tharushika Fernando, Grade 8C, Holy Family Convent, Kalutara.

No war, the sky is finally silent

"Boms, bombs! run, run!" These were the common words each of us living in Sri Lanka had to hear in the past. We had to face many incidents of bomb explosions and face many challenges due to the ethic conflict.

But after a period of nearly thirty years, we are living in the same country, our own Motherland, Sri Lanka, with great confidence and hopes of a good future.

Now, we are truly independent. The war has ended and terrorism has been completely defeated. So, now we are living in a fresh, free country!

As I live near the Ratmalana Air Force camp, I have had a good experience of what takes place during times of war. Three to four months ago, I used to hear the sound of helicopters, ambulances and many other strange noises which were frightening, everyday in the early hours of the morning.

The sound of sirens, horns, ambulances and helicopters which filled the air always indicated that we were in danger. But now, at last, we have a country without war. Peace has dawned in the country. Though we did not expect such a quick victory, the great dedication, confidence and the affection towards the Motherland our brave soldiers had, made it possible to make victory a reality.

So, it is our responsibility to honour them.I would specially like to thank President Mahinda Rajapaksa who initiated this mission and encouraged our brave soldiers, our great heroes.

I also want to thank the President's staff, especially the Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who paved the way for this victory with his guidance. The services rendered by the Chiefs of the Three Armed Forces and the Police is admirable and I thank them too. I like to thank each and everybody who dedicated their lives towards this great mission ending this miserable, dull and exhausting war. It is our responsibility to rise up and build our nation. As the President stated, "There are only two kinds of people in this country; one, the people that love this country. The other comprises the small groups that have no love for the land of their birth." As the group that loves our Motherland, we must gather under one flag and build our nation. We must make the victory of our great heroes, more meaningful!

Chirandini Dahanayake, Grade 12, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 5.

Pollution

Garbage thrown here and there,
Humans breathing unhealthy air,
Danger to people from pollution,
We must come to a fair conclusion.
Protecting our graceful nature,
Is a duty of every creature.
Regaining our souls,
And achieving our goals,
Let us begin,
And try hard to win.

Aneesah Nizam, Grade 8-B, Hejaaz International School, Dehiwala.

You live in my memories

Very hard indeed to believe that you've gone
Never to be seen or heard again
But sister, it isn't a false claim, that you'll stay in my heart
As a wondrous image, blended with the sound of music.

You did scold me many a time and punished me too.
Yet you remained a great shadow
Behind me in my hopes and aspirations
And even my desires and successes.

I feel you're still with me
And you'll live in my heart forever
Dear Sister, teacher, musician and great pianist
I love you! always and forever!

Alas! on your last day
I realised your greatness, your worth,
And your talents.
Truly dear sister, you were so priceless.

May your music echo and re-echo within me
And may you join the band of great musicians above
To sing the praises of the Lord in heaven for evermore!

You showed me the way through music
Thank you for what I am today.
Good bye then.
You have gone, I too shall follow,
Meeting you somewhere faraway,
Someday, beyond the sunset!

Nithya Kularatne, Grade 9F, Holy Cross College,Gampaha.