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Sunday, 5 July 2009

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Gold star of the silver screen

Winner:

An outstanding gold star of the silver screen who upgrades the standard of the local cinema industry is Iranganie Serasinghe. She is an actress who has brought much fame and glory to Sri Lanka, both nationally and internationally.

Iranganie Serasinghe is a charming, modest person who is a natural, resourceful actress. She is also a nature lover. She’s endowed with a natural beauty as a gift from the gods. She retains this beauty still.

She is a simple woman, who is kind hearted and supports all living beings. Her good qualities are appreciated by everyone.

Her contribution to the silver screen and the small screen is remarkable. In the 1970s, she acted in “Bakmaha Deegaya”, and won national and international awards as the best character of the film. Nowadays she is popular among many as the “Pearl Achchi” for the role she plays in the teledrama “Muthukirilli”.She was the founder member of the organisation “Ruk Reka Ganno”. It was started in 1975. The aim of the organisation is to protect trees as well as all living creatures.

She believes that if we destroy trees we destroy animals and birds without realising that it will eventually affect the whole society. It will also have an impact on the environment as people will not have water and food to eat, she says. Then all life will perish. She engages in all these activities to give a clear knowledge to the people about the importance of protecting the environment. We can see that she does a great service as a nature lover.Iranganie Serasinghe is a kind person who has music in her soul. She loves the country and nature very much. I wish her a long and happy life.

Menaka Madushani Wimalaweera,

Grade 10 - ‘Saman’, Royal College,

Wayamba,Kurunegala.

Traditional crafts of Sri Lanka

Winner:

Sri Lanka has a wealth of handicraft which include pottery, jewellery, wood, brass and silver work, leather crafts and reed and rattan work. These traditional crafts play an important role in the heritage of the country.

We must protect and conserve these crafts like flowers and ensure that the art of making them dosen’t disappear with modernisation.

In the past most of these crafts were a part of our day-to-day lives. Even today some of them play a key role. For instance, the brass oil lamp is lit at almost all important functions.

The traditional lamps have a rooster at the top and nine niches for wicks, representing the `Navagraha’. Today some lamps have other symbols and are decorated with flowers such as araliya and jasmines and not all the nine niches are even used for lighting. Traditional crafts too have been subjected to change.

Wood carving has been and still is a very popular craft in our country even today. The Embekke Temple built in the 14th century is famous the world over for its wooden pillars carved with intricate designs. Masks too are colourful and imaginative creations of the village craftsmen coming down from ancient times. Masks are made of wood and are used for rituals and folk plays. Masks are carved by the craftsmen according to traditional patterns. Ambalongoda is famous for its mask making industry. Dumbara mats, jewellery and rattan baskets are all products that show our rich traditional arts and crafts.

Some handicrafts are limited to certain areas in the island. It is because of the availability of the special material used for these crafts as well as other historical factors. Most brassware items are used as decorative ornaments. These are very popular as gifts and souvenirs. Pilimathalawa is a place famous for brasswork.

F. Shurafa Imthiaz,

Grade 7-B,Muslim Ladies’

College,Colombo 4.

Smile, Mother Lanka!

Winner:

Rejoice, Oh Mother Lanka
You need not fear
Peace, Unity and Freedom
Your noble sons are here...

Smile again, Mother Lanka
The sun is shining again
The brave lions fought for our rights,
And washed our pain away.....

Celebrate this moment Mother Lanka
The beginning of a new era.
Revenge and hatred have faded away,
A new tomorrow is here to stay.....

Rejoice, dear Mother Lanka
Your people applaud with elation
The flag of Sri Lanka, flying high in the sky,
One land, One country, One nation.....

Ayodya Bandara Perera,

Grade 9-E,Bishop’s College,Colombo.

The Bermuda Triangle

Winner:

The Bermuda Triangle also known as the Devil’s Triangle is a region in the Western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. A number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have disappeared in this region in mysterious circumstances which fall beyond the boundaries of human error, piracy, equipment failure and natural disasters.

The triangle consists of the area within the boundaries of Bermuda Island, Miami and Puerto Rico which forms a triangle when connected. One of the famous accidents which occurred over this area was Flight 19. It was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. the flight was lost on its final leg. What’s more, the search and rescue Mariner aircraft that was dispatched to find the lost squadron also went missing. The squadron went missing fifty kilometres north-west off its flight path. Some say that this was because the flight’s compasses went haywire. But, the bodies and planes were never recovered.

Another accident is Flight 201. The Cessna was on its way to the Bimini Islands when it mysteriously disappeared. Before it disappeared, it is believed to have slowed down significantly, but had not radioed any distress signal. Then it had vanished from the radar screen. No wreck had been found to date.

There are many theories behind the Triangle, both supernatural and natural. Supernatural theories include the one about unknown technologies from the mythical lost continent of Atlantics affecting the vessels and of alien abductions. Natural theories are those of high amounts of gravity and density over the area, and of rogue waves. Although none of these theories were ever proven, advances in technology will probably help solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle in the future.

Chandula Petangoda,

Grade 8,Royal Institute

International School,Nugegoda.

My best friend

The name of my best friend is Kasuni. She is in my class. I have many class mates, but I could never find a friend like her. She lives in Arawwala.

She has only a sister. Her sister studies at St. Joseph’s Girls’ School in Nugegoda. She is also kind.

Like Kasuni and her sister, their parents are also kind and good. Kasuni helps me in many ways. One day I forgot to bring my box of pencils and she gave me a pen, pencil, a pencil sharpener, ruler and all the other things I needed to do my class work.

We share story books. She gives me lots of nice things and I also give her many things. We are good friends and I miss her when she doesn’t come to school.

Kaushika Nilakshi

Senanayake,

Grade 6-C,

Anula Vidyalaya,

Nugegoda.

The sun

The sun is a big ball of fire. It shines in the sky during day time. It is very bright.

The sun is made of hot gases. The Earth moves around the sun, which is very far away from the Earth. The sun rays give heat and light to us. Its light gives us energy. Sunlight is very useful for plants and all life forms. It rises in the East and sets in the West.

M. Akkshika,

Grade 2D,

Hindu Ladies’ College,Colombo.

Soldiers are the real heroes

Even though we were a free nation for a long time, we could not experience true freedom because of LTTE terrorism. But now that the LTTE cadres have been wiped out from Sri Lanka, we are able to breathe freely. This has been possible due to our fearless Armed Forces.

When the Armed Forces were in operation the chief of the forces made the plans and gave the commands. Then the soldiers marched forward to face the hidden enemy. They risked their lives to liberate our country.

Several thousands of them lost their precious lives. Their parents, wives and children grieve their deaths and suffer over their losses.

So, I think it is our paramount duty to remember them as our true heroes. I wish we declare a special day in their memory to commemorate them yearly.

Nilushika Senanayake,

Grade 9,

Ceylinco Sussex College,Kurunegala.

Stars

Stars, stars everywhere in the sky

There are lots of stars in the night

Stars are shining in the sky

Hundreds of stars are in the sky

But, we can’t count all the stars in the sky

Because, there are lots of stars in the sky