Will the world be destroyed in 2012?

Winner:

The Earth is the most beautiful, exciting and comfortable planet in the entire universe. It is the only planet that has humans, animals and trees. In the ancient days only animals lived on the Earth. But today humans also live on the Earth. The humans who came later have dominated the Earth now.

Humans are superior to all the other animals due to the brain power. So, humans do experiment and discover different things about the world. Humans have predicted that there will be a great disaster in 2012. Some say there will be a very big earthquake and others say a big planet or meteorite will fall on to the Earth.

If the land gets destroyed by an earthquake or a planet, the animals, all the buildings, humans, houses and trees will be destroyed.

Tsunami warning signs and towers around the world warn us about the danger but in 2012 we may not be warned. At the very beginning of the world also these kind of disasters had taken place. But the world did not get destroyed. I hope these predictions would not come true and the world would not be destroyed in 2012.

Nihindu Weerasekera,

Grade 4C,

Ashoka College,

Horana.

The wonder tree

Winner:

The coconut tree is a very useful tree. Nearly every part of it is used by man. This tree grows best in a warm climate and mostly on sandy sea shores.

The white kernel of the fruit is used in cooking, especially to make curries and in the preparation of various types of food. The coconut water is used as a refreshing drink and also to make vinegar. Spoons and ornaments are turned out with the shells.Poor people use thatched coconut leaves to make cadjan roofs. The husks are used to make brooms, brushes, mattresses and choir ropes. The trunk of the tree is used to make rafters for houses.

There is nothing that goes waste in the coconut tree. Our country earns a great income from this wonder tree.

Sandali Muthunima Ratnayake,

Grade 3-K,

Musaeus College, Colombo 7.

The National Museum is our heritage

Winner:

The national museum is an old-fashioned white building situated in Colombo. Its founder member, Sir William Henry Gregory was the Governor of Ceylon at that time. The architect J. G. Smither designed the new structure based on Italian architecture. The construction was completed in 1876 and it was opened to the public on January 1, 1887.

At the beginning there had been about 1200 antiquities and natural history specimens. The collections that the museum possesses has accumulated over the years.

The museum's modern artefacts are stored in the first floor. All these artefacts are displayed in nine galleries. The second and the third galleries are dedicated to the ancient eras, highlighting aspects such as agriculture, irrigation, trade, language and literature.

Gallery number five which caught my interest, deals with the Kandyan period, and mainly displays arts and crafts such as the royal seat, royal crown, the royal jacket and watches, guns and jewellery used by the last king of Kandy.

There are many other things to see, like ancient doorways from Buddhist shrines, water filters, statues urinals and moonstones.

The Tholuwila Buddha statue displayed in the lobby at the entrance to the museum is a major attraction. In spite of the enormity of the various collections, the thematic arrangement of the galleries has provided an opportunity to visitors to study the ancient culture of Sri Lanka under one roof. The Colombo National Museum has become very popular among locals as well as foreigners, today.

The Museum is our national heritage, so our paramount duty is to safeguard this national heritage.

Shankha Gayan Wijesinghe,

Grade 10 F,

President's College, Kotte.

Impact of computers

Winner:

Science and Technology play a major role in our day-to-day life. Spaceships, various machines and even man has gone to the moon. In all these technological advancements, computers play a keyrole.

A computer means an electronic machine that can produce and communicate with data at a very high speed, maintaining a high level of accuracy.

In the modern technical world, computers have taken over virtually everything. In factories, offices, homes and schools, computers are used in a big way.

Computers can represent the data using symbols. The data may be numerical, textual, pictorial or vocal.

In most European countries schools use computers for their learning process. So, the students learn using special training programmes on a computer without the help of the teacher.

We can find the information of famous personalities and also other valuable information via the internet which is accessible only through a computer.

Computers are here to stay in the modern world and the more we understand them, the better will be in the days ahead of us.

Vasanali Devapriya,

Grade 9,

St. Joshep's Balika Maha Vidyalaya,

Kegalle.

My grandmother

Winner:

My grandmother died recently but I didn't mourn for her because she lived as a great woman.

She was not just my grandmother. She was a mother to all the children in my lane. She was hard working. She brought up my mother to be a good person.

I know she was an iron lady, but she melted like snow when she saw our tears. She always helped others. In fact, she never thought in terms of 'I'. She always thought in terms of 'we'. She always invited us to do something saying "shall we eat?" or "shall we do some work?". But, one dark night she went without us. I don't know why she forgot to ask "shall we go?" I am sure she knew the reality of it. Therefore, she went alone on her journey. It was her wish. Her memories will always remain with us.

Dear grandmother, I know you are a noble person. I do not know whether we would meet or not, someday. May you attain Nibbana!

W. A. Amandi Charundya,

Grade 8,

St.Anthony's Girls' College,

Kandy.

Flowers - nature's gift to mankind

Flowers are one of the most beautiful things of nature. We can find flowers everywhere. There are thousands of different kinds of flowers; some are small and some are large.

Everybody loves flowers because they are beautiful. They have different colours and fragrances. People grow flower plants in their gardens.

Some grow flowers as a hobby, but others do so as a profitable business. The objective of flowers in a plant is to make seeds.It is the plants' way of making other plants of the same kind. There is no fruit without a flower.

Flowers are nature's gifts to all of us and we must not destroy them.

M.P. Nimesha Kumari,

WP/Minu/Botale K.V.

Bellanwila Esala procession

This spectacular procession is held in August every year at the Sacred Bellanwila Raja Maha Vihara. It is a famous ancient, temple situated in a delightful and magnificent area in Boralesgamuwa.

The procession was started in 1950 by the former chief incumbent, the late Ven. Bellanwila Sri Somarathana Thera. It is held in honour of the Tripple Gem and also to invoke blessings from all the gods. In the past, this procession was simple, but today, it has become a grand procession with many modern features added by Ven. Bellanwila Vimalarathana Thera. This is not just a procession but also a religious festival which is celebrated according to religious customs and traditions of the Anuradhapura era. Pirith is chanted for a whole week before the procession begins, to invoke the blessings of the Tripple Gem.

The Devadutha perahera, Kumbal perahera, Mal perahera, Pavada perahhera and finally the Randholi Maha perahera are held. When this last grand procession moves on to the road, only the heads of the people could be seen at both sides of the road.

When we hear the sound of whip crackers, we know that the perahera is close by. Then the peramune rala could be seen, seated in a proud manner on top of a tall elephant. Next come the flag bearers, hundreds of drummers and beautiful dancers moving to the rhythm of the drum beats. The entire area reverberates with the sound of beating drums and is illuminated by the lanterns carried in the perahera.

Nilames with huge stomachs walk proudly under the large pearl umbrellas. A majestic tall tusker carries the beautiful casket with the golden pagoda inside and other elephants carry the images of gods. The joyful kavadi dancers could be seen at the tail end of the procession. After the watercutting ceremony the following day, this national religious festival comes to an end.

Yasasi Liyanage,

Grade 8 C,

Vidyakara Balika Vidyalaya,

Maharagama.

My home town

My home town Kurunegala is surrounded by several rocks, namely Ethugala, Ibbagala, Aandagala, Yakdessagala and Elugala. It has a beautiful lake and two large playgrounds. They are called Maliga and Welagedara Stadiums.

It was an ancient kingdom. There are many temples like Ethkanda Vihara and Kande Vihara. Many popular schools too like Maliyadeva Boys' College are situated in Kurunegala. There is also a bus stand, a railway station, a post office and several banks in my home town Kurunegala.

Most of the people are in government service and others are businessmen. The main crops grown here are paddy, coconuts and fruits. My home town is very beautiful and attractive. I am proud of my home town.

Harshana Gopallawa,

Grade 3,

Maliyadeva Boys' College,

Kurunegala.