Festive atmosphere in Velvet city

By Ananth PALAKIDNAR

A traditional dance being performed by a group

In the good old maritime days, Velvettiturai (VVT for short) was a popular port not only among traders but also among ship builders. Velvettiturai in the northern tip of the Jaffna peninsula derived its name from `Velvet' as the region had remained a popular spot among Velvet traders from the Middle East and South Asian countries.

According to historians, when the sail ships reigned the oceans Velvettiturai functioned as a port where the sail ships were built and repaired by ship-builders in the region and this was evident in the records maintained by the premier shipping institution, Lloyds Register.

In the early 1930s a sail ship was built by the Velvettiturai ship builders following a request by an American millionaire. The ship named, `Annapoorani' sailed to America navigated by its builders along with the American owner.

Therefore, the life and times of the people of Velvettiturai remained part and parcel with the seas around them and a veteran swimmer called Narayanaswami from Velvettiturai became a legend by being the first Sri Lankan to cross the Palk Straits in the early 1960s.

Jaffna security forces commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe (in national) being welcomed on arrival at the venue by a resident Major General Hathurusinghe is the brainchild behind the festivities

A winner receiving his prize

The people of Velvettiturai were also well-known for their spiritual activities and the festivities throughout the year. Temples in every nook and corner in Velvettiturai are famous for their festivals and well-known famous artistes from South India also arrived at this port city to perform during the festive season and the people from various parts of the peninsula gathered in Velvettiturai to participate in the festivities.

However, the three-decades of turbulent period in the North had not only devastated the livelihood of the people of Velvettiturai, the turbulent conditions had even shattered the pleasant atmosphere prevailed in early times.

With troubles in the North and East coming to an end in 2009, the city of Jaffna became the focal point of every event that took place in the peninsula. The Security Forces Command in Jaffna celebrated the Sinhala-Tamil New Year this time with greater participation of the people of Velvettiturai.

The region which had remained with deadly gunfire and explosions along with internal displacements, turned into a carnival atmosphere with the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year last week.

The Velvil Pillaiyar Temple in a hamlet called Velvetti adjoining Velvettiturai where cultural events in connection with the New Year festival were coordinated by the Security Forces command with the participation of various government and private institutions in the North.

Similar to other parts of the country, the beginning of the April festive season is a prelude to the dawn of spring in the North where several temples hold their festivals in April.

The two-day New Year festival in Velvettiturai also highlighted the revival of livelihood of the people in the region. Fishing in Velvettitural had been affected due to the conflict situation in the North with fisherfolk suffering immensely as the seas of VVT remained vulnerable to terrorist activities.

Restrictions on fishing hours had crippled fisherfolk in VVT and in the North at large.

However, fishing restrictions were lifted following the end of the disturbances and brought back the smiles on the faces of fishermen in VVT with vast improvement in their earning capacity.

Hence choosing VVT as the centre-stage for the Sinhala-Hindu New Year by the Security Forces Command in Jaffna was praiseworthy.

Following religious observances at the Velvil Pillaiyar temple, the cultural and traditional sporting events were celebrated with greater enthusiasm of youth in the area. Independent Television Network (ITN) telecast the events live from Velvettiturai and the Director of the ITN's Tamil service Vasantham, K. Kulendran told the Sunday Observer that the New Year festival in the North was a dual celebration for ITN since for the first time in nearly 30 years, the television tower began operations with test transmissions last week.

The Kokavil television tower in Mankulam was destroyed by terrorists in the early 1980 depriving the northerners of viewing prime national television channels. A musical program with the participation of South Indian singers Krishna Iyer, Priya Imesh and Anita was held at Point Pedro, another coastal city in the northern tip of the Jaffna peninsula. Hartley College grounds in Point Pedro, was the venue for the ITN sponsored musical program of Indian singers. The April New Year season in the North this year highlighted overall socio-economic developments achieved by the people of Jaffna in a short spell of two years since the troubles ended in 2009.

While the people in Jaffna celebrated the New Year in a peaceful atmosphere with goods and services available in plenty, traders from the South including those who brought fire crackers also enjoyed themselves seeing the bulk of their goods lighting up the Jaffna skies.

A bicycle race about to begin	A Kabbadi game in progress
What a time they had entertaining the crowds!