State Awards for literary giants

By Husna Inayathullah

The state literary awards ceremony 2014 was held at the BMICH recently with President Mahinda Rajapaksa gracing the occasion as the chief guest on the invitation of Minister of Culture and Arts T.B. Ekanayake.

The prestigious Sahithyarathna awards were conferred on Prof. Wimal Dissanayake, Carl Muller and Teliwatte Joseph in recognition of their contribution to literature in Sinhala, English and Tamil Media.

Awards were also given to categories such as children’s literature, drama, prose, non-fiction, poetry, translations and novels in all three languages.

Only the books deposited at the National Archives were selected for awards by an eminent panel.

The first round of the survey was carried out by an external board, the second round by the panel on literature, the third round by an apex body of scholars. Literary works selected by the third round of the survey were given awards at the awards festival.

“Benefiting from the fruits of economic development depends largely on the members of any society being enriched in literature and culture,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his message.

“Our society now shows much progress in the production and appreciation of quality works in language, literature, music, drama and other artistic forms. The government stands committed to provide the necessary support and facilities for the betterment of arts in the country. The literati of a country make a great contribution towards its progress,” he said.

Chairman, sub-committee judging literary works for the 2014 Literary Awards, Senior Lecturer of Colombo University, Prof Samantha Herath said over 1,600 books were referred to the panel of judges.

Minister of Culture and the Arts T.B. Ekanayake said, “The annual event to honour the distinguished literati and recognise their outstanding creations during the previous year had come to a successful conclusion with the awards ceremony. The literati are noble figures who nourish the masses.

The government at all times work to assist them and develop the sector. Writers, readers, schoolchildren and almost everyone enjoy the pleasure of literature in this month of literature. However, this should not be restricted to a single month.”

Cultural items, dancing items and Anklet (a dance drama) created by veteran dancers such as Ravibandu Vidyapathi, Channa Wijewardena, Kulasiri Budawatta and Vasuki Jegadeeswaran were staged during the festival.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Arts, Department of Cultural Affairs, Arts Council of Sri Lanka and the State Literary Panel.