Winner:

The Galle Literary Festival

The Galle Season, The Galle Film Festival, The Galle Art Trail and the Galle Literary Festival are some of the special festivals held in Galle. All these festivals are special not only to the Sri Lankans, but also to people from different parts of the world.

The third Galle Literary Festival was held from January 27 to February 1 this year.

There were different kinds of books as well as various kinds of competitions organised to suit all age groups at this festival.

Alexander Nemser, Anne Ranasinghe,Ameena Hussain, Margaret Read Macdonald, Jeanne Cabraal and Chamali Kariyawasam are some of the authors who participated at the Galle Literary Festival. There were different kinds of books such as poetry books, short story books and novels.

There were so many children’s games held during the festival week. Most of the games were held with the aim of increasing the knowledge of English among the younger generation.

I hope the Literary Festival in 2010 would be much more attractive than the festival this year.

Fathima Zumra Hafi,

Southlands College,

Galle.

Winner:

New views for the New Year

In keeping with our culture and traditions, Sinhala and Hindu New Year is one of the red letter days for the whole nation. It is a national festival.

The Sinhalese and Hindus celebrate the New Year festival in a very colourful way. The New Year generally falls on April 13 or 14.

During this season we can see attractive, erabadu trees in full bloom in various places. We can also hear the melodious call of the koel or koha everywhere.People from all walks of life prepare for the New Year with mounting pleasures. Before the dawn of the New Year, people clean their houses thoroughly. Lots of special food and sweetmeats are prepared during this festival. Milk rice is prepared by all.

It is made with rice and coconut milk. A spicy onion and chilie sambal is made as an accompaniment for the milk rice or kiribath. Lots of traditional sweetmeats such as kewum, kokis, athiraha and asmee are also made. A comb of plantains and also curd and treacle are special foods that adorn the New Year table. We can also see some traditional New Year games being played during the season.

On New Year’s day both Sinhalese and Hindus wear new clothes.There are various customs such as lighting the hearth and having the New Year meal at auspicious times. The Buddhists gather at the temple and the Hindus at the kovil to pay homage to the Buddha and the Hindu Gods. A valuable New Year custom is visiting relatives.

This New Year is special because with the victories gained in the fight against terrorism’ we can change our views and march forward. We are all Sri Lankans.

We must work and live as one, irrespective of cast, creed, or race.

I think, we can’t solve all our problems only through war. But we can certainly solve our problems through mutual respect, understanding and sharing of our views. I am looking forward to join hands with my Tamil sisters and brothers to foster peace in our land. It is only then that we can make our motherland a prosperous nation.

Dilini Chathubashini,

Sangamitta College,

Galle.

Your poems

Winner:

It conquers the night!

The curtains are closed!

It pops up slowly and smoothly,

and conquers the ghostly night.

The curtains open!

Slowly our eyes too open,

but, halfway through they shut,

’cause of the golden, burning orange.

Face your back to it,

and open your eyes again,

and start your day

learning and experiencing,

caring and sharing

as life goes on.

Time goes by,

slowly it changes its colour;

from orange to red,

to pink and purple.

darkness awaits to conquer it

so it starts sinking

slowly and smoothly into the sea.

The curtains close once again,

So do our tired eyes,

waiting till it pops up again,

for a better tomorrow!

for a better place!

for a better world!

Pasandee Wickramasinghe,

Grade 11B,

Leighton Park International School.
 

An unforgettable day in my life

Winner:

It was a Saturday morning. I woke up from a long sleep. As it was my birthday I wanted to see who was going to wish me first. I met my father in the hall, but he took no notice of me. Then I passed my brother's room. As usual he was at his computer, playing games. Then I went into the kitchen hoping my mother would wish me.

But no! I began to feel sad.Then it was lunch time and still no one wished me. Suddenly my father said he was taking us out. It was nothing unusual, so I didn't take much notice of it. Just then, everyone in my family gathered around me and wished me and gave me gifts. I was delighted because they were what I wanted most. My mother and father gave me a set of Barbie dolls, my elder brother gave me a video game, my younger brother gave me a sticker card and my sister gave me a kurtha. I was very happy. This was the most unforgettable day in my life.

Rukshana Mansoor,

Grade 5,

Hejaaz International School,

Mt. Lavinia.

Winner:

Exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic

I visited the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy with my parents. I saw a huge gathering of devotees in the Kandy town. There were several long queues of devotees waiting to see the Sacred Tooth Relic.

We had received a special pass to visit the Dalada Maligawa. We stayed at the Diyawadana Nilame's bungalow for a short while. We were served some sweetmeats and soft drinks at his place. There we saw an elephant. After a while we went into the Dalada Maligawa to see the Sacred Tooth Relic. I worshipped the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha.

I had heard about the Sacred Tooth Relic earlier from my mother. I had visited the Dalada Maligawa on two occasions. But this was the very first time that I saw the Sacred Tooth Relic. My nangi and malli also saw the Relic. It was a wonderful experience.

We set off for Pandadura in the afternoon. But there was a huge traffic congestion in the Kandy town. It was very late in the night when we came back home.

H. M. Imani Shanaya,

Grade 3-D,

Lyceum International School,

Panadura.