'Uthuru Wasanthaya' :

A place in the sun:

Reviving a unique culture in North

Music to relieve tension

Hindu Culture is one of the fascinating features of the life in Northern town of Jaffna. Reviving this unique cultural heritage which once enriched the cultural landscape is one of the priorities of 'Uthuru Wasanthaya', the Government's ambitious programme to rehabilitate the shattered lives of thousands of people over the last thirty years.

The Northern Provincial Government seeks to create the cultural panorama of the Province through an arts festival in Colombo, where the uniqueness of the Province is presented and visibility created for a community, which is going through a significant transformation in their personal and emotional lives.

Hindu Culture is one of the fascinating features of the life in Northern town of Jaffna. Reviving this unique cultural heritage which once enriched the cultural landscape is one of the priorities of 'Uthuru Wasanthaya', the Government's ambitious programme to rehabilitate the shattered lives of thousands of people over the last thirty years.

The Northern Provincial Government seeks to create the cultural panorama of the Province through an arts festival in Colombo, where the uniqueness of the Province is presented and visibility created for a community, which is going through a significant transformation in their personal and emotional lives.

Dance for everybody

Rehearsing for the cultural fiesta

With the end of the 30-year armed conflict, new opportunities have dawned to develop and re-build Sri Lanka. The time is most opportune than ever before to benefit from the new prospects created in the post-war context and the peace-dividend achieved thereafter.Reconstruction of infrastructure and rehabilitation of lives and livelihoods need to go hand-in-hand to achieve the optimum results of rebuilding the nation, which is the most pressing challenge in the post-war scenario.

The affected, vulnerable communities need healing and reconciliation to help them address the present challenges they face and also recover from the untold hazards, hurdles, hardships and memories that had gripped them nearly for three decades. A community's collective aspiration to make its identity known and accepted needs to be recognized at this point as an important step towards rebuilding its war-battered lives.

Culture essentially represents a community's identity and captures its richness, nuances and psyche. The Northern Province of Sri Lanka which had been the hot bed of the protracted conflict inherits a culture and identity which are unique and deeply rooted in traditional beliefs and customs. In the ensuing years of widespread violence and conflict, which witnessed blood-shed, loss of lives, misery and loss of hope, the uniqueness of a community got emaciated and its identity was tampered with.

Re-awakening of the cultural and ethnic identity is an essential aspect of re-building lives. While national efforts are underway to create new opportunities to pay off the lost opportunities, the Northern Provincial Government aspires to rekindle the cultural identity of the Province and to provide space for its expressions through the medium of art.

These artistic expressions will be creative channels to articulate a community's heritage and quintessence that are truly unique, which need to be showcased and shared among a larger audience as a measure of resurgence of its identity, which, largely was dormant for many reasons.