Sun turns everything to gold

Winner:

The Sun steps aside each day at dusk to fulfil its duty by the Moon. But the next morning, the Sun starts to rise again , spreading its rays and bringing new life, especially through the beautiful flowers.

At dawn the Sun makes everything turn to gold. But the gold beams shine only for a little while as they fill the entire place with dazzling light. No one can steal these golden beams.

The Sun soon begins to complete the work the Moon has left unfinished. It starts to convert buds into blossoms.

The owls, the creatures of the night, are generally scared of the mighty Sun. The dazzling golden rays of the Sun wake up everyone who is still asleep .

It gives a signal to the cockerel to start crowing.The birds too start to sing . Everyone wakes up as the sunlight spreads and brings daylight.

Once the Sun works hard to make the world glow it goes back to hide making way for the milky white circle called the Moon to make its appearance,again. No one can steal the beauty created by the Sun or the Moon. It stays with us till the end of time.

Heshan Shiwantha Kumarasinghe,
Grade 8,
Ananda College, Colombo.

Person I admire most

Winner:

There are many people we come across throughout our life and some of them we greatly admire. There is one such person whom I always admire. She is small in size but to me she seems like a giant. She is the central figure in the family;the person who looks into everything. We all depend on her. We all need her company. Whenever there is a problem no matter what it is , she is the first person we all go to to solve it.

The most amazing thing is that she does so much but asks for very little in return.

All she wants is for us to be respected and recognised in the world. For this, she gives so much of herself. She works like a non-stop machine. She never fails to attend to everyone's needs. She also runs a nursery at home. She not only teaches at the nursery but also teaches English in the evenings to students in upper grades. Sometimes, she is very tired but she never complains. She will carry on with her chores as usual.

I am very proud to have such an interesting friend and companion in my life. She embraces me and comforts me during my fears and moments of tears. How fortunate I am to have such a loving and wonderful MOTHER.She is my best friend and a great person to admire.

Kendra De Silva,
Grade 11,
Holy Cross College,
Gampaha.

Peace, to heal the world...

Winner:

On hearing the beautiful lyrics of a popular song by late Michael Jackson which goes as follows,

'Heal the world, make it a better place. For you and for me and the entire human race," I asked myself, could this ever come true? For a moment I became quiet as many pictures flashed through my mind.It was very frightening.

I went before the television and my brother tuned into a popular news network which aired a documentary about a war where thousands of people were being killed.Who would like to bring them peace? Where can we, the children go in search of peace? Who will give us the answers? Today the entire world needs peace and we all must work to achieve it.

Jeyarikan Rebokiran,
Grade 8 B,
Musaeus College, Colombo.

My birthday party

My name is Oneli and I am 7 years old. My parents had a party for me at the Garden Club, Kandy on July 27.

All my friends and cousins came for my birthday party. It was great fun.

I am second from right in the picture. The others are Lakdinu, Gayumi, Amadara, Tharushi and Amaya on my left with Dewli on my right and Yasara at the back. Little Omesh is in front.

Oneli Senara Wickramasinghe,
Grade II,
Mahamaya Girls’ College,
Kandy.

Farmer is like a god

Winner:

The farmer is a person who provides us with our staple food -rice.

To perform this onerous task he leaves home early in the morning to go to the field.He is usually clad in a loin cloth and carries a mammoty on his shoulder. Once he gets to the field he does a lot of work.

He ploughs the field with the aid of two buffaloes and prepares it for cultivation. He inspects the field and attends to any repairs that have to be done on the ridges and dams in the field. He works at a stretch in the scorching sun. In the meantime his wife brings him the mid-day meal called the ambula.

After a short period of rest following lunch, he restarts his work and carries on till dusk.

A farmer gets regular exercise due to the hard work he does in the field and is most often strong and healthy when compared to most urban workers doing sedentary jobs. From the day the field is sown with seeds of paddy, up to the time the harvest is reaped, the farmer is bound to face many challenges. The end result of his hard labour does not depend totally on the care and effort he puts into his job. It also depends on natural causes such as weather conditions, that are not under man's control.

A farmer does not only cultivate paddy but also does chena cultivation or gardencultivation. These two forms of cultivation help him to meet his domestic food requirements.

In the past, the economy of our country totally depended on paddy cultivation. Therefore the farmer was recognised as a very important person. That is how the golden saying, "The farmer is god," became popular in folklore.

R.A T.Kaushalya Rajapaksha,

Grade 8 D,

Sri Rahula Central

College, Alawwa.

Handicrafts of Sri Lanka

Winner:

Sri Lanka's handicrafts are famous the world over. There are many traditional handcrafts such as fabric weaving (handlooms),woodwork, leather work pottery, reed craft, silver and brass work , coir products and mask making.

Pottery is one of the oldest crafts in the country. Numerous items such as cooking utensils and water containers (kalagedi) are made by those engaged in the craft. Even today a majority of people in the villages and a few in urban areas use clay pots and pans to cook. In addition to the cooking utensils, various items such as flower pots and vases with intricate designs and terracotta figurines are also made.

Sri Lanka produces some excellent hand crafted jewellery items which are a boon to the economy. There are two traditions of jewellery making;the Kandyan and the Galle.

The Kandyan tradition is characterised by its intricate metal work,especially in silver while the Galle tradition is identified by the use of precious stones.

A handicraft which is very colourful and popular is the art of mask making.

Sri Lankan masks are very popular among foreign visitors and are a collectors’ item. They are carved in wood in a number of places but principally along the south west coast .

These vibrantly hued masks are sold all over the country. Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa are famous for them. They can be obtained from key tag size to large ones that could be hung on the walls. Brassware is also still very popular, especially as we use the traditional oil lamp at most functions .

Wood carving too is another popular craft and the carvings at Ambekke Devale are proof of the traditional talent of our ancient craftsmen.

In the past all the crafts were a part of the day-to-day activities of the villagers but today most of the crafts are faced with numerous challenges. We need to protect and preserve the traditional crafts.

Amanda Gomesz,

Grade 7,

Holy Cross College.

YOUR POEMS

Tribute to Dilshan

You are the light to the whole ground
You are the strength to the whole team
You are the hero in our hearts
You are the dedicated captain of the team
You are the best, we think so
You are the best, you proved it
You are the dedicated captain of the team
You gave strength to the whole country!

Mishel Arundhathi Kaushalya Fernando,
Grade 9-D,Girls' College,
Dankotuwa.

A wish...

I wish I could be
A pink unicorn
With a fluffy tail
And a white horn
With silvery wings
And red blinking eyes
To fly and fly
Over the sky
Through the clouds

Thiloka Chandrarathna,
Grade 9,
Pushpadana Girls' College, Kandy.