[Winner]

Winner Olympic games

The Olympic games are the most important sports events in the world. It takes place every four years. Millions of people participate in different games and others watch it on television.

The first Olympic game was held in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC. During that time only males were allowed to participate in the games.

The first modern Olympic game took place in Athens, Greece in 1896. The opening and closing ceremonies of the games are impressive.

The Olympic flame which is lit on the opening day is kept burning until the end of the games.

J.A. Janid Udara Jayasanka, Grade 7A, Mr/Makandura MMV, Matara.













 

[Winner]

A program to educate street children

‘The child is the father of man’ is a popular saying. Each and every child who is born has a right to education. We talk about the child’s right, yet, we have not gone deep into the matter. Why does a child lose the right to education? Who are the children denied of this privilege? Why do they become dropouts? Who is responsible for it? All these are hypothetical questions.

There are many reasons for the increase of the number of street children. Some of the reasons are parents’ demise and long-term illness. When children are left alone they go in search of jobs.

Establishing schools for street children will be a commendable move.

Fathima Rushda, Ku/Sir John Kothalawala College, Kurunegala.



 

[Winner]

The Sinhala and Hindu New Year

The Sinhala and Hindu New Year falls on April 14. It is a day of great joy and feasting to all. About a couple of days prior to the festival, people set about preparing for the dawn of the New Year. Houses are colourwashed and compounds are cleaned. Parents go shopping to buy new clothes and necessary stuff to prepare special meals.

Oil cakes and sweetmeats are made. Greeting cards are sent to relatives. The elders in the family look up the Almanac and make a note of the auspicious hour for cash transactions called kaivisesham. The New Year is ushered in with the lighting of crackers. All the members of the family have a bath early in the morning. Dressed in new clothes, they go to the temple and take part in special poojas.

After prayers they return home and enjoy a delicious breakfast of milk rice, a special meal for the day. The head of the family gives cash gifts wrapped in betel leaves to all the members of the household, friends and relatives. On festival day grown-ups play traditional games. Youngsters have a fun time lighting crackers or playing national games such as thatchy and kiddy.

Friends and relatives are entertained to a grand lunch at noon. The New Year festival is thus a day of great rejoicing for the young and old.

S.Vinoj Kumar, KM/STR/Sri Korrakkar Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, Sammanthurai, Ampara.

[Winner]

My favourite story book

Many of the books are gifts from friends and family members. Among all the story books Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is my favourite book. It is an interesting, imaginative and amusing story. It is full of adventure and you find striking characters.

It is about a beautiful girl named Snow White who had to face the cruelties of her wicked stepmother. She was helped by the seven dwarfs.

Snow White fell in love with a prince, married him and lived happily thereafter.

I enjoyed reading this story book.

Nikil Chamuditha, Grade 4G, Negombo South International School, Negombo.











 

[Winner]

Glory of the awakening Eastern valley

Under the scorching sun, there lies two historical temples in the Ampara district of the Eastern Province. They are Muhudu Maha Vihara and Maghula Maha Vihara. These are considered as two important temples within the Ampara district amidst the large number of ruins scattered all over the place.

Muhudu Maha Vihara or the temple by the sea is located in Pottuvil closer to Arugambay which is famous as a surfing site. The temple was built nearly 2000 years ago. During the era of King Kelanitissa, tsunami waves hit Sri Lanka. King Kelanitissa put his daughter Princess Devi in a decorated canoe and sent her to the sea to protect the country from a tsunami. The storm tossed the boat and the princess landed in a place where Muhudu Maha Vihara is located today.

During that period, the area was ruled by King Kavantissa. When the king heard about the princess, he came there and asked Ko Kumari? Later this area was called Komari.

Villagers then told the King, Aragame. This area is now known as Arugambay. It is said that when Princess Devi landed, she was bathed with seven pots of water mixed with sandalwood. All her jewellery was deposited at the spot where she was bathed. The place is known as Prarthana Gala (wishing stone) and is marked with a few stone pillars today. There is an image house and three statues. The two statues other than the Buddha statue are believed to be of King Kavantissa and Queen Devi (Vihara Maha Devi).

The golden canoe in which Princess Devi came is said to be deposited there and a chetiya is being built. In ancient times, a large extent of land was offered to the Vihara by Kings in remembrance of Queen Vihara Maha Devi. But due to encroachment, the Vihara has only three acres of land today.

It is believed that there are a lot of ruins of Muhudu Maha Vihara hidden under the huge sand bar at the beach. During the 2004 tsunami, some villagers had seen a Buddha statue and a chetiya that had emerged from the sea when the sea moved revealing a large area which was covered by the sea.

It proves that Mihudu Maha Vihara had a large extent of land and is now covered by the sea. Muhudu Maha Vihara is in the limelight and a Bodhigara is being built there. The place where the wedding of King Kavantissa and Princess Devi took place is now marked as Maghul Maha Vihara. A unique moonstone is seen here. It has elephants with mahouts carved. This is not seen in any other moonstone designed elsewhere. It is said that the wedding platform (Magul Poruwa) was marked by a Bodhighara later.

The hidden historical places reveal our proud history. Ancient traditional customs are elaborated by architects. It is essential to make people aware of them and protect these places for posterity.

Nithuli Subasinghe, Grade 8B, Vidura College, Colombo.

[Winner]

An interesting television program

The television program Wenasa is one of the most interesting programs. It is telecast on Wednesdays. It shows important happenings.

Once they telecast an emotional drama with a lot of action of an actor and actress.

Later we were surprised to see a man and a woman seated outside the stage speaking and that was the dialogue in the drama and not the two actors. It was really amazing.

Y. Shammi Sadunika, Grade 10, Sumana Balika Vidyalaya, Ratnapura.









 

Development of Science and Technology

Science means promoting logical thinking of humans and technology means investing in new machines and equipment with the knowledge of Science to make the work easier. In the past, man lived a simple life. With the passage of time and new discoveries, many new things were invented. In the past, the only source of energy was the sun.

They loved nature and protected it. They wore clothes made out of animal skin and lived in caves and holes of trees. Technology was not developed at that time.

At present scientists are inventing new machines to make work easier. With the development of science man is trying to control nature. This leads to many problems. Today people are modernised. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

Fathima Hafsa Samsudeen, Grade 10A, Amana International School, Kurunegala.





 

Customs observed at home

There are many customs we observe at home. We observe customs for funerals, weddings, alms-giving, and for the New Year.

We observe many customs at home. It was a sad day for us when our grandfather passed away due to a heart attack. On that day we all wore the traditional white attire. We decorated the road to the burial ground with white flags. The head of the corpse was placed facing the West.

All the portraits and photographs were turned the other way. We opened all the doors and windows. We placed an oil lamp at the head and foot of the corpse. We did not prepare meals at our house. The people in our village provided us with meals.

People gathered in our house. We invited bhikkhus and they conducted religious performances. During that time Mathaka Wastra was offered to the Maha Sangha. People were silent on that day. Some relatives were crying.

When the body was taken away, my grandmother sprinkled the place with turmeric water. Grandmother told me that it was an important custom which came from her previous generation. Then she made a hearth with three stones, prepared food and gave it to animals.

When the people who attended the funeral returned home, they rubbed their hands with lime. My mother said we should give alms to bhikkhus for three months and seven days after the funeral. These are some of the customs that we observed. I learnt many customs during my grandfather's funeral. I will never forget these customs.

D.K.G. Dilesha Amarasinghe, Grade 11P, Ke/Dudley Senanayake Central College, Tholangamuwa.