A MEMMORABLE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION – by Mr Nimal Sedera: Brisbane   The Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebration organized by the Sri Lanka Society of Queensland on 24th April at the Jindalee Bowls Club was a tremendous success. With the tradition of the Society, it was an event of less talk and more fun packed rituals, traditional games and events followed by a sumptuous buffet lunch.   Tickets for Maximum COVID number allowed within the main hall was one hundred and twenty-five and every seat was occupied at the commencement of the meeting.  Every participant was welcomed with a pack containing a professionally made  “Konda Kevum”. The President of the Association Mrs Namal Wijeratne welcomed all guests and the programme was launched with the ritual of boiling of milk for prosperity. Mrs Chalani Gunasekera , wife of  Late Victor Gunasekera who was a founder member of the Society lit the ...

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Stories Behind Names of Places in Sri Lanka: How Lellupitiya got its Name   Lellupitiya is a very famous village in the district of Ratnapura, “the Gem pit” of our motherland. The story goes back to the time the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka. They deceived the King of Kotte to build a fort in Colombo cunningly, and gradually intruded into the country. They went to Ratnapura hearing of the rich gem pits in the area. Sri Lanka was well known in the world for its Gems even more than today. Realising the value of capturing Ratnapura for economic gains, they were successful in building their fortress in a land in the vicinity of Ratnapura. The people of the area lived in fear of an attack from the fortress would happen anytime. Contanthinu da Sa, a dreadful war veteran of the Portuguese was heading the regiment in the fort. However, ...

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A rare unique novel written by a retired Administrative services officer, worth making a handbook for all Government servants…………Nimal Sedera Wadanambbi Jayasinghe’s novel “Kammale Donkaraya”(Echo of the smithery) is based on the period 1970 t0 1974. The author Jayasinghe takes up duties  as the Divisional Revenue officer (DRO) of Kothmale in 1970 .Mr. Jayasinghe relates his story under a created name Tilak Wijesinghe. The author explained to me that every sentence in this novel is true and that they are his experiences. He has replaced original names with others.  The novel begins with the DRO getting in to the jeep at Nuwara-Eliya, Government Agent’s office to proceed to Kothmale. Being a new appointee to the Administrative Service as a graduate from Peradeniya, the youthful DRO arrives in Kothmale with his young wife, a schoolteacher and two children and occupy the government quarters allocated to the DRO. He outlines the present ...

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