Gaalu Samaya to depict pristine glory of historic Galle City

Raja Waidyasekera Tissamaharama special corr

The "Gaalu Samaya" carnival will be held in Galle from today until December 26.

It will be held on the initiative of Agriculture Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara. It will add beauty, splendour and colour to the historic City of Galle. An industrial exhibition will be held at the Butterfly Play ground while an international exhibition will be held at the Dharmapala Park.

An exhibition depicting the history and the heritage of the Galle will be held at the Galle Town Hall auditorium while seminars and workshops will also be held.

The ancient type traditional Spice auction will be held at Amarasooriya Playground in Galle Fort while an exhibition of world's most modern luxurious vehicles will be held at the playground of Southern Province sports training centre grounds.

An exhibition of old vehicles will also be held opposite the old Dutch church. Sri Lanka's oldest embassy building situated in Galle Fort will be utilised to hold an exhibition of all the foreign embassies in Sri Lanka.

In addition, exhibitions will be held in old schools in Galle to depict their ancient glory and dignity. An exhibition of old books will be held at the oldest library building in Galle Fort.

Dresses worn by people of all races will be exhibited at the courts square.

All the movies shot in Galle and its outskirts will be exhibited while Dramas of Shakespeare, Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra and Henry Jayasena will be staged. In addition, cultural Peraheras depicting various eras from the Ravana era until the present day will parade the streets daily.

A mass pahan pooja will be held at the army memorial on December 26.

The inauguration of the exhibition will be by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The President will hand over the 100 million rupee Galle Development Fund allocated from the budget.