|
Children
We wish our readers a happy and prosperous Sinhala and Hindu New Year
Dear Children,
Avurudu time is here again. The sounds of the Koha heralds another
Sinhala and Hindu New Year. I am sure all you children are waiting
impatiently for the Avurudu to partake of the traditional sweetmeats and
participate in the Avurudu games.
You do not have to wait long because Avurudu is just six days away.
 |
|
Celebrating
Avurudu. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage |
Businessmen too make good sales with more and more people going
shopping during this time of the year.
Since this is the first post war Sinhala Hindu New Year people have
added reason for the festive mood.
I am sure you all must be having 'Bakmaha Ulela' in your villages and
towns too. It is time to meet your relations, friends and neighbours now
that you all are having school holidays.
Let me wish you dear children a happy and prosperous New Year. Please
don't forget to share your New Year experiences with Daily News
Children.
World Health Day yesterday
Dear Children health is the greatest value one can posses. The value
of health is highlighted by great religious leaders like the Buddha.
World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7, under the
sponsorship of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In 1948, the World Health Organisation held the First World Health
Assembly.
The Assembly decided to celebrate April 7 of each year, with effect
from 1950, as the World Health Day.
The World Health Day is celebrated to create awareness of a specific
health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World
Health Organisation (WHO).
World Health Day 2010 will focus on urbanization and health under the
theme 'Be part of a global movement to make cities healthier'.
 |
|
Bamako, is the capital and largest
city of Mali.
Courtesy: Google |
Mali
| Capital-(and largest city) Bamako
Official language(s) -French
Vernacular languages -Bambara
Demonym -Malian
Area -Total 1,240,192 km2
Population -April 2009 census 14,517,176
Currency -West African CFA franc
|
Mali is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria
on the North, Niger on the East, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on
the South, Guinea on the South-West, and Senegal and Mauritania on the
West. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of more than
14 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and
its borders on the North reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while
the country's Southern region, where the majority of inhabitants live,
features the Niger and Sénégal rivers.
The country's economic structure
centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources
include gold, uranium and salt. Mali is considered to be one of the
poorest nations in the world.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that
controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from
which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 1800s, Mali
fell under French control, becoming part of French Sudan. Mali gained
independence in 1959 with Senegal, as the Mali Federation. A year later,
the Mali Federation became the independent nation of Mali.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
- Part 17
By Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi
Rescued by the ritual
In 'Kid's Den'...
Four children, Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka, go on a
trip to the woods with their parents for their school holidays. In the
middle of the night the children are awakened by a strange noise. On
following their dog, Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the spell of the
'luring stones'. Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book
of spell to cast off the spell while the others remain behind with Sachi,
a gnome. A storm breaks and the kids are scattered.
Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for
the mythical creatures, comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang
up the rest of her pack and reveals an age old secret.
However the group discovers that it is not only Sulo's secret that is
uncovered by the storm. Something dark and deadly had been hidden in the
depths of the earth waiting to release itself and return for revenge...
('Return of the Kids' is the sequel to 'Kid's Den')
Ronnie got an idea and he hastened to whisper it to Jay.
"Why don't you perform the ritual to trap the culprit? At the rate
things are going this is an emergency."
 Jay looked at him thoughtfully but did not utter a word for some
time. He was well aware that all the eyes around the table were glued to
him. Just at the foot of his seat Pradesh fidgeted uncomfortably, his
yellow goblin eyes roaming from side to side. Jay stared at him for a
second then shook his head. Even Pradesh will not be hairbrained to risk
playing pranks like this unless he had something stable to hang on to.
He had doubts about the goblin's loyalty but Pradesh was no fool. He is
as slippery as an eel.
At last he turned back to Ronnie.
"Let's do it," the message passed silently between them and Jay
closed his eyes and began to chant the magical words in his mind. All at
one the background became dim and the creatures around the table
quivered in anticipation. A strange and eerie feeling was in the air and
it sent shivers up their spine. A powerful enchantment was at work.
All the creatures around the table were the senior members of each
group. There were the gnome, pixie and brownie leaders along with the
leaders from all kind of forest creatures. They were named as the
'elders' and each group got together to discuss some of the most
important problems that had occurred in the past few years.
Years of experience had taught them that Jay was working on a
powerful magical spell. Troubled times were here but only Chief Jay's
(and maybe Ronnie's) magic still worked properly. All the other mythical
creatures had trouble performing theirs on and off. It was a scary
experience but they were trained to have faith in themselves and in
their leader.
They have passed worse times under Zelda to reach their destination.
A spark flew across the air and Pradesh jumped. Angela, the chipmunk,
let out a small squeak as the spark passed by. Even Dudders looked
shaken as the spark circled round him twice and made its way towards
Russell. The spark circled round Russell about five times.
Gerry and Annie looked on in horror. Then suddenly the spark made its
way towards the companion by Russell's side, the young gnome. There was
a sudden bang, a squeal, and sparks flew everywhere. Everyone was
staring at a female goblin in place of the gnome!
To be continued
'The Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs'
'The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' presented by the Primary
Students of Musaeus College, Colombo, took the audience to that
beautiful moment of time, many years ago, when magic was alive in the
land of Fairy Tales.
 |
|
Scene of
the drama ‘The Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs’ |
The show, held on January 31, 2010, at the Bishop's College
Auditorium, was a brilliant production, with enchanting music,
delightful dances, exquisite costumes and life like background props.
The children were carefully nurtured under the guidance of their
Teacher-in-Charge of Speech and Drama Nusrath Ghazzalli. The Choral
Director for the play was Vindya Ethiligoda, assisted by Rangi Hewawasam
and Chathurangi Siriwardhena, while the choreographer for the production
was Manik Neydorff. The expertise of the above professionals were very
evident throughout the performance, where the near impossible task of
handling 300 children, all under 11 years of age, danced and sang
beautifully, captivating the audience with a brilliant production.
Narrated beautifully by Piyara Wijekoon, Suhanya Wijesundara and
Dinasha Muthuthanthiri, the story revolved around a beautiful Princess
called Snow White.
Rushara Gunasena brought to life the character of Princes Snow White
with a stunning performance, combined with song and dance! Jinali
Premaratne, singing beautifully, performing as the handsome Prince
Charming was truly a Prince in making!
The Jolly Little seven dwarfs played by Dasuni Jayawickrama (Doc),
Dilini Dullewe (Grumpy), Minuri Hallolouwa (Bashful), Sanugi Rathnayake
(Sneezy), Shani Rannula (Happy), Niseni Hewamallika (Sleepy) and Thyaga
Dhahanayake (Dopey) had the crowd rolling with laughter.
The performances of Binuri Dassanayake (Wicked Queen), Blihara
Ganegoda (Magic Mirror), Chalani Wickramasinghe (Old Pedlar Woman),
Sawani Perera (Little Bird), Chamodi Pillipuhewa (Hunstsman) were
stunning.
|
