Cultural festival displays unity in diversity

A cultural festival to mark the Sinhala and Tamil new year titled "Temple and Church Sinhala and Tamil New Year" held at the Mangedera Purana Viharaya, Tulhiriya on April 30 drew a vast crowd belonging to all communities and religions in the area.

People belonging to Sinhala, Tamil as well as Muslim communities participated in the festival jointly organized by the Children's Foundation For National and Religious Unity and Mangedere Purana Viharaya Dayaka Sabha under the patronage of Viharadhipathi Ven Welivita Janananda Nayaka Thera and Rev Sarath Hettiarachchi, President Children Foundation for National and Religious Unity.

The festival featured cultural items belonging to the three communities including upcountry and low country dancing, and Tamil and Muslim dance items.

Sports items including pillow fight, climbing the greasy pole, cadjan weaving, coconut scraping and the avurudu kumari and kumara contests drew wide participation.

A New Year table was laid consisting of sweetmeat and other food items brought by people of all communities and the participants partook the food with deep appreciation.

Noon meals were supplied to all participants by the residents of the Mangedere village.

Among the clergy of all religious and faiths present were Ven Prof Kamburugamuwa Vajira Thera, President Inter-Religious Alliance for National Unity, Joint President of the Alliance Rev Sarath Hettiarachchi and Bishop Rt Rev Shantha Francis, Dr Seiyyad Hassan Mowlana Chief Priest of the Davatagaha Mosque.

The programme was well recived by the participants who said it was an important event which helped to build bridges between communities and religious to forge national unity.