Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre:

President launches website

Rasika SOMARATHNA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa launched the website of the Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre (www.lotuspond.lk), at an event at Temple Trees yesterday.

The Performing Arts Theatre in Colombo, equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities for performers, will be ceremonially opened by President Rajapaksa on Thursday.

The President after launching the website remembered that the concept of setting up an international standard performing arts theatre in Sri Lanka was first mooted by the Cultural and Religious Affairs Minister, Lakshman Jayakody, who himself was a talented artiste.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, briefing the media, called it a landmark in the country’s development in the field of performing arts.

He said that a section of Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha from Horton roundabout to the Public Library roundabout would be renamed the Nelum Pokuna road. The Horton Place square would be renamed the Nelum Pokuna Square on Thursday morning, he added.

According to Mr. Weeratunga the event will be attended by a high level Chinese delegation led by a leading Chinese government official. The Secretary said that the funding for the construction of the theatre came by way of a grant from the Peoples Republic of China. The Chinese government spent over Rs. 3 billion for construction, he added.

He called it a gift from the people and the government of China to the people and the government of Sri Lanka. He noted that this would further strengthen the longstanding friendly ties between the two nations.

The Secretary also said that having an international standard performing arts theatre in Sri Lanka had remained a concept for a long period. He pointed out that it was President Rajapaksa who had ensured that it became a reality. The Secretary noted that there was a time when parents had discouraged their children from taking to performing arts as a profession due to lack of opportunities. “The situation has changed now and facilities like these would help to further boost the professional standards in the field of performing arts in Sri Lanka, he said.

Mr. Weeratunga said that the theatre will help attract the very best international performers and creations in the field of performing arts. The website launched yesterday would be the vehicle to propagate the theatre internationally, he added.

The event was attended by Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, leading artistes in the country and the media.