A large number of expatriate Sri Lankans gathered at the Al Arabi Sports Club to celebrate the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil new year, ‘Bak Maha Ulela 2013’, on Friday.
The event was attended by Sri Lankan Minister Wimal Weerawansa and Provincial Council Minister Nimal Piyatissa.
Children from the Sinhalese and Tamil communities dressed in traditional attire welcomed the chief guest, Jayantha Palipane, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar, S Khan, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, W M V Wansekara, Counselor Labour, and Wije Dambawinne, Deputy General Manager, Treasury, Sampath Bank PLC.
Sponsors of the event and invitees were followed by drummers dressed in traditional attire. The national flags of Qatar and Sri Lanka were hoisted and a traditional oil lamp was lit.
Ambassador Palipane greeted the community on the new year and declared the event open. The day-long event was organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Coordinating Committee (SLCC) Qatar.
Participation in this year’s celebrations was overwhelming with a large number of community members, both men and women as well as children, participating in the many events held throughout the day and enjoying music and entertainment, said SLCC President Lenny Cramer.
Sri Lankan artistes like Damayantha Kusum Perera Jayathungage, Biyanka Fonseka, Tissa Abeykoon and Hathdinnath Tharu Dinusha Lakmali Rajapathirana performed at the celebrations.
Winners of sports and traditional events received prizes and a raffle was held at the end of the programme.
The programme, which was coordinated by Lokitha Karavita, was compered in the Sinhala and Tamil languages by Dinusha Rajapathirana, Biyanka Fonseka, Tennison De Silva, Ranjith Gurusinghe, Mahesh Abhayapala and S Niranjan.
The Peninsula
