High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Inaugurating an exhibition entitled ‘Traditional Temple Paintings of Sri Lanka’ by three Sri Lankan artistes at the prestigious Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi, High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam said that Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the South and South-East Asian region that can claim an unbroken tradition of wall painting, which is older than two thousand years and continues to the present day. 

The exhibition which is organised under the India-Sri Lanka Cultural Exchange Programme as a joint effort by the National Crafts Council of Sri Lanka and the Lalit Kala Akademi of India, features about 110 replicas of ancient temple paintings and rock and wall paintings as well as interpretations in traditional style.

Highlighting the exhibition as yet another event in the continuous important partnership between India and Sri Lanka, High Commissioner Kariyawasam referred to the earliest Buddhist images found in Sri Lanka dating back to the 1st century which are characteristic of the Indian Amaravati style. Some of the carvings in the ancient Anuradhapura Kingdom have been said to reflect the influence of the Gupta and Pallava schools of India of the 4th, 5th and 7th centuries. He said that the paintings at Sigiriya, of which some reproductions were on display at the exhibition, are from the same period as those of Ajanta in India. The suggestion often made, which seems reasonable, is that the Ajanta school representatives and artists from Sri Lanka may have travelled in both directions and exchanged the latest art technologies of the time.

The High Commissioner pointed out that like Buddhism, Hinduism too has left an indelible impression on the evolution of the arts of Sri Lanka. According to some scholars a comparison of the stone architecture of Southern India with the Hindu buildings in Sri Lanka illustrate that the survival of early Hindu culture in Sri Lanka was perhaps “better preserved than on the mainland”. The fusion in art of the Buddhistic and Hindu traditions, is an integral part of our rich heritage that Sri Lanka is justifiably proud of, he added.

Mr. Balan Nambiar, Acting Chairman and Dr Sudhakar Sharma, Secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi as well as Mr Suresh Goel, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ambassadors and diplomats based in New Delhi, a number of leading artists and art critics were among the participants at the inauguration of the exhibition which continues until the 5th April 2012.

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was an invitee panelist at the prestigious India Today Conclave 2012 held in New Delhi from 16-17 March 2012.

The India Today Conclave which is held annually has seen the participation of leading Indian and international personalities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Mohamed ElBaradei, Sarah Palin, Dominique De Villepin, Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, former US Vice-President and Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore at its sessions, among others, in the recent past.

The theme of this year’s Conclave was ‘Asian Century: Securing the Global Promise’. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made the Keynote address on the theme ‘The Making of an Asian Century’. Prominent Indian and international personalities including Social Activists, politicians, and leading Bollywood personalities, among others, participated as panelists in various sessions of this year’s Conclave.

Participating as the leading speaker at the session entitled “Is Dynasty a Burden or Boon?” with two co-panelists representing leading political families of India and Bangladesh, Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa said that merely belonging to a political family was not enough to ensure success in politics. In a democracy, representatives are elected and one does not inherit office through succession, he added. In this session, the panel of young South Asian leaders candidly debated the leadership role of political families in governance.

(full text of the speech)

The 64th Independence Day of Sri Lanka was celebrated in New Delhi on Saturday 4th February at the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi. The day long celebrations commenced with High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam, joined by the staff of the High Commission, offering alms (the morning meal) to Buddhist priests representing the Sri Lankan Buddhist temples located in India including the recently established Jambudvipa-Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple in Sarnath. The offering of alms was followed by the Flag Hoisting Ceremony with the participation of the Sri Lankan expatriate community. The Ceremony included the reading of the Message of the President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa. Addressing the Sri Lankan community, High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam stressed the important role that the Sri Lankan community must play in supporting the vision of H.E. the President in consolidating the hard won peace in the country. Highlighting the exchange of high-level visits between Sri Lanka and India in the recent past, the High Commissioner apprised the gathering of the successful implementation of programmes and projects that had been agreed during the State Visit of President Rajapaksa to India in June 2010, including the construction of 50,000 houses, the Sampur Power Plant, the Kankasanthurai Harbour, and the railway lines in Northern as well as Southern Sri Lanka.

Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation represented the Government of India at the Reception hosted by the High Commissioner at his Residence in the evening. The Reception, attended by over eight hundred guests, included Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai, members of the Indian Parliament, diplomats, senior government officials, and media personnel. The Indian and Sri Lankan National Anthems were sung on the occasion by Sri Lankan students of music at the Benaras Hindu University.

High Commission of Sri Lanka in India
New Delhi
5 February 2012

Our nation is fortunate to celebrate the 64th Independence Day with a genuine sense of dignity about freedom.

Today the national flag flutters pointing to a new country in the making.  The way is open for an independent economy.  It daily reinforces the nation’s aspiration for a prosperous future.  It has given us freedom to decide upon issues concerning the country and the nation without bowing down before external powers.  I strongly believe that is the immense responsibility the nation entrusted to us.  It is a great pleasure to see the steady consolidation of supreme independence.

The country’s achievements would be secured when opportunities for peace,     co-existence as well as harmonious living are widened.  Sacrifices made so far to reach that objective have to be secured in future too.  We would no longer hesitate to take decisions towards fostering national unity through an indigenous programme of action.  We overcame diverse challenges the country faced with extreme patience.  We have built productive economic, political ,defence, trade and cultural links with the international community through friendly contacts.  We must preserve all this by working more rationally, intelligently and patriotically than even before.
Similarly the country should be brought forward developing its value systems.  It is only then that a prosperous life would emerge in a peaceful environment.

The nation’s respect and felicitations should go to all patriots who paid the supreme sacrifice, laying down their lives to overcome the nations challenges for the sake of supreme independence.

I wish you all a bright future!