‘Danno Budunge’ spurs Lankan cricketers

Gayathri Peiris

Who knows may be it was Sri Lankan songstress Gayathri Peiris’ lilting performance of ‘Danno Budunge’ which spurred the Sri Lankan cricketers to a stunning performance against the visiting Englishmen.

On the opening day of the final test between Sri Lanka and England at the Galle Stadium, Peiris – a soprano who performs in many countries - also sang ‘Born Free’ and two other songs and appeared on Ten Sports global telecast with a message “Sri Lanka Tourism invites the world”.

Her performance was part of a major drive by Sri Lankan Tourism to promote the country during the current test series in Colombo.

About 7,000 England cricket fans including members of the Barmy Army (500 member) are in Colombo during December.
Tourism officials said the promotion began a year ago with advertisements being placed in the Barmy Army magazine and the Cricinfo website.

Other events included a greening campaign in Kandy with the participation of the rival captains, England’s Michael Vaughan and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardena, a tourism onformation counter for the Barmy Army and other fans, arranged interviews for the visiting cricket media and the Barmy Army and tours of Sri Lanka.

All these events were captured by Ten Sports, Sky TV and other foreign media, who were present, according to Renton de Alwis, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.