A group of Sri Lankan descent American youth performed a recital of traditional Kandyan Drums at the 10th Annual Cultural Celebration organized by the South Asian American Employee Association of the U.S. Department of State recently.
According to a statement issued by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC, other performances by youth included those from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan at this annual South Asian cultural celebration.
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the U.S. Rodney Perera and Embassy officials participated at this event, while Ambassador Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and Ambassador Atul Keshap, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs were also present.
The young Kandyan drummers were trained by Mr. Indika Aththanayake, founder of “Sri Lanka Bera” in Maryland, U.S.
My memory takes me back to 1979, to a moment etched in time when a strikingly tall and impeccably dressed military officer, a Master in charge of Cadeting at Prince of Wales College commanding a guard of honour presented to President J.R. Jayawardene by the cadets of 3CCC, consisted of Ananda, Nalanda and Prince of Wales Cadet platoons at the Prince of Wales College grounds.
An American national, who had been staying in Sri Lanka for nearly ten months without a valid visa while using a Sinhala name under his American passport, was arrested by the Tourist Police of the Kandy.
A Sri Lankan wanted for financial frauds and under a red notice was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport along with his wife and child as they were returning from India, Police said.
The Government is considering abolishing the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff (OCDS) when the term of office of its incumbent General Shavendra Silva ends on December 31.
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