Deepavali Celebrated in Canberra, Australia
November 21, 2012
The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra, Australia celebrated the Deepavali, “The festival of Lights” at the Vishnu Shiva Mandhir Mawson Drive, Mawson on 16th November 2012. A cross- section of the Sri Lankan Tamil community resident in Canberra, the representatives of the Sri Lankan Associations and the officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were present at the event.
The celebrations were held in keeping with the tradition of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Australia of celebrating the important festivals of Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian.
Mandhir priest Shri Pradeep Bhat, conducted the religious observances and offered blessings and harmony among all communities in Sri Lanka. Following the Hindu religious ceremony, the cultural items including musical programmes, Bharatanatyam and Sinhala dances organized by this Mission were performed. Mr. Krishna Nadakumar sang a number of devotional songs and Ms. Prathiba Nagapushan, Mr. Saravanan Kandasamy, Mr.Sukumar Subramaniam and Mr. Nagapushan played musical instruments. Miss. Nadeesha Samarasinghe presented solo Bharatanatyam with a devotional song to Goddess Saraswathy and the students of Mrs. Bhagya Palihawadana performed a beautiful dance on Unity of Sri Lanka.
Mr. Thamo Sri, President of the Vishnu Shiva Mandhir welcomed the audience and appreciated the initiatives taken by the High Commission to hold such colourful function at the temple.
High Commissioner Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe who addressed the gathering said that the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia has been celebrating the important religious festivals of the four major religions practiced in Sri Lanka, during the past several years. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of Deepavali and stated that the people of Sri Lankan origin in Australia should work together irrespective of their ethnicity, religion and language in order to promote and protect our Mother Lanka. Therefore, he requested the gathering to eliminate envy, ignorance, negative attitudes and all other evils from the minds to become good citizens as the Deepavali signifies the victory of brightness over darkness. He also pointed out the economic developments which are currently taking place in Sri Lanka and invited the Sri Lankan diaspora to work together for the betterment of Sri Lanka.
Mr. Lakhsman Prasad, Vice President of the Vishnu Shiva Mandhir delivered the Vote of Thanks and stated that organizing such kind of religious celebrations at the temple was a good opportunity to carry out the reconciliation programme between the different communities. He also requested the High Commission to hold such celebrations along with the Sri Lankan cultural programmes so that the other communities in Canberra will have an opportunity to see the different cultures in the adopted country.
Mandhir priest Shri Pradeep Bhat conducted special religious poojas to invoke blessings on H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to mark the President’s 67th Birthday.
Following the religious and cultural items dinner was served, which included, an array of traditional Hindu foods, for all participants.
