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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

09th April 2021 19:04:40 Hours

Army HQ-organized New Year Festival Coloured with Restricted Festive Features

Sinhala-Hindu New Year festive features, together with a restricted number of traditional, fun-making and culturally-rich games, rites and rituals came alive, Subject to strict health guildline at the Sri Lanka Engineers' Regiment grounds in Panagoda Army Cantonment throughout Friday (9) when a selected symbolic crowd of Army personnel serving the Army Headquarters (AHQ) joined hands together and shared New Year festive spirits.

This year’s Army festive arrangements were considerably scaled down on the instructions of General Shavendra Silva, Head, National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army due to prevailing COVID - 19 epidemic. Similarly, unlike in previous Army New Year festivals where more than 30-40 New Year features and games were staged, this year’s festival included only a handful of New Year features, designed to prevent spread of the epidemic.

The festive atmosphere assumed greater importance when the participants' chief, General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army appeared before the gathering to take part in the ‘Bakmaha Ulela 2021’of the Army Headquarters as the Chief Guest, together with Mrs Sujeewa Nelson, President, Army Seva Vanitha Unit (ASVU).

Both of them were welcomed by Adjutant General, Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe and conducted to the festival venue in a procession before hoisting of the National flag and the Army flag by General Shavendra Silva and Major General Senarath Bandara, Chief of Staff took place respectively.

The flag hoisting feature signalled the formal commencement of the day’s event and followed the lighting of the traditional oil lamp. The typical gesture in all Army events, the one-minute silence in memory of all fallen War Heroes was then observed before the recital of the National anthem and the Army song rent the air.

Senior officers at the Army Headquarters, senior ASVU members, Other Ranks, invitees and members of the civil staff afterwards joined hands together and competed in a multitude of New Year features in a relaxed mood adding fun and amusement.

Raban-playing, selection of the ‘Avurudu Kumari’ (new year princess), eye-placing on the Elephant, bun-eating, slow cycling, marathon runs, fancy dress parades, obstacle races and a number of other traditional and fun-making games dominated the day’s sequence of events to the much amusement of all those onlookers.

Deviating from the day’s hectic and stereotype work schedule, the Commander took time off mingling with other participants. In addition, several modal structures that remind of rural settings crafted by soldiers were also in place as attractive spectacles in the ground.

At the end of the day's event, Major General Senarath Bandara, Chief of Staff and several Senior Officers gave away gifts and trophies to the winners in different events and competitions, extending their best wishes on the eve of the New Year. A special gift was awarded to the ‘Avurudu Kumari’ (new year princess) by Mrs Sujeewa Nelson, President, ASVU.

A buffet lunch treat and refreshments, replete with traditional foods including milk rice, oil cakes, assmi, kokis, etc were served to all who had gathered for the event.

Many Senior Officers were present during the event, together with their spouses. Running sport media | Nike