Sampath Bank partners with Colombo International Book Fair for eighth consecutive year

The Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF) has become the most calendared event in the diaries at this time of the year among the young and old book lovers alike.

The much celebrated event falls in time with the National Literary Month and is patronised by local and foreign literati.  Each year hundreds of international and local publishing companies take part giving the event a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

This year too CIBF happened from 17 to 25 September 2011 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). Due to the high demand a special book fair was organised for the last two years in Kandy prior to the main event in Colombo, catering to the large numbers who are unable to travel the distance to be at CIBF.

It was indeed a prestige to be the official banking partner for such an esteemed literary event and Sampath Bank has been supporting the work of Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association who are the organisers of this event for the last seven years.

Apart from exhibiting and selling books, the event also provides a platform for the visitors to meet and interact with like-minded intellectuals, enjoy cultural and educational activities, try out their skill and luck and creative competitions etc., making it fun and eventful for the entire family.

This year too Sampath Bank sponsored the ‘Ketapath Pawura,’ which is an arterial wall named after the legendary stone wall of poetry in Sigiriya – Lion’s Rock. The wall was an open invitation on which artistic geniuses could doodle and squiggle their thoughts. The best poem, rhyme, ode or limerick was rewarded by Sampath Bank with valuable gifts at the end of each day.

In addition, Sampath Bank was also the sponsor of the ‘Swarna Pusthaka’ Award, which is the most esteemed national honour that is given to an author of a Sinhalese novel. The award was presented at a glittering literary event at the BMICH on 9 September 2011 with Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga attending as Guest of Honour. Veteran writers, book critiques and intellects of the literary world took part in this event.

As the official banker for the event, Sampath Bank had made available a host of exciting and cleverly designed new services to suit the needs of each and every customer at the Colombo International Book Fair. May it be a distinguished book collector, a local librarian or even a school child, Sampath Bank had something to offer to make their book festival experience worthwhile.

The Sampath team was present at the book fair premises throughout the time, to assist the customers in their needs, may it be change of currency or an emergency cash requirement to purchase a rare and much loved book that you’ve been seeking for some time. An attractive 5% discount too was on offer for all Sampath Bank card holders such as credit cards, mini debit cards, SET cards and X-SET cards.