Kelaniya Uni celebrates World Hindi Day with film festival

World Hindi Day was celebrated on a grand scale on 10 January 2012 in Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha was the Chief Guest at the inauguration of a Hindi Film Festival organised by the Department of Hindi Studies, University of Kelaniya on 9 January 2012.

The five day film festival has been organised to celebrate the World Hindi Day by the University of Kelaniya, which is the only university in Sri Lanka having a fully-fledged Department of Hindi Studies with approximately 350 students enrolled for learning Hindi.

The festival has also been organised recognising the important role played by the Hindi films in promotion of Hindi and the huge popularity of Hindi films in Sri Lanka.

Prof. Sarath Amunugama, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, Prof. Lakshman Senevirathne, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Prof. Upul Ranjith Hewawitanagamage, Head, Department of Hindi Studies also graced the inauguration. In his remarks, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Amunugama underlined the influence of cinema in creating cultural awareness and highlighted the close relationship between our two countries built upon the shared cultural and civilisational heritage.

In his remarks, High Commissioner highlighted that this was his first visit to the University of Kelaniya and appreciated the close cooperation between the Department of Hindi Studies and the Indian Cultural Centre.

The High Commissioner underlined that going by the number of speakers, Hindi was the second most widely spoken language in the world and was becoming a global language. The High Commissioner emphasised that the students learning Hindi would benefit from the increasing trade and economic cooperation between our two countries, increasing connectivity and people to people contacts.

More than 20% of all tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka are from India and the number increased by almost 38% in 2011 compared to 2010. The High Commissioner also highlighted that bilateral trade is expected to cross US$ 5 billion in 2011 and India was among the top two investors in Sri Lanka in 2011.

A special event organised by the Indian Cultural Centre on 10th January 2012 at the New Town Hall, Colombo was very well attended. As part of the celebrations, the Centre organised competitions in poetry, speech, essay writing, reading, copy writing and skits for students learning Hindi. During the event Prime Minister of India’s message on the occasion of the World Hindi Day 2012 was read. Participants presented a cultural programme including performances of Bharathanatyam, modern dances, Folk dances and rendition of ghazals and Hindi songs. The winners in different categories of competitions were awarded prizes.

The Assistant High Commission of India, Kandy also celebrated the World Hindi Day by organising an event which was attended by approximately 500 persons and was graced by the Governor of the Central Province, several Ministers of the Provincial Council, Officials and prominent members of civil society. The event included cultural performances, a play, an essay and poem competitions. Hindi is very popular in Sri Lanka and the largest number of students enrolled in various courses of the Indian Cultural Centre is in Hindi courses.