Jaffna Nallur Festival Sees 25pct more Crowds. The Annual Event is Sri Lanka's Longest Festival

12th September 2010, www.sundayobserver.lk, By Shirajiv Sirimane

There has been an over 25 percent increase in the number of arrivals of local and foreign visitors to Jaffna during this year's Nallur festival in the peninsula.

The annual event, which is the island's longest festival, saw an over 10 percent increase in Tamil diaspora participation as well this year.

Director, Sri Lanka Tourism, S. Kalaiselvam said this is the second time the event is being held after the dawn of permanent peace and members of the Diaspora have tried to get themselves organised for this world famous event. "We have seen a large number of arrivals, especially from Canada, UK and Australia for this event," he said.

Kalaiselvam said that the Tamil Diaspora either took flights or used public transport to go to Jaffna. Over 25 buses travel to Jaffna daily while Air Force Heli Tours also operates daily flights to Palali.

He said that there are over 150 quality rooms for accommodation in Jaffna and that several guest-houses are opened every month. Jaffna residents are also renting out their houses or parts of houses to cater to the demand during the festive season, bringing them an additional revenue as well.

Sri Lanka Tourism, as an initiative to promote religious and cultural tourism, has spearheaded the promotion of the historic Nallur festival, particularly with the Tamil Diaspora, who have been encouraged to come with their families and participate in the festivities.

Cottage industries too have benefited with made-in-Jaffna products being sold at high prices while three-wheelers, vans and restaurants too are doing brisk business.

An official from the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce said that local tourists are coming to Jaffna in large numbers and this had increased by over 15 percent during the festive season. "On average, 5,000 Southerners visit Jaffna during weekdays and long holidays and on weekends this increases to around 7,500," he said.

Galle Literary Festival 2010 with New Features

27th December 2009, sundaytimes.lk, By Adilah Ismail, Pic by Berty Mendis

Meander through the cobbled streets of Galle and drop in for an afternoon of poetry over tea with Scottish poet Jackie Kay and English poet Wendy Cope. Learn how to make your own graphic novel with Sarnath Banerjee and hear iconic writer Sybil Wettasinghe reminiscence about her own childhood in a village near Galle.

The Galle Literary Festival beckons and in its fourth year, comes equipped with a plethora of events to cater to literary lovers of manifold genres. The Festival takes place from January 28 - February 1, 2010 and will for the first time feature genres such as crime fiction, graphic novels and pulp fiction.

Speaking at a news conference held in Colombo last week, Festival Director Sunila Galappatti explained that among its new innovations, the Festival will also feature performances by the Ravibandu Vidyapati Drum Ensemble and the Chitrasena Dance Company in addition to the events by the participating writers. The Chamber Music Society of Colombo also returns by popular demand to perform at the Dutch Reformed Church in Galle, and this will be the world premiere of a new composition by its resident composer Stephen Allen.

Another new feature of the festival is the introduction of discounted tickets for teachers, (in addition to the existing student discount) and the inclusion of more free events at the Festival in order to make it more accessible to the public at large.

Also for the first time, the 2010 festival will run a day of events for 100 students from Galle schools. This is the concluding phase of the outreach programme conducted throughout 2009 among urban and rural schools in Galle and Matara to promote creative reading and writing among students.

Historian Antony Beevor, Novelist Gillian Slovo and South Asian writers Mohammed Hanif, Rana Dasgupta and Amit Varma are among those participating in the festival while Sri Lankan writers Shyam Selvadurai, Michelle de Kretser, Ru Freeman, Shehan Karunatilaka, Lal Medawattegedara, Ameena Hussein and Ashok Ferrey are among the many Sri Lankan writers lined up.

Platinum sponsors for the festival are the British Council, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Embassy of Norway and the Jetwing Lighthouse. Gold sponsors are Amangalla, The American Centre, B Sharp, Dilmah, Emirates, ETV, Printcare, The Daily Mirror and The Sunday Times.

The programme for the Festival is online. To findout more about the participants and the upcoming festival visit www.galleliteraryfestival.com