Awards aplenty at a great literary evening - State Literary Awards 2013

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. (Oscar Wilde)
Every year many books are published in Sri Lanka. However, out of   these creations only the best are appreciated and recognised as contenders for literary awards. The State Literary Awards in Sri Lanka for the year 2013 was recently held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo where many writers won accolades for their distinctive contributions.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his message for the State Literary Awards 2013 ceremony said that literary works have a vital role to play in social development. He also said the government that has identified the crucial role played by creators of literature has taken measures to provide state patronage in the promotion of local literature as well for the welfare of local writers and that a country can achieve meaningful and comprehensive advancement  only when literature flourishes in a progressive society. The President  also contented that a great work in literature is timeless in value and that highly acclaimed literary works in the past nourishes local literature even today.  He also believed that our writers would pay  attention to the needs of the reading public inclusive of school children and encourage them to cultivate the habit of reading works that have been recognised and accepted as exemplary donations to the people by writers in the country.
The award for the best Sinhala language novel, ‘Senkottan’  was presented to its author Mahinda Prasad Masimbulla, the best English novel, ‘Miracle Under the Kumbuk Tree’ went to Daya Dissanayaka and the best Tamil novel was won by ‘Uppukkattu’ written by Kalaiyarvan. The best short story collection in Sinhala was won by Piyaseeli Wijemanne for her work, ‘Miththanniyo’, while the best Tamil short story collection ‘Kanneerinoode Thriyum Veethi’, and was won by Thevarasa Mukunthan. The best poetry collection in Sinhala was won by two writers–Sunanda Karunaratne for his ‘Kanya Diyawarata Elamba’ and by Suharshini Dharmaratne for her ‘Girihisa Tharanaya’. The best poetry collection in Tamil went to ‘Pathi Puthithu’ compiled by M. Sadasaran.



"A great work in literature is timeless in value and that highly acclaimed literary works in the past nourishes local literature even today - the President "


The other awards were as follows. The award for the Best Sinhala Lyrical Poetry went to ‘Nikini Wassa’ by Rathna Sri Wijesinghe; the Best Children’s Literature in Sinhala ‘Kiri Hami’ by Sybil Wettasinghe; the Best Children’s Literature in English, ‘Kitty and the Bell Necklace’ by Neville Perera and the Best Tamil Children’s Literature work ‘Sinnach Siriya Sirahuhal’ by Agalangan. The best play of the year in English was presented to ‘Irangani’ written by Earnest Macintyre.
The Chief Guest of the event Speaker of Parliament Chamal Rajapaksa addressing the gathering said that all creations are not good creations, but that good creations are born through artistes who should be appreciated. Speaker Rajapaksa also drew a parallel between literature and a tree with a multitude of branches. And it was his hope that they would bear many more blossoms [ in the future].
The Minister of Culture and Arts T.B. Ekanayake who was also present at this occasion commenting on the famous inquiry ‘Can literature be used as food?’  said that literature represents the whole society and the whole of human civilisation.   
During the 2013 State Literary Awards three life time awards were presented to Vini Vitharana (Sinhala), Edwin Ariyadasa (English) and Theniyan Kandiah Nadesan (Tamil) for the services they have rendered to the nation through their literary creations.  
 The event consisted of a dance performances by Ravibandu Vidyapathi, Chandana Wickremasinhe, Nirmala John and Channa Wijewardena which added colour to the evening.

A few scenes of the play ‘Guru Tharuwa’ directed by Jayalath Manoratne were also staged. The dance performances and the play that were appreciated by the attendees added flavour and grace to the ‘literary’ evening.
Pix by Kithsiri De Mel