In April (the month of Bak), when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) in the celestial sphere; Sri Lankans begin celebrating their New Year or Aluth Avurudhu (in Sinhala) and Puththandu (in Tamil). It marks the end of the harvest season and also coincides with one of 2 instances when the sun is directly above Sri Lanka. On the day of celebrations, the sun is directly above Koggala (where a sun devale can be found). A new year of the Saka era begins with each festival.

The mythological conception of a `Aluth Avuruddha’ is that the Prince of Peace called Indradeva descends upon the earth to ensure peace and happiness. He comes in a white carriage wearing on his head a white floral crown seven cubits high. He first dips, like a returning space capsule plunges, breaking earth’s gravity, into a `kiri’ or sea of milk.

The actual history of the New Year goes back to primitive period in Sri Lankan history. Various beliefs, perhaps those associated with fertility, gave birth to many rituals, customs and ceremonies connected with the New Year. The advent of Buddhism in the third century BC led to a re-interpretation of the existing New Year activities in the Buddhistic light. The majority of the people in the country were Buddhists, and as such, it is that the Buddhist outlook was predominant in transforming the New Year rites to what they are now.

Hinduism, on the other hand, existed side by side with Buddhism, in medieval times. New Year practices interpreted in the Hinduistic way developed among the Hindus. Buddhism and Hinduism were historically connected with each other. Their philosophies were running along parallel dimensions, except for certain ultimate truths concerning the self, the way to achieve emancipation and the nature of a creative god and nirvana (which Buddhism denies). There was no serious congruences in New Year rituals that are found among the Buddhists and Hindus.

Read more about the Sinhala & Tamil New Year in Wikipedia.

සුභ අලුත් අවූරැද්දක් ෙවිවා!!!!
Iniyia Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal!!!
Happy new year!!!

Sri Sumangala College was established in Panadura on March 03, 1909 (popularly known as “Town Branch” at latter stages) in memory of Ven. Waligama Sri Sumangala thero (who played an important role in Sri Lankan Buddhism), in a land belonging to Rankoth Vihara Temple just 25 km south of Colombo, fulfilling the vision of six Philanthrophists of Panadura, namely, M Cornelis Perera, together with Mudliar Thomas Rodrigo, M. Mathes Salgado, P. C. H. Dias, P. Lewis Dias and P. Domingo Dias. The prime idea was to deliver an education to the children of Panadura, in English at a standard equal that of a Colombo school. The first Principal was Mr. Thomas E. Gooneratne who held the principalship for three years.

The school was further expanded with the help and contributions from the philanthropists / old boys. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 24th of March 1940 by Mr. P de S Kularatne, an Educationist of great repute on a land gifted by the first student of the College, Mr. M. Walter Salgado and situated at Nalluruwa, about one-and-a-half Kilometres south of Panadura town. The new building was to be ceremonially opened by the Governor of Ceylon, H.E. Andrew Caldecott on the 7th of August 1942, but due to unavoidable circumstance it was declared opened by the Governor’s Legal Secretary, Mr.H. B. Nihill on behalf of the Governor. This event marks the beginning of expansion of our Alma Mater in the new premises and the first Principal was Mr. P.J. Jayaratne. The establishment of Sri Sumangala College was a boon to those who sought higher education in English.

Sri Sumangala College with Principals like Abeyseela Ginige, during whose time the College executed a variety of extra – curricular activities.

Even the Old Boys’ Association was established under his auspices on 28th of October 1922, after 13 years after the establishment of the College. The management, which complied with the wishes of the Principals, granted Free Education in 1946. University Entrance classes were commenced in 1955 under Mr. K L V Alagiyawanna with a host of highly qualified Teachers, and had a success rate of about 85% in the very first year. During this period College achieved the Island’s Best Results in the University Entrance Examination.

The “Town Branch”, which housed the primary section of the school, was shifted to Nalluruwa in 1993 and the Principal at this time was Mr. D. E. Jayanetti. During this period, the College was among the 35 schools in Sri Lanka to be classified as a National School in the very first year of the classification system introduced and is considered the leading school in Kalutara District. However, due to ever-increasing demands for student admissions to Sri Sumangala College, and restrictions in the funds available to College from the Government, it has become an urgent need to carry out identified Priority Projects for the upliftment of the College for the welfare of the students and to make the environment conducive for students. The College has a student population around 5000 by year 2007.

Sri Sumangala College was seriously damaged by the tsunami on Dec 26, 2004 because the school was near the sea so it has moved to a safe place near Panadura City. This new location for school was an Army Camp.

The Japanese Government is funding the construction of the school at the newly identified land with approx. 7+ acres in extent in close proximity to Panadura Town along the Panadura-Horna main road. The Japan International Corporation System (JICS) who execute the construction work and the contract was awarded to by end October 2005 to Buildmart Co. for approx. Rs. 300 million (USD 3.0millon). The consultants to the project are Mhori Architect & Associates Inc, Japan with the assistance of Surath Wickremasingha Associates, Sri Lanka.

The construction work of the new location commenced on 15.11.2005 with a Ground Breaking Ceremony with the participation of Hon. Yuji Miyahara, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan and Hon. Reginald Cooray, Chief Minister, Western Provincial Council with the participation of many distinguished Guests including, Mr. T. Ueshima, the Resident Representative of JICA, Mr. T. Jimbo, Director, JICS, Mrs. Sunila Mendis, Senior Secretary to HE President.

Due to certain initial problems related to the release of the land the construction work had to be suspended and subsequent to a Cabinet Minister’s decision, the land mater was resolved.

Later the construction of the proposed new school was re-commenced with a foundation laying ceremony on 6th July 2006. The total cost estimate (including consulting, construction supervision etc.) of the proposed project is Rs. 330 million (approx. USD 3.3 million). The new school will have many new features, added and enhanced facilities (new main Auditorium for upper school, A spacious Library, Computer laboratories, Auditorium for the primary school etc.) for the use of students.

The project is to being carried out in 2 stages, the 1st stage include the construction of necessary buildings for the upper school followed with the constructions related to the primary school. The Phase I of the project has already been completed in September 2007 and handed over to the Education Ministry. The Phase II work is in progress and it is expected to complete the whole works by end February 2009.

Sumangala Network,

• Old Boys’ Association
• Colombo Branch of the Old Boys’ Association
• Kandy Branch of the Old Boys’ Association
• Junior Old Boys’ Association
• Group of Sumangala ‘99
• Old Sumangalians Scout Association
• Past Cricketers Association of Sri Sumangala College
• Past Teachers Association of Sri Sumangala College
• Past Sumangalian Aritists Association
• Sumangala Italy Wing
• Sumangala Australian Wing
• Sumangala UK Wing
• Old Cadets Association of Sri Sumangala College

There are many reasons to celebrate this milestone of the history of our College. We have spent our most memorable days of our childhood at Sri Sumangala College. We had many unforgettable experiences to live with and also with the company of priceless teachers who sweated to shape our future. It is our duty to reciprocate for their dedication and commitment and the best of education given to us by the College. We are confident that with the school being constructed at the proposed new location it will move from strength to strength. With the brand new school but yet with the spirit of the Sumangala College, we are confident that our school will be the beacon in Kalutara District and will lead all the way to become one of the most sought after Colleges in Sri Lanka.

In this context, for revival of the past glory and to blend it with the present new chapter in the history of Sumangala we are of the view that college centenary be celebrated in a Grand Style to set an example show our duty towards our Alma Mater.

To celebrate the centenary many activities are suggested to be implemented and here are the list of activities going to take place.

• 25th January
  All island Debating Contest
  Organised by the College.
• 25th January
  Lunch for the Past Teachers of the College
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 01st February
  Free Eye examination & Blood Donation campaign for the needy to be held at College premises
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 01st February
  Health Camp for the needy to be held at College premises
  Organised by the Junior Old Boys’ Association.
• 6th February
  Inter School Speech contest
  Organised by the College.
• 7th February
  “Siyawas Udana” Musical Show
  Organised by the Junior Old Boys’ Association.
• 11th February
  Art Competition among College Students
  Organised by the College.
• 20th February
  Induction of Prefects of the Centenary year
  Organised by the College.
• 20th February
  Inter School “Do You Know” contest – Commerce Section
  Organised by the College.
• 23rd February
  Inter School Drama Contest
  Organised by the College.
• 27th February
  Inter School “Do You Know” contest – Science Section
  Organised by the College.
• 28th February & 1st March
  Inter -School Six -a -Side Cricket Competition
  Organised by the Past Cricketers Association.
• 3rd March
  Morning Breakfast for “Aruna Childrens’s Home”
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 3rd March
  Lunch for the “Home for the Elders” at Panadura
  Organised by the Junior Old Boys’ Association.
• 3rd March
  Tea for the “Home for the Elders” at Panadura
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association, Kandy Branch.
• 3rd March
  Overnight Pirith Ceremony at the College premises
  Organised by the College.
• 4th March
  Morning Alms Giving for 100 nos. of Priests at College premises
  Organised by the College.
• 5th March
  Ceremonial Opening of the College premises
  Organised by the College & the Old Boys’ Association.
• 5th March
  Opening of OBA Office Complex and Isuue of “Eulogy on a Centenary” publication
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 5th March
  Exhibhition & Muscical Show
  Organised by the College.
• 5th March
  Inter School Table Tennis & Boxing competition
  Organised by the College.
• 6th March
  Musical Show by the College students
  Organised by the College.
• 7th March
  Inter School Drama competition
  Organised by the College.
• 7th March
  Inter School Badminton competition
  Organised by the College.
• 9th March
  Inter School Literary competition
  Organised by the College.
• 12th March
  Sports Meet
  Organised by the College.
• 14th March
  “Ranaviru Day” and Cadets day
  Organised by the College.
• 17th March
  Free Legal advice for needy, Litarary Workshop & Book Exhibition & fair
  Organised by the College.
• 18th March
  Art Exhibition
  Organised by the College.
• 19th March
  Scouts Day
  Organised by the College.
• 21st & 22nd March
  Cricket – Big Match
  Organised by the College.
• 22nd March
  Inter School Chess competiton
  Organised by the College.
• 23rd March
  Lunch for Present Teachers of the College
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 23rd March
  IT among Kalutara District Schools – ICT WHIZ KIDS – 2009
  Organised by the College.
• 25th March
  Inter School Karate competiton
  Organised by the College.
• 29th March
  Limited Over Cricket Competition
  Organised by the College.
• 31st March
  Prize Giving Ceremony
  Organised by the College.
• 25th April
  Centenary Commemoration Ceremony
  Organised by the Junior Old Boys’ Association.
• 21st & 22nd May
  Inter School Western Band Competition
  Organised by the College.
• 23rd May
  Opening of Swimming Pool
  Organised by the Old Boys’ Association.
• 24th May
  “Sinhawa Lokanaya” – Muscical Show by Old Sumangalian Aritists
  Organised by the Past Sumangalian Aritists Association.
• 4th & 5th June
  Inter School Volley Ball competition
  Organised by the College.
• 11th June
  Inter School Hockey competition
  Organised by the College.
• 19th June
  “ARENA” – Event by Scouts
  Organised by the College.
• 3rd July
  English Day
  Organised by the College.

Let’s join with this unforgettable moment!

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Prior to the year 1972, Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon. For more than a century Sri Lanka was a British crown colony but on 4 February, 1948 the country achieved its independence to officially become the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Don Stephen Senanayake became Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister.

Since the attainment of freedom from British rule, Sri Lanka has enjoyed a stable democracy and steady economic growth in spite of the conflict with a separatist terrotist group called LTTE in the recent years and now the country is in a position to end the war.

The independence day of Sri Lanka is a great national occasion celebrated with parades and pageants combined with the spirit of patriotism and national pride. The celebrations begin with the hoisting of the national flag and singing the national anthem, followed by the traditional lighting of the lamp ceremony. Subsequently there are various cultural programs as well as serving of refreshments.

It is with great pride and honor to inform that Sri Sumangala College, Panadura celebrates her one hundredth anniversary this year.

Junior Old Boys’ Association of Sri Sumangala College planning to organize a “Centenary Celebrations- Felicitation Ceremony” to mark this unique occasion.

Furthermore now old boys can propose honoraries to be felicitated in this ceremony. JOBA cordially invites you to provide accurate information about a person/ persons ( In the relevant fields to be felicitated) whom you believe should be felicitated.

Don’t forget to submit your nominations before 28th February 2009.

Go to JOBA website for more information & submission form.

Yes, the long waited my new MacBook Pro finally arrived. It came with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed, Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities and glossy LED-backlit widescreen display.

Follow this link for the more details & the full spec.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-15inch.html

Click here for more photos.

PS: I still couldn’t find a good laptop bag for this in Sri Lanka. I tried ODEL & PG Martin but they didn’t had anything that I could satisfy with. Any suggestions?

It’s good to see lot of Sri Lankans now taking benefits of Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service.

So here are the top 10 twitter users from Sri Lanka. Gradings were done according to the Hubspot’s Twitter Grader results on Twitter Elite In Sri Lanka & Twitter Elite In Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Here goes the list of Sri Lankan Twitter Superstars;

1. @laktek – http://www.web2media.net/laktek/

   Lakshan Perera, Web developer currently reading for Bachelor’s in IT

   

   @laktek
2. @slblogs – http://slblogs.org/

   Nirosha Kodituwakku’s Blogosphere of Sri Lanka.

   

   @slblogs
3. @mayooresan – http://mayuonline.com/

   Mayooresan, A QA Engineer in Virtusa Ltd, Sri Lanka.

   

   @mayooresan
4. @sanjiva – http://sanjiva.weerawarana.org/

   Sanjiva Weerawarana, Founder, Chairman & CEO of WSO2; long time open source developer/leader and Web services technology contributor.

   

   @sanjiva
5. @SeeJay – http://www.seejay.net/

   SeeJay, Your Friendly Neighbourhood Blogger.

   

   @SeeJay
6. @Chamara – http://apramana.com/

   Chamara Peiris, Designer/UI Engineer/Information Architect/Web Standards Evangalist & Internet entrepreneur.

   

   @Chamara
7. @chanux – http://chanux.wordpress.com/

   Chanux, who Love Blogging & web tech.

   

   @chanux
8. @nazly – http://www.nazly.net/

   Nazly Ahmed, A Web Developer by profession. Deeply in love with PHP. Have great interest in Free and OpenSource Software.

   

   @nazly
9. @dimuthu – http://www.dimuthu.org/

   Dimuthu Gamage, Software engineer working for WSO2.

   

   @dimuthu
10. @roshm – http://roshology.wordpress.com/

    Rosh, who love listening to music, watching movies, hanging around with friends and talking but. not much into books.

    

    @roshm

New twutter users, follow these top Sri Lankan twitters & see how they using twitter & get the maximum out of the Twitter.

Here is the logo design I came up for Sinhala Bloggers Union. Wanted to make it simple, identical, bright as well as distributing the idea of blogging & web savvy.

Here is the logo in Sinhala text,

Logo in English text,

So now it’s open to comments.

[UPDATE - Tuesday, March 31, 2009] NethFM online stream replaced with their new stream link.

[UPDATE - Wednesday, March 18, 2009] New Sri Lankan Online Community Radio, Sinha FM has been added. It’s on air from Doha, Qatar. Sinha FM is a none profitable on line radio for all our expats working in out side of our mother land..

[UPDATE - Monday, July 2, 2007] I have removed Minsara Online Radio as I found they are using V FM live stream.

[UPDATE] I have re-ordered and index the list by alphabetical order. Hope this will be much more readable than before.

Here I am listing some good Sri Lankan Radio Stations and Music Portals with their online streaming feed. Remember some radio streaming feeds they providing are not valid, so in here I have tried my best to avoid those invalid feeds.

Here goes the list;

• Asura FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• CIR Online Sinhala Service [ Website  |  Goto the website for Online Radio ]
• City FM (SLBC) [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Hiru FM [ Website  |   Live Stream ]
• Kothmale Community Radio [ Website  |   No Live Stream available ]
• Lakhanda [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• MAX Radio [ Website  |  Live Stream is not working ]
• Neth FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Rangiri Sri Lanka Digitel Radio [ Website  |   No Live Stream available ]
• Sandeshaya (BBC Sinhala Service) [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Sha FM [ No Website found  |   No Live Stream available ]
• Shree FM [ Wikipedia Page  |   No Live Stream available ]
• Sinhala National Service (SLBC) [ Website  |  Live Stream]
• Sirasa FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Siyatha FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• V FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Y FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]

• Shakthi FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Soorian FM [ Wikipedia Page  |  No Live Stream available ]
• Tamil National Service (SLBC) [ Website  |  Live Stream ]

• E FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lite 89.2 [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• TNL Rocks [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Yes FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]

• Ahamu Sinhala Radio Station [ Website  |  Live Stream is not working ]
• Asapuwa Music [ Website  |  Goto the website for Listen Live ]
• Helahanda [ Website  |  Listen Live ]
• J9 Radio [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Kesara FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Koohilla Internet Radio [ Website  |  Listen Live ]
• L. A. Baila [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lakhanda (Australia) [ Website  |  Listen Online ]
• Lanka Broadcast Buddhist Dhamma Desana [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lanka Broadcast Classical Channel [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lanka Broadcast Contemporary Channel [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lanka Broadcast Non-stop / Baila Channel [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Lihini Media Sinhala Radio Station [ Website  |  Goto the website for Live Radio ]
• Miyuru Gee [ Website  |  No Live Stream available ]
• Miyurusara Online [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Nilwala Radio [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Radio 94 [ Website  |  Live Stream is not working ]
• Savanata Sisilasa Live Internet Dhamma Radio [ Website  |  Goto the website to listen it live ]
• Sinha FM [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• Sinhala Jukebox [ Website  |  No Live Stream available ]
• Sinhalaya Universal Broadcasting Service [ Website  |  Live Stream ]
• SLT Radio Station [ Website  |  Live Stream is not working ]
• Sri lanka Jayahanda [ Website  |  Goto the website to listen it live ]
• Kirula Radio [ Website  |  Goto the website to listen it live ]

PS: If there are any corrections that need to be made in this list please let me know it as a comment, and also if you have new links to add to this send it via a comment.