The Russian House in Colombo hosted the much anticipated annual Literature festival yesterday (Nov. 22), amid the excitement of Literary enthusiasts in the island.

Russian Literary greats Rasul Gamzatov, Leo Tolstoy and Ivan Turgenev were  commemorated at the event.

A unique photo exhibition out front showcased the estates where the literary greats had lived and created their iconic pieces – Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana and Turgenev’s Spasskoye-Lutovinovo. Photo archives were provided by the Director of the Russian House in Colombo, Madam Maria Popova, and the writer for the Russky Mir magazine, Irina Ivina.

Max Dimov, Deputy Chief Editor of  “Moscow Media”, addressed the gathering with a video message. 

During his visit to the Russian House in July, he had made friends among the founders of the Russian Literary Club, famous philologists, writers and translators Ranjana Senasinghe and Felix Fernando. 

For the first time ever, the festival program also showcased the works of contemporary Russian authors in Sinhala. 

Felix Fernando presented his translation of an international bestseller book by Evgeny Vodolazkin, ‘the most important living Russian writer’ according to the New Yorker. His novel “Laurus” was dubbed as ‘a new statesman book of the year 2016’. On top of that, Fernando also translated a touching New Year short story “I Won’t Tell!” by an extremely popular Russian author, producer, screenwriter and philanthropist Alexander Tsypkin.

Both authors addressed the audience with a video greeting, deeply touched by the interest in their works and happily responded to the invitation to visit Sri Lanka and personally meet the translator.

(Pics : FB of Russian House in Colombo)

The inauguration ceremony of the new President of Maldives – Dr. Mohamed Muizzu was held in Malé, Maldives today (17).
Attending the event, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated Dr. Muizzu.

The 20th Presidential Cinema Awards ceremony was held yesterday (November 14), at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, Colombo.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe attended as Chief Guest while Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister – Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana were Guests of Honour.

The event, which was not held since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, handed over 53 awards after reviewing 42 films screened in 2019 and 2020.

The Best Actor awards in 2019 and 2020 went to Kamal Addaraarachchi (Ginnen Upan Seethala) and Kumara Thirimadura (The Newspaper) respectively.

The Best Actress awards in 2019 and 2020 went to Samadhi Laksiri (Dekala Purudu Kenek) and Nita Fernando (Panshu) respectively.

One of the most beloved and iconic musicians in the country Kalasoori Nanda Malini received a special award from the President at the awards ceremony.