Our Bureau
Colombo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora and members of the Indian community upon arriving at the hotel in Colombo, where he will stay during his Sri Lanka visit.
Members of the Indian diaspora welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People carrying flags of India expressed excitement over PM Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka.
He was seen shaking hands and interacting with the Indian diaspora members at the Hotel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Colombo on Friday for a two-day visit. During this visit, he will meet Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and review the progress made on the joint vision of “Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with various members of the local community, from cultural leaders and musicians to academics, during his visit to Sri Lanka, with the community leaders expressing their gratitude for meeting with PM Modi.
As part of his visit to Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6, PM Modi was welcomed with a traditional puppet show upon his arrival at the hotel in Colombo. The performance featured Rukada Natya, or String Puppetry. Professor Ankuran Dutta, Director of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, highlighted the significance of the art and said that for the first time, a puppetry performance based on the Ramayana was showcased.
To welcome PM Modi, a series of culturally enriching events and exhibits that showcase the profound artistic and musical heritage of Sri Lanka and India took center stage. The programme’s highlight was an extraordinary puppetry performance based on the Ramayana, complemented by exhibitions of Taal Nandasiri, an audiobook on Indian moral stories, a Pali rendition of Gita Govinda, and the Bargeet of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev and Sri Sri Madhabdev.
For the first time, the Ramayana was presented through Sri Lankan Puppet Theatre. This short production portrayed a moving episode from Sundara Kanda, where King Ravana’s servant Trijata, feeling compassion for Mata Sita, reassured her that Lord Rama would soon rescue her from Lanka.
PM Modi reached Sri Lanka after his visit to Thailand, during which he held a bilateral meeting with his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra and attended the BIMSTEC Summit. He also held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
Head of the Yoga department at Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Vyasa Kalyanasundaram, praised PM Modi’s role in spreading Yoga and said that his effort gave a seal and recognition to Yoga.
“Yoga was in existence in various ashrams, institutions, yogis, great saints and sages. The Prime Minister’s effort gave a seal and recognition, he said.
“Earlier, it was only with a small group of people…who are into spiritualism as a healing, as a spiritual practice. But Prime Minister’s effort went into another step as a therapy and as bringing an individual’s efficiency, whether in personal, public or corporate life… People are getting excited about it. In Sri Lanka, there are various yoga centres and yoga practices. Even in various hotels, yoga has been taken up in a great way. Yoga and Ayurveda are going hand in hand and have been accepted by everyone, he added.
In a special welcome, despite the rain, six top ministers of Sri Lanka received PM Modi at the airport.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath; Minister of Health and Mass Media and Chief Government Whip Nalinda Jayatissa; Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha; Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Ramalingam Chandrasekar; Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj; and Minister of Science and Technology Chrishantha Abeysena received PM Modi at the airport.
“Landed in Colombo. Grateful to the ministers and dignitaries who welcomed me at the airport. Looking forward to the programmes in Sri Lanka,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
During the visit, PM Modi will travel to Anuradhapura to inaugurate development projects implemented with India’s financial assistance. PM Modi’s last visit to Sri Lanka was in 2019.
