Sri Lanka and Chile commemorate Chilean poet Pablo Neruda

To mark the 50th death anniversary of internationally acclaimed Chilean Nobel Prize laureate and poet, and first Chilean Consul to Ceylon Pablo Neruda, at the initiative of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi and in collaboration with the Embassy of Chile in New Delhi (concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka), the Department of Mass Communication of the University of Kelaniya organised a presentation of the book“ fihs,dka ¥mf;a oSma;Su;a yqfol,dj” recently at the University of Kelaniya.The book “fihs,dka ¥mf;a oSma;Su;a yqfol,dj” is a translation by Indrani Rathnasekara of a chapter in Neruda’s memoirs, “Ceilán: La Soledad Luminosa”, which depicts Neruda’s time in Ceylon from 1929-1930 as the first Chilean Consul, his reflections on the country, and his interactions with the Ceylonese people. Neruda was also the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. The book “fihs,dka ¥mf;a oSma;Su;a yqfol,dj” was published in 2015 with the assistance of the Chilean Embassy in India, and will be made available to Sri Lankan readers for the first time.

The Chilean Ambassador in India concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka Juan Angulo was the guest of honour at the event.

The event was inaugurated by University of Kelaniya Department of Mass Communication Head Senior Lecturer Wijayananda Rupasinghe, and the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences Dean Professor M.M. Gunathilake, in the presence of the translator Indrani Rathnasekera. The keynote address was delivered by National Institute of Education Deputy Director General Dr. Darshana Samaraweera. The book was presented to the librarian of the University of Kelaniya and the Director, National Schools of the Ministry of Education for circulation among schools. The event was attended by faculty members and students of the university, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, and the Office of the Honorary Consulate of Chile in Sri Lanka.

The event was a successful step to enhance cooperation and people to people ties between Sri Lanka and Chile in spite of their geographical distance, and served as an effective example of possible cooperation between Sri Lanka and diplomatic missions concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka from other capitals. At present, 99 foreign diplomatic missions are concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka from New Delhi, and the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi serves as the focal point for their interactions with Sri Lanka.