(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), cultural arm of the High Commission of India, commemorated the World Hindi Day on 10 January 2021 through a series of events and competitions. Each of these activities was organized to promote Hindi as well as to provide a platform to Hindi enthusiasts in Sri Lanka to express their literary and linguistic talents in Hindi. Considering the challenges of COVID-19, these activities were organized through virtual mode.
Island-wide online Hindi competitions such as Hindi Video message competition, Hindi storytelling competition, and Hindi poem recitation competition were organized from as early as December 2020 for the students. 317 participants representing local schools across several districts, universities, and other institutions, took part in these competitions. Several online Hindi competitions for officials and other Hindi speakers were also organized.
The World Hindi Day was marked on 10 January 2021 by showcasing a number of online video performances throughout the day by Hindi lovers across the island.SVCC in collaboration with the Center for Contemporary India Studies, University of Colombo, is organizing an international Hindi Webinar on the topic ‘New Trends in Hindi Language and Literature : A Global Perspectiveon 12 January 2021’. The focus of the webinar would the role of Hindi language and literature in strengthening millennia-old religious, cultural, linguistic, and literary links between India and Sri Lanka. Mrs. Mamtaa Kaaliyaa, an eminent Hindi scholar from India will deliver the Keynote Address.
