Sri Lank a Reading Script 1

8/7/2019 Sri Lank a Reading Script 1

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SRI LANKA

Introduction

1. The Commandant, members of the facultyand gentleman, good morning (aswala malaqum).Being proud sons of ‘Mother Lanka’, today, weare privileged enough to steer you, through our

country within this short span of time. Hence, wehave condensed our self to cut a long story shortin order to meet the necessity with honour anddedication.

2. Gentleman, let us present you a land with adocumented history dating over 550 years BC, aland that survived in peace and harmony in amighty region through genuine diplomacy, a landwith a people, who wish you “AYUBOVAN” whichmeans may you be blessed with long life. The

same people, brave enough, to expressthemselves before the world and lend thehelping hand to all when needed; Gentleman,

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Welcome to our Island of Paradise: a land andpeople like no other; Sri Lanka.

3. Sri Lanka is an island located north of theequator between latitudes 5º and 10º andlongitudes 79º and 82º. Nested 35 km off theSouthern tip of India, Sri Lanka possesses atotal land area of 65,610 Sq.kms. Its strategiclocation, serene beauty and uniqueness made her

gaining prominence in the history, making greatexplorers and traders busy in compiling theirdiaries.

“Sihala Dweepa” or the ‘Land of Sinhalese’, as,

she was known after her first major settlers, inthe year 543 BC. Sri Lanka in the pages ofhistory as the “Taprobane” to Greeks andRomans, “Serendib” to Arabs, “Ceilao” toPortuguese, “Seelan” to Dutch, and “Ceylon” toBritish. Since the gaining of independence in

1948, it became “Democratic Socialist Republicof Srilanka. Despite being overwhelmed with oneof the most ruthless forms of terrorism, SriLanka has managed, to be a useful contributor to

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the world, providing a happy and contended lifeto her people, extending a warm hospitality

to her guests, and more importantly, facing thefuture with that all so unique “Sri Lankan Smile”. Aim

4. To give you a brief background of my

motherland, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSrilanka.

Sequence

a. The Land .

(1) Terrain.(2) Water resources.(3) Climate.

b. The People .

(1) History.

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(2) The Colonial Rule.(3) Ethnicity.

(4) The National Flag.(5) National Flower and Tree.(6) The Government.(7) Education(8) Health.(9) Sports.

(10)Economy.(11) Internal Conflict.(12) Sri Lanka – Pakistan Relationship.

c. Attractions .

(1) Sun and Sand.(2) Nature and Adventure(3) World Heritage Sites.(4) Shopping.

(5) Handicraft.(6) Festivals of Interest.(7) Gastronomy.

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d.The Defence.e. Documentary Film.

f.Conclusion.

6. The Land.

a. Terrain. The bio-diversity present inthe land mass of Sri Lanka is truly

astonishing. You may pick and choose yourown preference, the coast line provides,beautiful palm fringed beaches, the ruggedhill country is sated with lakes, water fallsand peaks,

There are the mountain forests, tropical rainforests, rivers, grass lands, nature parks andreserves. Such variety in the absence ofnatures hazards such as volcanic eruptions,earthquakes, landslides and climaticextremes make Sri Lanka a passionate and

mostly desired destination, for holidaymakers the world over.

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b. Water Sources. The entire country isof arable land with 13 full up rivers

traversing its length and breadth, filling upover 12000 natural and man-made tanks. Thelongest of them, the Mahaweli, travels adistance of 358 km and like her sisters, theKelani, Kalu and Walaway feeds the land andpeople with pure fresh water. They also

enable us in producing mostly wanted hydroelectricity.The spring’s nourishes the rivers at thecentral hills flow with abundance due to rainsbrought in by the North Eastern and South

Western Monsoons throughout the year. c. Climate. Sri Lanka possesses atropical and equatorial climate, influenced byelevation above the sea level. The diurnaland seasonal variation in temperature is

slight. The temperature in low country, atsea level, varies from 22oC – 32oC and in thecentral massif at the highest elevationrecords a variation from 8oC – 20oC. South

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Western monsoon brings rain from mid May –October while the northeast monsoon does

so from December – March. Climatically thecountry is divided into wet and dry zones dueto uneven rainfall. The wet zone comprisesthe South Western part of the country whilethe remainder belongs to the dry zone.Annual average precipitation in the wet zone

is 250cm centimetres and in the dry zone itvaries from 120cm-190 centimetres.The varying climatic condition in the countryhas been the major tourist attraction overthe years.

7. The People Sri Lankans are renowned fortheir kind hospitality and cheerfulness from theknown days of history. Being a nation withBuddhist influence which revolves around“Ahimsa” or peace to all concept, Sri Lankans are

found to be peace loving and sober in nature.

a. History. Apart from being mentionedin the “Ramayana”, a historical document of

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ancient India, Sri Lankan history is recordedin two other great chronicles, which, are

maintained by members of the BuddhistClergy even today. The “Chulawamsa” and“Mahawamsa” carrying pages in Ola Leaf,have entries made in 543 BC, narrating thearrival of Prince Vijaya and his entourage ofIndo-Aryans from ancient Bengal present

Bangladesh and the formation of the firstkingdom in Sri Lanka.

. b. The Colonial Rule. During the 15 thcentury there were 3 kingdoms in Sri Lankacalled Kotte, Jaffna and Kandyan Kingdoms.

But then the country was under theinfluence of European powers from 1500 ADonwards. The chronological display is asflashed:

a. Portuguese - 1597 to 1658.

b. Dutch - 1658 to 1815.

c. British – 1815 to 1948.

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Portuguese who arrived in the island in 15

November 1505 created cordiality with theking ruled the Kotte Kingdom. By 1540 ADtheir treachery had been succeeded andamidst heavy resistances Portuguese tookover the control of most parts of thecountry. However, the Sinhalese continuously

resisted the Portuguese rule. In 1619, theDutch landed in Sri Lankato help the Sinhalese Majesty remained in

the kandyan Kingdom to evict the Portuguesefrom home soil. After 20 years’ ferocious

battle the Hollanders managed to expel thePortuguese and continued ruling the coastalareas until they surrender themselves to theBritish in 1796.

Portuguese, Dutch and British military

continuously attacked the Kandyan Kingdomseveral occasions but the Kandyan Armyfought fiercely and made heavyhuman/material losses for their armies. No

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colonial power managed to defeat the mightyKandyans, until the Sinhalese Nobles who

hated the last Kandyan King handed it overto British in 1815. Thereafter Sri Lanka wonits independence in 4th Feb 1948. However,the colonial influence in the country resultedin the introduction of western education,

legal system based on Roman Dutch Law,plantation based economy and an extensiverailway network along with sports likeCricket and Rugby Football.

c. Ethnicity. Sinhalese are the majorethnic group in the country. They are thedescendants of the colonization of IndoAryans and the original inhabitants in thecountry. They speak “Sinhala”, a language

derived from ancient “Pali” and “Sanskrit”.The other major communities present in SriLanka are the Tamils, descendants of Indo-Dravidian invaders, who speak “Tamil” the

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language of Southern India, Muslims,descendants of early Arab traders, the

majority of whom speak “Sinhala”, andBurghers, descendants of European invaders.Both, “Sinhala” and “Tamil” are officiallanguages whilst “English”, being usedregularly as the secondary language. Thegreat Philosophy of Buddhism is the practice

of the majority,whilst other religions such as Hinduism,Islam, and all forms of Christianity, too,attract a considerable amount of followers.

d. The National Flag. The Sri LankanNational Flag amply describes the multi-ethnic, multi religious and multi-lingualsociety that seeks peaceful living within thenation as well as with others like her. Thefour leaves are of the sacred “Bo” tree and

represent Love, Compassion, Sympathy andEquanimity in keeping with the Philosophy ofBuddhism. The red colour portrays thereligious harmony, The Lion depicts the

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Sinhalese, and colours of Green and Orangerepresent the Muslims and Tamils whilst the

Sword portrays the Sovereignty.

e. National Flower and Tree. TheNational Flower of the country is the BlueLotus, botanically known as “NympheaeStellata” and was declared the National

Flower of Sri Lanka on 1986.The National tree is Naa, botanically knownas “Mesua Nagassarium” was adopted as theNational Tree of Sri Lanka on the same day.

f. Government. The Democratic,Socialist, Republic of Sri Lanka has its ownunique form of governance. The three mainorgans, of government, namely, theLegislature, Executive and Judiciary, aredesigned to function independently, ensuring

justice, to all. A vote bank of 12 million hasthe right to appoint 225 representatives into the country’s Parliament. The same votebank also elects the Executive President,

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who, from within the Parliament, elects thePrime Minister and Cabinet Ministers.

Present president is Mr Mahinda Rajapaksewhilst Mr Rathnasiri Wickramanayakefunctions office as the Prime Minister.Administration is de-centralised, into 8provincial councils. They are as shown on thescreen.The country’s Judiciary consists of

the Magistrate’s Court, the District Court,the High Court the Court of Appeal and theSupreme Court, the highest organ for justicein Sri Lanka.

g. Education. A well educated population isa greatest achievement for the country;hence, it is the foremost in her nationalpolicy. Primary, secondary and tertiaryeducation is completely free, which, includestexts, clothing and a mid-day meal, provided

for all government schools. Such facilitiesand a law that prosecutes guardians ofchildren not being sent to school, has,facilitated to enjoy a literacy rate as high as

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98%, one out of the best in the world andparticularly the best within the region.

h. Health. The life expectancy of anaverage Sri Lankan is approximately 73 years. Hence the service of an individual isexpected till 55 years.

Consideration has been made to increase theretirement age up to 65 years to obtain theexperience of the senior citizens and toensure continuous flow of service to thepopulace.This is a result of the population

being privy to an effective and free, healthservice provided by the government,through, a network of district and teachinghospitals.

i. Sports. Sri Lankans are sports lovers.

Almost all kinds of sports are played in SriLanka. Many Sri Lankan sportsmen andwomen have become prominent in worldathletes field. Susanthika Jayasinhe won the

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women’s 200 m in World AthleticChampionship in 1998, Apart from her,

Damayanthi Darsha Sugath Thialakaratne,Sriyani Kulawansa in Athletics, ChinthanaVidanage in Weight Lifting and MayumiRahim in Swimming also brought victories toSri Lanka in many events.Even though, our National Game is Volleyball

Cricket is a passion of the population. It is apart of our life. We take pride in our nationalcricket team who figure amongst the best inthe world. We won the world cup once andthe attempt made to repeat the same was

very sadly missed in this year. Sri Lanka alsoexcels in the fields of rugby and athleticsparticularly in the Asian Region.

j. Economy. Sri Lanka is experiencing anagriculture based economy. In addition we

remain as one of the finest tea producers inthe world. Rubber and coconut and relatedproducts are also plays an important role ineconomy. Other exports include precious and

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semi-precious stones, handicraft, widevariety of spices, versatile array of

garments, high quality ceramics and a diversecollection of seafood. Sri Lankan Rupee isthe official currency of the state. Being apioneer who introduced the free marketpolicy in this part of the world,

Sri Lanka, is benefited by becoming a serviceprovider, in fields such as, dry dock facilitiesfor commercial shipping, handling of sea andair cargo, banking, insurance, tourism and inInformation Technology too. Despite beingburdened with a cursed war which incur a

heavy toll over the economic gains. Sri Lankamanages to maintain a modest, annualeconomic growth rate of 6% with a fittingper capita income of US $ 1160. However,there may be a possibility to accelerate thisin very near future. Gentleman we have beenblessed with an oil field that may contain 1billion barrels of crude around Gulf ofMannar. China has agreed to exploit two

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blocks out of the five in the Mannar basin.Sri Lanka will seek bids to develop three

remaining areas and the Licenses will beawarded in early 2008. So, we have positivehopes for future.

k. Internal Conflict Gentlemen, now,let me dedicate some time for thosehundreds of parents who lost their children,for those thousands of children who losttheir fathers, for those wives who lost theirhusbands and for those young people becamedisabled during the endeavour to safeguard

the territorial integrity of my motherland.Regret me for taking you along a bitter andhorrible story of terrorism in my country. Itis a story that has retarded prosperity andsown hatred and sorrow to all communitieswhom lived with brotherly affection. Manyintroduces it as a mishandling of divisivepolicies derived from the colonial regimes,and many witness it as an outcome of the

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support extended by an unscrupulousneighbour to marshal some of our family

members to rebel for a separate statewithin this tiny island, which is not fare byany means. Gentlemen, it is the rise of bloodthirsty terrorism within this ever peacefulcountry.The foremost demand of these elements

would amply explain why the peace-loving SriLankans were made to hold arms. They seek45% of the land for a fraction of the Tamilpopulation; land that includes three of thefive sea ports, and 75% of the Exclusive

Economic Zone with rights to all its marineresources. This long drawn out conflict hasresulted death to more than 61000 peoplewhilst 100000 being maimed, bringing deepsorrow to their parents, wives and childrenwhilst driving tens of thousands to refugee

camps. Continuous efforts are being made inearnest to resolve the conflict throughpolitical means, but due to the extensivesupport gained from regional Big Brother

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most became ineffective. Heartfeltblessings and the unquestioned support of

genuine friends with brotherly affection arethe hopes to bring peace alive in this peaceloving island.

l. Sri Lanka – Pakistan Relations. Sri

Lanka maintains a very cordial relationshipwith Pakistan from early days. During 1971Indo-Pakistan War, Sri Lanka providedrefuelling facilities in Colombo for PAFaircrafts amidst serious objections from

India. At the same time Sri Lankans’ neverforget the assistance given by late Gen ZiaUl Haq, in the form of military hardware,ammunition and training teams during SriLanka’s crisis situation. We have built ahospital in commemoration of this

affectionate friend. Further, Sri Lankaremains the major eye donating nation forPakistan. In addition, the assistanceextended by both the countries during the

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relief operations of 2004 tsunami and 2005earthquake further tied up the links. Apart

from that the bi-lateral trade agreementbetween two nations exceeds a healthy rateas US $ 925 million worth and expected tobe accelerated in future.Gentleman We the Sri Lankans never forgetthe friends who helped us during crisis.

8. Attractions This country is a “FantasyIsland” by design, promising to satisfy, the mostdemands of a tourist with limitless tantalizingattractions.

a. World Heritage Sites. Thesociable coexistence of culture andcivilisation throughout our affluent legendhas made us to be proud of our history. Withthe introduction of the Buddhist philosophy

in 247 BC, the socio - cultural behaviour ofthe people was changed dramatically. Itovertly leads to the Cultural Revolutionwhich denoted the beginning of a golden era

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for the country. Sri Lanka has no less thanseven, world heritage sites declared by the

UNESCO.

‘Sigiriya’, a rock citadel built in 5th centurysituated in the city of Anuradhapura, was afortress of a king namely Kashyapa, which

entails all prerequisites to be named as theeighth wonder in the world. Modern scienceis yet to discover the technology which fedthe water-ponds at the top of the rockwhich is approximately 500 meters in height.

The frescoes of the ‘heavenly maidenshalfway up the rock in a sheltered gallery,are the only painted renderings of a secularsubject in this country. It is also the venueto Asia’s oldest surviving landscaped garden,executed in absolute symmetry, which is

considered as an impossible feat, during theMesolithic period.

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Secondly, the Sacred City of Anuradhapurawas also the capital of the Island in 5th

century BC. Numerous palaces and places ofBuddhist worship stand testament to ensurethe flourishing civilisation, triangulatedaround the Tank, Temple, and a bountiful ofHarvest. The sacred ‘Sri Maha Bodhi’ is theoldest, historically documented tree, in theworld gifted by emperor Ashoka of India

over 2500 years ago. This is a sapling, of theoriginal tree that was at ‘Buddha Gaya’ whichprovided shelter to Lord Buddha in attainingthe enlightenment, which, sadly no longerexists. Amongst the numerous ‘Dagabas’ or

pagodas in Anuradhapura, the‘Jethawanaramaya’; built in 3rd century, islarger than the Egypt’s third largestpyramid, the ‘Isa’, occupying 8 acres of land

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at the base. The ‘Royal City’ of Kandy wasthe proud capital of mighty Kandyan Kingdom

in 15

th

century.

Occupying centre stage is the Temple of the‘Sacred Tooth Relic’ of ‘Lord Buddha’, one ofthe very few, tangible remains of worship,for Buddhists around the globe.

b. Sun and Sea. 1600km of coastprovide virgin beaches of ‘par-excellence’,with all imaginable living and entertainmentfacilities. Be it on the sands, on the surf, or

in water, Sri Lanka, will truly offer you, a‘sun and sea’ experience, of a life-time.

c. Nature and Adventure. Naturereservation is one of the primeconsiderations of our people. Hence, we have

been able to preserve over 30 % of the landas natural forests and reserves within thistiny little island. The concept of ‘EcoTourism’ introduced to the country, during

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the past decade or so, has let the man, toenjoy the beauty of nature, with no expense

to the environment.Check yourself in, to the large numbers of‘Eco Friendly’ hotels and lodges andexperience the entire gamut of nature’sappeals within a few hours of each other;sights that could only be matched by

travelling across continents. Numerous arethe rolling meadows, jagged rock faces,verdant valleys, meandering rivers, cascadingwaterfalls, and dense forests. All this and ahospitable people is what makes Sri Lanka

one of the best destinations for adventuretourism. Mountain biking, mountain climbing,rafting, rappelling, canyoning and ballooning,are a few of what appeals. If it is a movielover, he would be eager to visit the sitesthat were home to world recognized movies

such as ‘Bridge on the River Kwaai’, ‘JungleBook’, ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Mother Teresa’ andmany more.

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d. Shopping. Having gone through mostof fascinates in my island Now, I feel it isthe most appropriate time for a commercial.This is not a kind which you witness in themedia but to draw your attention for yourtargeted area of interest. Gentleman let me

make you aware of the versatility ofshopping in Sri Lanka. It is proved to be anexcelling experience by its own. The cosyhide-outs for shopping in all major cities willsurely make you lose the track of time, if not

your bank accounts. You’ll find designerclothing at ‘dirt cheap’, exclusive batiks incotton and silk, both costume and gold orsilver jewellery, the worlds best brands ofleather goods, accessories, cosmetics; inshort, all that you would ever need.

e. Handicraft. Sri Lanka is also famousfor its handicraft. Intricate designs in wood,

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bronze, brass, silver or gold may prove toomuch to resist. You will like it.

f. Festivals of Interest. The rich anddiverse culture of Sri Lanka gives rise to amultitude of festivals all through the year.The ‘pomp and pageantry’ associated with

ceremonies at the Temple housing, the Tooth

Relic of Lord Buddha could be the mostattractive. Over 300 elephants decorated inbeautiful costumes join the parade all overthe streets in Kandy along with thousands oftraditional dancers. The Sinhala and Tamil

New Year, the “Vesak” Festival of theBuddhists, Eid, Christmas and all othercommon religious festivals are PublicHolidays, and days that are celebrated, atthe grandest possible style.

g. Gastronomy. Having got tired after along drawn journey, you may wish to refresh yourself, and then there couldn’t be a betterplace. Be it the Sri Lankan traditional rice

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and curry which is hot in taste or anywestern/eastern menus that you wish the

dish will reach you in a jiffy again at a veryreasonable price. Furthermore exotic seafoods, to be particular the lobster, crab,prawn and fish dishes may undoubtedly becheaper than they appear. If one wish tohave delicious “ Sheikh Kebabs or Chicken

Tandoori” other than in Pakistan, all of themcould be found in many Pakistani restaurantsin Colombo.

9. Security Forces Executive President of

the country is the Supreme Commander ofSecurity Forces. Directly under him is the Chiefof Defence Staff, a Four Star General orequivalent is placed. He is the head of the JointOperations Headquarters which is meant toachieve the integration of armed forces and

police in Sri Lanka.

a. Army. The Sri Lanka Army iscommanded by a Lieutenant General. The

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strength is approximately 118,000. inaddition around 10,000 in reserve.

We have nine Infantry Divisions with aBrigade each of Armour, Artillery,Engineers, Signals, Special Forces andCommandos as well as other Service units.There are 23 Regiments being formed to besustained as an Army fighting in a law

intensity environment. We also have aWomen’s Corps with an approximate strengthof 3000 allowing the brave women to takepart in the national defence force. Due tothe exemplary conduct as a disciplined Army

we were provided with an opportunity to takepart in the United Nations Peace KeepingMission in “Haiti” since year 2004 withapproximately 950 troops under the UnitedNations flag.

b. Navy. The Sri Lanka Navy iscommanded by a Vice Admiral and hasstrength of approximately 30,000.

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The deployment is as shown on the screen.Their primary task being to protect

territorial waters the fleet consists of sub-chasers, fast attack craft, gun boatshovercraft and other transport vessels.They plays a dominant role as the first lineof defence providing sea surveillance andhindering the flow of illegal arms supply to

the LTTE in deep and close waters.

c. Air Force. Any Ground or Naval forcecan not be tasked in isolation; hence therequirement of an air support is of utmost

importance in a national defence. For thatmatter we have a comparatively smaller AirForce which is commanded by an Air viceMarshal and has a strength of approximately20000. Air Force bases are deployed on thelocations as shown on the screen. It has F-

7s, MIG-27s, KFIRs, PUCARAs and MI-24sfor close air support and Hercules C-130,Aotonov-32, Y-8, Y-12, MI-17 Bell 212 and412 as carriers.

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To augment the reconnaissance andsurveillance capabilities we are in possession

of few UAV’s too.

10.DOCUMENTARY FILM

11.Conclusion

Be it a palace with more than wholeMay be a kingdom with full of all,

Perhaps the heaven with fancy of all,

It’s Sri Lanka, the best of all…………

1. This beautiful island referred to as the“pearl of the Indian ocean” belongs to theSAARC region. The Sri Lankan with adistinguished heritage over 2500 years arereputed the world over for their hospitality. Theever pleasant smile on their faces evidently

proves it everywhere. Before winding up let usconvey profound gratitude to the schoolauthorities allowing us to present my motherlandfor this distinguished forum and lt me our

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special thanks to Sponsor DS(MCC) MajorWaquas

Sponsor Officer Maj Rizvi for assisting us tomake it a reality. We have another two to threemonths to say goodbye! But hope we will meetagain some day, some place since the world is toosmall for those who have bigger hearts like you and

me. HAM AAPKE YE MEHMAN NAWASEE KO BULA NAHI

SAKENGE and “AYUBOVAN” for you, “AYUBOVAN” toSchool of Infantry and Tactic and “AYUBOVAN” PAKISTANthe best ever friend of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lank a Reading Script 1

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