When Sri Lanka went under curfew in March of 2020, we sure did not foresee spending the rest of the year indoors. We anticipated that maybe the upcoming week will be the day we can go back to climbing up four fleets of stairs and a group of us can finally be able to share that small rice parcel again. The next Monday came; we woke up and logged into our online lecture sessions and went back to bed to relive it the next day. This was our new routine to which our youthful hearts grew dry. With all planned projects being cancelled or postponed one after another, we were adamant about accepting the annual Christmas party to be just a memory from last year. Hence, in brightening up that distant memory, we decided to plan a virtual one.
A group of students volunteered to send a recording of their singing to which Chanuka Irosh stayed up nights, mixing and producing beautiful song tracks. This was then followed by the production of a charming video, edited by Ahgash Jayamanohar to fit the musical tracks. Planning an online event sounds easy and inexpensive but we forget that the assigned duties that are distributed among the entire committee during a physical event are burdened on a few of the techies in the group, especially when held virtually. Therefore, I find mentioning names in this regard, appropriate and a must!
After a smoothly run rehearsal on the previous day, consecutive notification sounds started to roll in as guests logged into the Zoom virtual room at 1830h, on the 27th of December, 2020. It was a night filled with carols and retelling of the story of the birth of Christ at the comfort of our homes! The Christmas message of hope in a broken world was shared. The chairman, Mr. Jayathan Kulasingham continued to say how the event showed that race and religion do not always divide people and that this event acted as proof where living in harmony despite differences is possible. It was blissful and magical while observing the rekindling of the Christmas spirit in our hearts that had been weary due to mishaps and peculiarities of 2020. As Jonathan Caspi said, “This year was different, but different isn’t always bad.” At a time where gathering together is a threat, it was charming to implement it differently and end a difficult year on a positive note.
A huge thank you to the project chairpersons Chanuka Irosh and Sithumini Fonseka for organising a memorable night. We congratulate the Performing Arts Vice president Thisari Pathiranage for a job well done. May the joy of Christmas continue in our hearts in the coming days as we face the challenging new normal, together as one united community.