On a recent visit to Washington, Minister of Tourism, Milinda Moragoda presented the US State Department’s Bureau for South and Central Asia with a framed 80 cm x 80 cm photograph of the statues of the Lord Buddha at Gal Vihara, Polonnaruwa, to adorn the walls of the Bureau’s front office. The black and white rendering of this 12th century masterpiece, carved on a single piece of rock is a photograph by the well-known Sri Lankan photographer Nihal Fernando.

The classic work emphasised the relevance of the serene figure carved in stone, with its qualities creating a wonderful sense of peace and calmness to the very soul of the observer, even today. The effort of the artist working in stone, has been to impress each facial expression representing the qualities of loving kindness and universal love of the Lord Buddha, towards all mankind, depicting peaceful bliss.

The presentation also marks a milestone in creating a tradition for Sri Lanka Tourism in featuring artistic representations of the features of Sri Lanka, serving as an important reminder of the diversity and vibrancy of the various natural heritage offers and the warmth of the people of the country.

To this end, the Minister has requested Sri Lanka Tourism to conduct a competition among Sri Lankan photographers and artists to create a series of the ‘Best of Sri Lanka’ to be used as very high quality exhibits from Sri Lanka to be displayed at places of significance in important international capitals.