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Dance and music

POMP AND COLOUR: At the passing out ceremony. PHOTO: AFP

Passing out ceremonies are often times of great pageantry and splendour. And the passing out ceremony of volunteer women sailors at the Welisara Naval Base in Colombo held recently was no exception. Sri Lankan Naval drummers demonstrated their skill in traditional music and dance.

Sri Lanka situated in the middle of the sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean was always a magnet for sea-farers and in 1937 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) was established. After World War II, the CNVF was absorbed into the Royal Navy as the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR) and after independence from British rule, a nucleus of 100 Officers and Men prepared to form the Regular Navy gradually. In December 1950, the Navy Act was enacted and the Royal Ceylon Navy was formed, which was renamed the Sri Lanka Navy in 1972, with the introduction of a new constitution.

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