Sri Lankan High Commission To Host Food Festival To Coincide With Deepavali

By Azzah Mohamad Som KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- A Sri Lankan Food Festival will be held here for the first time from Oct 16 to 30 to coincide with the upcoming Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia Ibrahim Ansar said here Tuesday. Ibrahim said that the food festival would not only promote Sri Lankan cuisine to Malaysians but would also bring citizens of both countries closer. "We want to bring the Malaysian people closer to Sri Lanka and that is the main intention," he told Bernama in an interview to promote the festival, which will be held at the Palace of Golden Horses in Seri Kembangan. He pointed out that the food festival would also enable Malaysians to get to know the Sri Lankan cuisine better. "We anticipate about 100 people to attend on the inauguration day (Thursday), and a couple of thousand people, during the two-week long festival," said the High Commissioner, who was posted here about a year ago. Ibrahim said the High Commission was working together with the Palace of the Golden Horses to have the festival during Deepavali which falls on Oct 22. He added that Deepavali is also celebrated in Sri Lanka by the Hindus, the second largest population in the country. Apart from the food, those attending the festival will also be entertained by traditional Sri Lankan dancers, the High Commissioner said. -- BERNAMA