Why are we so happy about Anudi as people of Anuradhapura? ( * people in Sri Lanka) Why should the whole of Sri Lanka applaud this girl from Anuradhapura a little louder? Don't you think that the name "Anudi" itself is a derivative of the name Anuradhapura? To me, Anudi is a symbol of Anuradhapura. A mirror of royal pride. At one point in her story, Anudi says that my hometown is a small town in Sri Lanka. That was the first kingdom in Sri Lanka. Not only that, Anudi says that Anuradhapura is one of the world heritage sites, but no one in Anuradhapura would have thought that one day, someone in Anuradhapura would raise the voice to the world about Anuradhapura being a world heritage site. I saw various stories about it on social media. But Anudi, who planned everything according to a master plan, also did this story with a plan. Anudi took the pride of her birthplace to that world 🙏 Anudi tried to tell them, even within those five minutes, that she had come on a wonderful journey that no woman in the village where she was born could have even dreamed of. The biggest dream of most parents in our provinces is to have their child become a teacher and return to their village. Until recently, we did not have the opportunity to dream bigger or have the environment to do so. In remote villages of Anuradhapura, girls still wear pieces of cloth when they menstruate. Some of the girls have never even seen a sanitary napkin. When the blood mixes with the dirt on those pieces of cloth, some of the girls get sick. Even today, in village homes, girls and children hang out their blood washed clothes under their normal clothes to dry. Because of they are hidden, they don't dry well. So some children get sick. So some children get sick. If there are several girls in a family, there are still helpless parents who cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins for each child. That is why The "Saheli" Foundation was started for those children by Anudi. So, in a region where some children don't even know whether there is a type of sanitary napkin to wear during menstruation,In a country where innocent people are dying from the poisoned water they drink, both their kidneys are melting away, In a country where people find it a challenge to get home before the elephants arrive in the village in the evening, the biggest struggle in life is not going to be Miss World.Isn't it a big deal that a girl who had such a big dream went to represent a country and stand with the world? Anudi says in one place that she is a product of free education. In fact, Anudi went to Anuradhapura Central, and then to the University of Kelaniya.. A girl who came from two places like that speaks English so beautifully. Aren't we happy when we see a girl who studied at an Anuradhapura school, which is said to be difficult and harsh, handles English so beautifully? This is breaking the image of the beauty queen that we have seen for so long. Even I thought that beauty pageants were something that only belonged to a certain section of society. We saw that. So, As I always say, what brought me from Anuradhapura to where I teach teachers in England was a board that the then Minister of Education had hung at every roundabout in Anuradhapura city. "Children in the North Central Province have no future without education" Anudi, those words were planted on the earth. Today, we see the flowers that have grown into trees in front of the world. Children in cities and villages like Nochchiyagama, Kahatagasdigiliya, Galenbidunu Wewa, Vilachchiya, Polonnaruwa, Dehiattakandiya, and beyond, Kurunegala, Monaragala, Jaffna, Vavuniya, Medavchiya, Tissamaharama, Walapane, Nuwara Eliya, and Hambantota, will see big dreams from tomorrow. The Miss World pageant takes us to even more far-reaching stages that we thought we could never reach. So how happy ???? Don't read this and say that some are trying to capture Anudi's hometown and divide it. Not at all, We should be happy as a country. 🇱🇰 Because so many beautiful flowers bloom in the forests of our country, Anudi is a guiding star for more flowers like her to emerge from the forest. When I first arrived in England, my head teacher showed the world map to the students at the school where I taught and told them that this country, which is like a teardrop below India, is the country of wisdom. At that moment, I felt a small spark flickering inside my chest. I remembered that teardrop, and remembered that within that teardrop, everything in my life, from the roots to the veins, was contained, and tears fell from my eyes that day...! Today, Anudi says in her speech, "My country is so small that you can't even find it on a map." Yes, my country is so small... Do you know that even today, there are people in these countries who don't even know if a country called Sri Lanka exists in this world? People who think that we too must be in a state somewhere in India. People who think that Sri Lanka is a piece of India. Today, when I went to the Miss World page, I was so happy that tears came to my eyes, that page was shining with the flag of Sri Lanka. So this is shining, that country that some people in the world don't even know exists. That shines in our eyes. Winning or losing a match can never be decided in advance. But Anudi Nangi, Your days in this country are over...! Those big-hearted people you mentioned have already won...! The days of generations of our country that will come after you are over...! Children in remote villages of our country, where elephants roam the countryside, hens guard the fields, do not even have clean clothes to wear during menstruation, do not have proper facilities, do not have a room to sleep or study, and do not have electricity or water, will learn to dream anew from tomorrow. Those children will decide what they can't do if they think about it. They will see that the world is bigger than they think, that the paths to follow are wide, and that the opportunities are universal. As you said, in that small country, we have dreamed for years with big hearts and mountains of hope. We are still dreaming. We are still dreaming, and we are still dreaming. That's you, Anudi So, you told your fellow contestants who are competing with you today that you have nothing more to win. That you have already won. Do you know? We have nothing more to win, my dear. As a country, you and I are over....🇱🇰 💚 Note down by ✍ Manaroo Theekshana Manaroo Translated by Manik Tharuka