STORY

Kadapatha

 

“a friendly talk in the atrium…”

 

According to recorded history, Sri Lankan immigration to Australia started in 1816. The first Sinhalese from Sri Lanka arrived in Australia in 1870 to work in sugarcane plantations at Queensland. In 1882, a group of 500 people left Colombo to work at Queensland. Ever since Sri Lankans became one of the major ethnic groups who helped to shape and shine present day in Australia.  

 

No matter how much a migrant is driven by hopes, the process of migrating into a different territory extremely hard. Like most of the other migrants, Sri Lankans took this challenge for the sake of their future generation. As they try their best to accomplish the dreams of their future generation, more often behind the scene, they have to scarify so many things. The memories of their origin are one of them.

 

Kadapatha, “a friendly talk in the atrium”, started in March 2011 as a Sri Lankan community magazine based in Melbourne, Australia. It was started to connect Sri Lankan migrants throughout the world with the thread of friendship, love, and compassion. By the time we started Kadapatha Magazine our visions and missions were something like swimming against the current. The society we live in is not paying attention to praise what people do silently. Knowingly or unknowingly migrants also attracted by marketing strategies. 

 

“Kadapatha” the Sinhalese word, gave the literal meaning of  “A mirror”. We use mirrors not to change the world outside but to see our own selves. We strongly believe a magazine cannot change the world. It is only by changing our inner qualities we would be able to shape and shine the places we live. At the end of the day, it’s not the place we live that is more important, but how we behave.  

 

Saamantha Tennege

Kadapatha Founder / Editor