The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the First Lady, graced the occasion as the Chief Guests, and were welcomed by  Y. K. Sinha, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Mrs Girija Sinha and Sanjay Tiwari, President of the Indian CEO Forum. Other prominent guests included Leader of Opposition,  Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prof Maitree Wickremesinghe; Minister of External Affairs,  Prof. G. L. Peiris and Mrs Savithri Peiris; Minister of Petroleum Industries, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa and his family; TNA  leader  R. Sampanthan and other Members of Parliament. Senior officials from the Government of Sri Lanka including Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga, and the Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratne, were also present on the occasion. Around two thousand invitees enjoyed the  concert.

This was Shaan’s first performance in Sri Lanka. He expressed his delight at the opportunity to perform in Colombo at the invitation of the High Commission of India, and more so in the presence of  the President of Sri Lanka. Shaan enthralled the audience with his vast repertoire of songs for more than three hours, including his  recent hits as well as some evergreen numbers from an era gone by.  Befitting the occasion Shaan sang a few patriotic songs, which were followed by a song each in Sinhala and Tamil. He also sang some popular English songs. His melodious rendition of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite hymn “Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye” enthralled the audience.  Shaan  sang a number of songs on popular demand, and  the concert, which invoked an enthusiastic response, went on till well into the night.  Shaan confessed that he was completely overwhelmed by the appreciation shown by the audience. (KH)