Yohani, the Sri Lankan pop sensation whose viral song Manike mage hithe has taken the social media by storm, is excited that the Rotary Zone Institute is coming to her “enchanting island after 21 years.”
Yes, the next institute for our zones 4,5,6 and 7 will be held at the City of Dreams, a tourist and luxury resort in Colombo overlooking the Indian Ocean, in December 2026. After giving a scintillating performance at the Tejas institute, the pop diva said, “my years in Rotaract as charter secretary of my club has shaped me what I am today.”
Expressing her gratitude to PDG Gowri Rajan, who is the chairperson of Rotary Institute 2026, Yohani said the past governor is her inspiration. “Your strength, grace and leadership have led me from a little girl with no skills to the present status as a pop singer.” With over four million subscribers for her YouTube channel, and 1.5 million views a month, Yohani is one of the most trending singers in the global music firmament. When Gowri was district governor (2014–15), “I first met Yohani who then said, ‘I cannot sing as I don’t have skills.’ Now, she has become a global singing icon.”
RI director M Muruganandam, who will be the chair of the Lanka institute, said “Aim high will be the theme of the upcoming event, and we are looking for a minimum of 1,000 delegates to begin with.”
RI director and Tejas Institute convener K P Nagesh said, “I am thrilled that the Rotary institute is going from Delhi to Colombo, a beautiful city known for its rich hospitality.” PRIP K R Ravindran said Lanka is one of the favourite destinations of globetrotters, and ranks top among surveys done by media outlets for its pristine beaches and resorts. The island is blessed with an “unmatched beauty and wildlife. My family spends a lot of time here in these resorts.”
Inviting delegates from all over India, Nepal and Bhutan, PDG Gowri said the Colombo Institute will be a digital-age conference in the backdrop of a scenic and breathtaking landscape. She has formed a “dynamic team to organise such a Rotary conclave” with PRIP Ravindran as the advisor, PDG Y Kumanan from Madurai zone and PRID Raju Subramanian as counsellors, host committee head is PRID C Basker, and PRID A S Venkatesh as general trainer.