December 31 draws 2025 to a close at a symbolic moment. It marks the completion of the first quarter of the millennium. The year unfolded amid political shifts, economic pressures, and social change, alongside moments of achievement and loss at home. It was a year marked by an unusual number of deaths in the arts, claiming towering figures such as Screen Queen Malini Fonseka, Song Queen Latha Walpola, and many other respected voices who shaped the country’s cultural life.