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ADVERTISTMENTS |
 The colourful hoardings have been taken down. The hustle and bustle at the stately BMICH with more than 2,000 men and women from 60 countries gathering there to discuss the all-important topic of HIV and AIDS is over.
As Colombo settles back into its routine, the messages flowing out of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific are too numerous to deal with in one go. A few strident calls, however, come to the fore. |
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| Kumbi on
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 Grace, elegance, poise, talent, perfection...all words that could easily epitomise almost every member of this family of dancers. From the maestro Chitrasena himself to his wife Vajira, daughters Upekha and Anjalika, and now his grand-daughters Heshma, Umi and Thaji, the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya has over the years, become a hallmark of Sri Lankan dance. This blend of dance and professionalism has evidently translated to its students – a number of them now experts in their own right and contributing to the mission of taking the school from strength to strength, keeping the country’s dance heritage alive. |
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| Battling the silence |
 Michigan, 1999: Chandima Rajapatirana has a presentation to make on the morrow. Unbearably nervous, he dashes around the hotel room he is sharing with his parents, Anoja and Sarath. Used to accompanying their son to various conferences on autism across the U.S, both of them have forgotten that this event actually marks his first presentation. Chandima himself, however, is all too aware. “There was just no living with him,” Anoja recalls, remembering that getting any rest proved impossible that night. |
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| Kadir’s vision |
 August 12, 2005, a friend woke me up to give the shattering news that Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was taken to hospital fatally wounded by an assassin’s bullet. As I drove to the Accident Ward that night, I could not help the thought that this was a tragedy waiting to happen and the late minister more than anyone else, was acutely aware of it all the time. There was also this foreboding feeling in the air that the innovative cruelty of the LTTE assassin was going to reach its assigned target eventually. |
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