Restoring for posterity the home of a Sinhala scholar of yore
Far away from the salubrious climes of Kandawala, Katana, close to Negombo and what was his ancestral home set amidst groves of coconut palms, is a tiny plot in the arid peninsula of Jaffna all of his own. What distinguishes him from numerous others in this final resting place in the heart of Jaffna town [...]
How to catch a croc the humane way
Trussed up tightly, it was dragged here and there and hammered mercilessly on the head with an axe. This was after its insides had been torn asunder, on swallowing the chicken-bait in which had been embedded a four-inch vicious hook shaped like an anchor. This was in February 2012 and the agony of the massive, [...]
Horses and hats and the races are on
Horse racing is one of the many attractions that draws people to Nuwara Eliya’s cool climes come April and this year with the Royal Turf Club experiencing a renaissance of sorts, excitement is high over the races scheduled to be run throughout April. Last Sunday saw the Kunigal Stud Million championship at the Nuwara Eliya [...]
Pearls for a President
The mystery surrounding the living gem of the sea, the pearl, has long captured the interest of merchants, the imagination of poets and attention of historians. The existing fragmented narrative surrounding the once thriving cultures of diving, harvesting and trans-oceanic distribution of natural Mannar pearls is a rich part of Sri Lanka’s diplomatic, commercial and [...]
Marking seven years of music together in grand style
The De Lanerolle Brothers have a knack for making one forget that it isn’t the weekend. Amid the buzz of conversation over well presented dinner plates, the DLBs made a dramatic entrance at the first of their tri annual concerts on April 5. Live VII as it was called, marked seven years as a duo [...]
Anyone can do anything to music and lyrics of Danno Budunge
So we can, I think, ignore Mendelssohn. But for those who may be taken with the theory and wish to investigate (and lest my sleuthing go waste!) I recap it as given to and checked by me, with my results and my thoughts, mostly from an email sent my friend before I found the texts [...]
In praise of the humble Malu paan
On a recent, long and boring flight, idly browsing through the in-flight magazine I came across an article about Sri Lankan cuisine. Boring, so I thought, ‘till I spotted a picture of a golden and delicious Malu Paan. The years then rolled back to the 1960s when I was still in school: It was then [...]
An ambitious, genre-bending novella
If there’s one thing Theena Kumaragurunathan doesn’t lack for, it’s ambition. He makes his literary debut with First Utterance, a novella and the first in a proposed Miragian trilogy. Theena’s eclectic inspirations feed into a genre-bending work which combines poetry, prose and a play to tell a story of a civilization on the verge of [...]
A local platform for fitness and wellness
The topics of health and fitness have grown in immense global popularity over the last few years. DoubleDee Publications’ new magazine “Health Style” aims to provide Sri Lankans with a platform not only to promote their products and services pertaining to the industry but also to highlight the diverse and industry related advancements made over [...]
The inner qualities of a person are the most inspiring
Leonard de Alwis’s decision to publish his memoirs was made as a result of the suggestions of his friends and family. In the Afterword, his son Chamika tells us that ‘This is a book about a man who has dedicated half a century of his life to the cause of education in Sri Lanka… the [...]
Letters
Buddhism survived without state apparatus support during British colonial days I refer to the article, “Buddhism and a new Constitution,” by Rajah Kuruppu in the Sunday Times of April 10. Whatever our likes and dislikes, the current state of politics will not allow for any change in Articles 9 and 10 of the Constitution, which [...]
Appreciations
Revd Canon Udeni Suranjith de Silva He was a true leader of the church and rural youth Born on May 22, 1943 the Revd Canon Udeni Suranjith de Silva had his formal education at St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala, which is run by the La Sallian Brothers of the Roman Catholic Church. What he turned out [...]