Trapped in their escape hatch from poverty
It’s no secret that life is a terrible ordeal for most housemaids working in West Asia. The hardships they endure to send money home come at great cost. At the time of writing – 7.30 p.m. in Sri Lanka–it is possible that in Saudi Arabia, where it now is 2 a.m. –thousands of Sri Lankan [...]
A time for change
In 2020, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has raged through the world like a wildfire, infecting tens of millions, killing hundreds of thousands, and bringing the world, as we know it, to a halt. Much of the world has been in lockdown and economies have stuttered and faltered. While people were shut [...]
Letters to the Editor
Some thoughts on attracting large and medium scale foreign investors Nimal Sanderatne, in his column‘Imperatives For Economic Development’in the Sunday Times of August 9 writes under the heading ‘Fiscal consolidation an economic prerequisite and priority for development’ explaining the current financial status of the country in a nutshell, identifying the reason for the major crisis [...]
Appreciations
A rose with a sandalwood soul Mulin Kurukulanatha “Sandun gase saman walak ethenne. Nadun wanaye sihil suwaya soyanne” I thought of starting with the above two lines which were the same lines used by my grandfather to address my much-loved grandma Mulin Kurukulanatha. I wonder how he could have been so accurate about her from [...]
With his feet firmly planted he let his vision take flight
The one thing in Ray Wijewardene’s low-ceilinged, ship’s cabin of a study that really sucks you in is a David Attenborough poster of a magnified dragonfly- its great red eyes boring into you like intelligent pearls against the bright tropical greenery. It is a symbol of Ray’s own undying curiosity about nature. Where Wordsworth and [...]
The one that got away – Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne
Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne went on his first leopard safari when he was three. His parents bought him an SLR at age 15, and during his university years in London (Engineering, Imperial College) he joined The Camera Club in Leicester Square, and immersed himself in the world of practical photography magazines, monthly competitions and professional [...]
An enthralling walk along the corridors of time
As someone who has spent the greater part of my working life in the General Hospital Kandy (GHK), this memoir ‘My Peradeniya’ by Prof. Sarath Edirisinghe is of particular interest. I was so enthralled that I could not put it down until I finished it! Professor Edirisinghe’s saga starts from his departure from his family [...]
More insightful third edition of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, edited by Prof. Goonetilleke
The third edition of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, edited by Prof. D.C. R. A. Goonetilleke, has come out with substantial new material not included in any other edition of the great novella. This Broadview Press bestseller (previously published in 1995 and 1999) comes completely revised and updated to take account of the scholarship of [...]