Harmony truly meets humanity
As we walk into the elegant Park Street house where the World Muslim Choral Ensemble is heard soulfully drilling for their debut show to be held this evening at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, we are momentarily whisked off into an oriental reverie, echoes of Samarkand, nomadic desert tents at dusk, minarets, the camel wagons, the [...]
The importance of being Segar
Segar’s latest one man show opened on Friday and is on this weekend at the Lionel Wendt Gallery. The artist, is the painter of the ‘indoor’ hardly emerging ‘outdoor’ to capture images on canvas. Rather, he depends upon figures to express the art of painting. With the power of modern dissonance, his brush strays away [...]
A home garden that spread its roots
When architect Medhini Igoor and her engineer/businessman husband Abishek Devaraj moved to Sri Lanka from India, they started growing their own produce on land they had acquired in Kotugoda, on the outskirts of Colombo. Medhini soon realised that they had an excess of produce, more than what could be used by them or given to [...]
Relishing the sights, sounds of a dry zone wildlife paradise
The litany of names says it all: Bagura, Maha Lenama, Selawa, Itikala, Andarakala …The Kumana National Park is the quintessential dry zone wildlife paradise – villus, grassland, lake, gal kem or rock pools, desolate white beaches and ancient relics of a Ruhuna country civilization. Here touched by cerulean, ochre and dry green, undulate daily a [...]
Monkey tricks and a day to remember in Yala
I had seen several years back the Walt Disney movie set of The Monkey Kingdom, filmed in the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa with my sons, and, having grown up with Sri Lankan wildlife, thought, ‘How could a troop of cheeky red-faced monkeys with Beatles’ style bowl hair cuts be such a threat.’ On an all-day [...]
Appreciations
The man behind the legend Mickey (Mineka Wickremasinghe) Mickey (Mineka Wickremasinghe) in his last years, with his greying beard, full crop of grey hair and calm demeanour, didn’t project the image of the business tycoon or legendary Sri Lankan entrepreneur that he was. Beneath this cool exterior though were the elements that enabled him to [...]
A common cancer here, but preventable
There are two reasons why we should bother about oral cancer. Firstly, oral cancer is very common in Sri Lanka – the most common cancer among men in Sri Lanka. Secondly, oral cancer can be prevented because we know the causes very well. So it is just a matter of staying away from these known [...]
Going back in time to our unknown past
‘Sri Lanka’s Lost Animals: The Pleistocene Period’ will be the subject of this month’s National Trust lecture by Kelum Nalinda Manamendra-Arachchi on Thursday, July 28 at 6 p.m. on-line. Those interested could join on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/99130818735?pwd=VGFvemsxbjQyMW9EOVlLdWJKUE1jZz09 (Meeting ID: 991 3081 8735, Passcode: 486362) The fossils of the Pleistocene period (ranging from 2-1.67 million years before [...]