Remember, we can all become victims of Alzheimer’s
The name Lorraine Yu or the Lanka Alzheimer Foundation might not ring a bell. But you know who and what they are, because if you live in Colombo you must have bumped into both at some point over the last few years. Because Lorraine is the lady with a raffle ticket book and leaflet you’ll [...]
Mozart comes to Mullaitivu
On August 26, four busloads of children from three schools in Kurunegala travelled to Thunukkai in Mullaitivu to join the children of the north for a four-day long residential workshop as they prepared to work yet again as an orchestra. The children have worked together on three residential programmes over three years and so were [...]
Letters to the editor
Rathupaswala: The army should be educated on the right of private defence It is reported that the Army has appointed a committee to investigate the Weliweriya incident in which three people were killed and 60 were wounded. This is to say the least “Set a thief to catch a thief” or is it like “Horage [...]
Appreciations
She gave new life to many Mahila Samiti projects Subhadra Ratnatunga Amarasekera Gentle, unassuming Subhadra Ratnatunga Amarasekera made an immense contribution to the Lanka Mahila Samiti in her quiet way, from the time she joined it in 1980 to her passing away last June. She herself would have viewed this happy association somewhat differently, experiencing [...]
Finding Rambo
I kept daily contact with the Uda Walawe National Park, but with no news of Rambo, hope seemed to be receding that he was alive. Deep down I was not convinced, and decided to take a quick drive to the park to do some intense reconnaissance along the western side of the park, abutting the [...]
Opening up to controversy?
Dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, Ashok Ferrey walks through his newly redecorated house. The main hall is now a cheery yellow, courtesy the team from Bombay Velvet, who turned the author’s home into a set for their film. Luckily, Ashok does his writing elsewhere – the rooms upstairs come equipped with [...]
Virginia Woolf and the “Melymbrosia” manuscript
It wasn’t until 2007 when I bought the late Paul Evans’ 4000 Bloomsbury book collection and started building the Literary Museum at Glenthorne that I discovered Melymbrosia. It was a first edition by Virginia Woolf but published by Cleiss Press in America in 1981 about the emotional and sexual awakening of a young Englishwoman travelling [...]
Grand literary prize aims to take local books to a new level
There is simple joy in reading. The anticipation that accompanies each turn of a page of a new book is something better felt than explained, but in this country with a soaring literacy rate there is hardly a soul that has not felt this pleasure. Come next week, the BMICH will be teeming with book [...]
Giving expression to a passion
“My Passion with Colours” an exhibition of paintings by Indian artist Meena Passy is on until September 16 at the Alliance Francaise De Kandy, 640/2, Peradeniya Road, Kandy. A housewife, whose hobbies are drawing, painting and cooking, Meena has travelled to many places including Oslo, Bonn, Kiev, Rome, Paris, Geneva, Budapest, Damascus, Karachi, Jakarta, Singapore, [...]
A colourful jigsaw puzzle of cloth
You could be forgiven for making the obvious mistake of looking at the works of Kumari Adikari from afar and thinking they are paintings. But look closely and you will find that it is not brush strokes that constitute her work, but cloth. As she felt calling it a painting would not do justice to [...]
Eyes that say it all
Jayantha Silva had just finished his first work of art – a figurative portrait of a beautiful girl staring at him with captivating brown eyes. He proudly called his family over to show them his creation, when he noticed a few specks of pastel dust on the edges, and tried to blow them off. To [...]
‘It’s fun and liberating’
As a young actor making his way in London, Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke found some of his skills were in demand, others not as much. There was tap dancing which he has faked quite convincingly and fluency in Finnish which he has never been called upon to demonstrate. Until recently Sinhala felt like it belonged in the [...]
Relationships take centre stage
An interesting storyline, dialogues lined with subtle sarcasm and some gripping performances come together to make – “Aadara Wasthuwa” (Love Object) -, the latest play by well known director- playwright Rajitha Dissanayaka a very watchable stage production. The play deals with the subject of the evolution of relationships over a period of time, both those [...]
Toil and talent behind Laksala handicrafts
Laksala the only state-ownedcraft shop has been a household name for traditional gifts or souvenirs for decades. However, we little stop to think that these products come not from industrial wood cut-outs or from electrical looms but that they are the result of the tireless toil by talented artists and craftsmen. The craft village of [...]
Get to know how your mind works
InPsych, Sri Lanka’s first English language psychology magazine launched recently covers a wide range of topics–education, child health issues, personality, relationships and even organisational problems from a psychological perspective. This is part of a larger effort to establish psychology as a respected discipline in our culture, says editor of the magazine Dr. Darshan Perera. “We’re [...]
Shabu Shabu the rabbit makes new friends in Colombo
Kristina Thornton is often asked why she chose to name her rabbit after a Japanese beef hot pot dish. “When I was living and teaching in Taiwan a few years ago, I had a little pet white rabbit,” Kristina explains. “She was very cute and her name was Shabu Shabu. That wasn’t her name but [...]
Two Chevening scholars felicitated
Acting British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Robbie Bulloch hosted a reception last week to introduce the two Chevening scholars for this year who will soon head to London. Aishath Aileen Niyaz from the Maldives, will be reading for an MSc in Development Studies and Kanishka Ratnayake from Sri Lanka, will be [...]
COCO gets all-new look!
Cotton Collection transformed into a whirlwind of colour and fashion as models took the floor to unveil an all new look for their clothing range, COCO at their flagship store at 143, Dharmapala Mawatha on August 31. The cool yet refreshing look saw splashes of pink, orange, yellow and other vibrant colours dominate the free [...]
Leaving Istanbul with a memorable gift
The Bosphorus is one of those places you recall from distant geography lessons and map-marking at school so it seems almost surreal to be on a boat trip down this strait which lies between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and has on either bank the city sprawl of Istanbul. One of the [...]
Bringing out ‘who you are’
Loretta Gunewardene was never any good at science. “Strangely enough my children were very good at the subject,” she laughs easily. It was in the field of speech and drama that this self-confessed “shy child” found her niche, blossoming thereafter. Today, Loretta has, in her pocket, training experience of over 19 years in the subject [...]
A tall tale of two Talon-ted leaders
For me, the week gone by was dominated by two leaders. One, the dashingly energetic leader of a Serendipitous Island Republic (SIR, for short). And the other, the democratically elected leader of the World’s Undisputed Sole Superpower (WUSS, for better or worse). Both of whom, for entirely different reasons, made the headlines seem hotter. At [...]
Daya Mina awareness walk: “We can do it”
‘Daya Mina’ is a religious organisation run by the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary who are determined to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the so-called “disabled” are in fact differently-abled in varying degrees and are far from being invalids of society. This year they will hold an awareness walk on Saturday September 14, [...]
Sing to help the needy
The Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan presents Sing Along with Rukshan Perera backed by Sohan and the X’periments on September 18 from 7 p.m. onwards at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. Multi-talented musician/composer Rukshan Perera will entertain the audience with an incredible selection of songs from the 60’s and 70’s, favourite oldies, and many more. Sohan [...]
Ruk Rakaganno environmental lecture on water resources
Environmental lecture series 2- Water -Ruk Rakaganno will be having its second lecture on the State of the Environment on Friday, September 13 at the N.M. Perera Centre at 108, N.M. Perera Mawatha, Borella at 5 p.m. Upali (K.A.U.S.) Imbulana, presently a consultant to the Mahaweli Consultancy Bureau, will in his talk look at the [...]
Lankan doctors at SAFES meeting
The inaugural meeting of the South Asian Federation of Endocrine Societies (SAFES) comprising the Endocrine Societies of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal was held in January, in Colombo hosted by the Endocrine Society of Sri Lanka under the presidency of Dr. Noel Somasundaram. The scientific sessions of SAFES held last month in Hyderabad, [...]
New book on Ayurvedic medicine by veteran journalist
“Divi Surakina Hela Osu”, a book on Ayurvedic medicine by veteran journalist and award-winning author, Asuntha Edirisooriya will be launched on behalf of the literature month. The book is a compilation of articles from the “Divi Surakina Hela Osu” series which unfolded in the Sunday Lankadeepa newspaper, based on information provided by the Deputy Director [...]
Award-winning children’s plays for the whole family
Award-winning dramas “Dangamalla” and “Mama Wenama Malak” by Nalaka Swarnathilake are back. After being staged for a record number of 60 and 35 times respectively, both plays will be back on the boards: Dangamalla on September 14 at 2.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. while Mama Wenama Malak will be on September 15 at 2.30 p.m. [...]
‘Stepping Stones’ marks a decade of nurturing confident pre-schoolers
‘Teach me to do it myself’ is the motto of Stepping Stones Montessori, a pre-school that has been nurturing curious young minds in Sri Lanka for the last ten years. If you sit down and observe the classroom you would see busy children confidently moving from one activity to the other with teachers always willing [...]
Logos Hope: The world’s largest floating book fair
Anchored close to the dock at the Colombo Harbour is a former white car ferry, a passing visitor to Sri Lanka. However step on board and you’ll discover the world’s largest floating book fair. The Logos Hope has been renovated to hold cabins, auditoriums and most importantly the bookshop which holds over half a million [...]
