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Standing tall on and off the court
Randika Doling challenges stereotypes both on and off the courts. Only three feet and 10 inches tall, Doling was born with a genetic condition called achondroplasia which left her with disproportionately short arms and legs. But Doling has never let her stature get in the way of realising her potential. This September she participated in [...]
Letters
Proposed traffic plan a nightmare for women drivers A recent news report said that one of the measures the authorities were contemplating to deal with the growing traffic congestion in Colombo is to ban vehicles entering Colombo if they carry only one passenger. A vehicle should carry at least 3 passengers, according to a proposal. [...]
Trail Sri Lanka to do it again
Crowd-funding is a relatively new concept for Sri Lanka, but it’s a concept which is well accepted globally. Stated simply, crowd-funding is the practice of funding a project by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, usually via the internet. Interestingly, the largest crowd-funding project in Sri Lanka raised almost 10 million rupees [...]
Emma and the airline sick bag collection
It all started off with the lovely Emma. Emma Perks was her real name. Yes! That’s right, Perks was her surname! There have not been that many perks in this life for me but she was one of them. She was a lovely girl who entered my life on the 2nd of April, 1993 precisely [...]
Author of cult humour for kids and this year’s Pulitzer poetry prize winner
Andy Stanton Andy Stanton wrote the first book in his hilarious and much-loved Mr Gum series over the course of a single night, Christmas Eve, as a present to read to his young cousins on Christmas Day. The eponymous Mr Gum is a repulsive old man, very much in the tradition of Roald Dahl, who [...]
The many-layered herbal garden
After completing his PhD at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, Priyantha Udagedara returned to Sri Lanka in 2014, immediately presenting an exhibition of his work at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. His work, in the form of paintings and drawings, titled Paradise Lost presented a series of aesthetically pleasing imagery that when observed [...]
The incredible transience of being
Mandalika Manjusri has long stepped out of the shadow of her father, the late scholar and artist Dr L.T.P. Manjusri, and is today established as an artist in her own right, with an ephemeral, spiritual and minimalist signature style that harks back to her roots in Buddhist temple painting. Under her brush, nature, creatures, objects [...]
The wheel of life hasn’t been too kind to him
There is hesitancy but a quiet dignity as he walks into Hotel Tilko in Jaffna. His weather-beaten face breaks up into numerous wrinkles as he shakes hands accompanied by a broad smile, with hope held close to his heart that with the dawn of the New Year around the corner, life would meander in a [...]
‘Read with an open mind and let in the wonder of life’
Ask five people what they think of the paranormal and you will get five different answers. Sri Lankans grow up hearing stories of famous ghosts such as ‘Mahasona’ or ‘Mohini’ and these have coloured our opinions of ghosts. Not so Bernie Hay. She has had experiences of the paranormal since the age of around three [...]
A place where tears will always be bought and sold
“Please buy my tears,” she asked. She held the past in her hand. The Al-Husu market in the Al Hafa district of Salalah on the southernmost tip of the Sultanate of Oman, was crowded as it is every day. On sale was everything from “musr” turbans, “kummah” caps, “naal” sandals to copper coffee pots , [...]
See the seabirds
Seabirds are families of birds that primarily hunt for food in the sea. This excludes a number of birds such as waders like Sanderling which are typically seen on the beach and may be referred to as coastal birds and not seabirds. In terms of taxonomic classification, seabirds are not a natural, single grouping of [...]
Tis the season for sarees
It was a show dedicated to the splendour of the saree, as Prenita Fashions, Priyanthi Fernando’s exclusive saree boutique held their seasonal show at the Colombo Hilton last Sunday. Saree was the preferred choice of attire for most of the ladies present even off the ramp. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Marketing in style
‘Stylish Marketer – 2015’ organised by the Department of Marketing Management and the Future Marketers Association of the University of Kelaniya saw some interesting and innovative creations on the ramp at the BMICH last month. Held to boost the students’ soft skills by promoting their exposure to the business world, the show was held for [...]
Tea and Batik
Darshi Keerthisena of Buddhi Batiks invited friends and customers to tea and a look at the Batik boutique store’s latest offerings for the season at their Ward Place outlet earlier this month.
Appreciations
Dr.Lilaknath Weerasinghe He brought great joy to everyone he knew The flower bloomed and faded. The sun rose and sank. But your noble deeds and actions would linger never to fade Dr. Lilaknath Weerasinghe was a great professional in the field of medicine. We got to know Dr.Weerasinghe when he married Mallika akka. Since then [...]
The passion of Nishimura
An evening of classical and choral music was presented at the Lionel Wendt on December 5 by the Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC). The guest star was Mika Nishimura – a lovely, award-winning, Japanese-born violinist currently attached to the Zubin and Mehli Metha Foundation in Mumbai and proud owner of a Giovanni Francesco Pressenda [...]
Sounds of Christmas with the De Lanerolle Brothers
Seasonal celebrations are often tied up with song and the De Lanerolle Brothers Rohan and Ishan began the December festivities with an evening of Christmas music ‘Celebrate the Sounds of Christmas’for their loyal fans at the Colombo Hilton on December 9.
The challenges of strumming a classical tune
“Classical guitarists are in the minority everywhere,” said world renowned classical guitarist Paul Cesarczyk when he visited Sri Lanka in October, “and it’s not really a problem.” But being a classical guitarist and belonging to that minority has its unique challenges, which both Cesarczyk and Theophilus Benjamin of the Asian Guitar Federation agreed the Guitar [...]
Launches
A Short Guide to Some Less-Visited Temples of Sri Lanka to be released ‘A Short Guide to Some Less-Visited Temples of Sri Lanka’ by Malika Jayasinghe will be launched on January 8, 2016. The book contains short descriptions of less-visited temples that lie hidden in thick jungles or on steep mountains. The author touches on [...]
New edition of “Prisoners of the Boer War” to be released
A new edition of ‘Prisoners of the Boer War’ by R.L. Brohier from the Dutch Burgher Union Journals, edited and reprinted by Robin Woodruff and Deloraine Brohier will be launched on Monday, December 28 at the Dutch Burgher Union at 7 p.m. Robin Woodruff will make a short presentation on the book. The book has [...]
SLT launches wild fruits of Sri Lanka calendar
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), launched its calendar for the year 2016 under the theme “Wild Fruits of Sri Lanka”. The calendar was launched during a special event held on Wednesday, December 16 at the SLT premises in Fort Colombo. Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer of the Zoology Department at the University of Colombo, Samantha Gunasekara, [...]