Rebirth of ‘Pirinivan Mangallaya’
It is under a spreading Nuga tree, with its leaves gently rustling in the winds blowing from the adjacent waterway across from the famed Bellanwila temple that the beautiful voices, accompanied by soft music gradually rise to a crescendo. The ‘re-enactment’ of the very first Buddhist Cantata, ‘Pirinivan Mangallaya’ (The passing away of the Gautama [...]
Saving a hand from the grip of a grinder
The mother was carrying the screaming toddler and the father the grinding machine. The toddler and the grinder were ‘inseparable’. It was around 7.45 in the night on August 1 and the moment she saw the little boy’s left hand twisted within the grinding machine along with thala (gingelly), the heart of Medical Officer Dr. [...]
The curtain comes down on an all-round performance
To start one’s career as an actor in serious plays – from stylised drama to dialogue plays – move over to cinema, then to comedies and end up in teledramas making viewers roar with laughter is real talent. He had that talent. True, many had misgivings about his moving over to hilarious characters but he [...]
The face that launched many a smile
He was Sri Lanka’s quintessential funny guy. Vijaya Nandasiri who passed away on Monday was the country’s most popular comedian and brought comedy on television alive in living rooms with not only his wit but expressions and ways of saying it. He was the Sri Lankan version of comedians like Norman Wisdom or Jerry Lewis [...]
Golden memories of music sans technology
Many years ago during my teenage years, I used to on occasion ‘cut’ school and make a beeline to the American Library then located in Galle Face Court (the building next to the Ramada Hotel and right opposite Galle Face Hotel). That was the time when the US Embassy was housed where the American Center/USAID [...]
Three plays by the Somalatha Subasinghe Play House at ASSITEJ Asia meeting
The Somalatha Subasinghe Play House, ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Youth) Sri Lanka Centre, the University of the Visual and Performing Arts and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau have jointly organised the ASSITEJ Asia meeting to be held in Colombo from August 18-21. Sixteen delegates from ASSITEJ Asian centres are to take part [...]
Experimental expressions
When Susanne Jaschko first walked in to the General Post Office, she knew this was the venue they had been searching for. The structure, though visually striking, was poorly maintained and was not, at first glance,what you would consider a perfect fit for a very modern exhibition. But Jaschko relished the contrasts. The new German [...]
The Sothys team launches new signage
The Sothys team launched their new signage on August 1 to help costumers to recognize the brand at local salons. The launch was graced by Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Sofi Vaasa and the Prime Minister’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Rosy Senanayake.
Swiss National Day in Colombo
Swiss National Day was celebrated with a reception at the Swiss Residence in Colombo hosted by the Swiss Ambassador and Mrs. Senta Walker-Nederkoorn.
For that Ohe look
Nelun Harasgama the artist has been making beautiful strokes on the saree palate with her Ohe Island collection at recent fashion shows. For those who missed out on these occasions, the Ohe Island collection, not just sarees in soft silk but also designer outfits, bags and shawls can now be viewed at Nelun’s recently opened [...]
Hong Kong: Take the time to discover a land of contrasts
It is a place that brings to mind images of neon-topped skyscrapers and glitzy modern shopping malls filled with the latest in brand names and styles. Yet the 21st century metropolis that is Hong Kong – or more correctly ‘the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong’ that is part of the People’s Republic of China [...]
She dared compare poverty to life in concentration camps
“Heroism? I don’t like this word. People need role-models, so we invent heroes for them. But that’s not life. I don’t think we need to go for a great life or a great destiny. We just need to do our best to respect justice.” In May 2015, the late Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz (1920-2002) officially entered [...]
BOC coin museum: Not upto the mark
The long awaited Bank of Ceylon Museum was finally opened on August 1 without much fanfare with the 77th anniversary celebrations of BoC. The Museum was to have opened for the Bank’s 75th anniversary. BoC first opened a coin museum at their 50th Anniversary in 1989, based on a collection loaned to the bank by [...]
Will women athletes ever be tough enough?
It’s Olympic fever once again. Eight years in the making and four years of waiting and it’s finally here, Rio 2016. The world’s biggest sporting event, showcasing the talents, power, discipline and tenacity of some of the strongest and most powerful men and women in the sporting world. The sheer hard work and strength of [...]
Gone is the spell, it’s truly a curse
‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ was a favourite children’s story of mine, a story told to remedy a much sadder story with a tragic ending which had preceded it. At its heart was a fraud, perpetrated on a foolish ruler, who believed two confidence tricksters who posed as tailors and took all his money to make [...]
Sanjeewee’s strokes of people and spaces
Many of his contemporaries opted to follow the safer alternative of sticking to the more locally recognised neo art forms, but Sanjeewee Seneviratne pursued his passion and is now a recognised watercolour painter. At 38, he has held four solo exhibitions, while also displaying his art at many international exhibitions. He is also the Sri [...]
Book launch: Bringing out all that is noble and beautiful through Hanuman
‘The Celebration of Prayer’, a book on Ramboda and the Chinmaya Temple of Hanuman, by Sivanandini Duraiswamy, was launched recently at the Hindu Women’s Society auditorium in Colombo. Through her writing, Mrs. Duraiswamy gives words to her feelings that it seems as if Swami Chinmayananda has brought back to Ramboda in Kotmale an image of [...]
All about the ‘young’ Indian Ocean
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society’s monthly lecture this August will be on, ‘The birth of the Indian Ocean’. It will be delivered by Prof. Mathias Harzhauser on August 18 at 6 p.m. at the Dutch Burgher Union (DBU) hall, 114, Reid Avenue, Colombo 4 (Thunmulla Junction). The Indian Ocean is a young sea – [...]
Let the Marians move you with those memorable CT favourites
Who would forget hits like Punsanda Himmenne and its lyrics … Wasanthaya samayedi oba langa indagena //Mihirata kavi kiyami // Saman kekulu mal// Pokurak aragena obe hise gasami//? Come August 20 and the Ave Maria auditorium at Negombo will come alive with the songs of the evergreen C.T. Fernando sung in Nalin and the Marians-style, [...]
Dr. Srikanth to speak at next meeting of Positive Living with PD
The next ‘Positive Living with PD – Support Group Meeting’ will be held on Thursday, August 18 at 6.30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church Hall, Rajagiriya. This month, neurologist Dr. S. Srikanth will speak to the group and answer any questions. Positive Living with PDis a secular, non-profit support group, that hopes to break through [...]
A school holiday programme for special children
An innovative school holiday programme for Children with Special Needs will be held at St. Paul’s Church Hall Milagiriya on August 15, 16, and 17. This programme designed by the founder of Active Minds, Suzanne Dissanayake is for children between the ages of 5-16 years and will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each [...]
Letters
Government’s challenge: Turning campaign promises into policy Democracy, the rule of law, corruption, wastage and politicisation of government institutions were some of the main campaign issues at the Presidential and Parliamentary elections last year. The Government now faces the challenge of turning its promises into policies. Obviously the expectations of the people are high. They [...]
Appreciations
GED GOONERATNE A stalwart of Royal answers his Maker’s call Well done thou good and faithful servant T.G. Gooneratne, affectionately known to one and all as Ged, passed away on August 2 after a brief illness at the age of 82 and was cremated at the General Cemetery, before a large and distinguished crowd of [...]