Pride and tragedy
During the much abhorred mathematics period in the Wewala Government School, seven-year-old Egodahage George Wilfred Alwis Samarakoon took refuge in his own lyrics. Preferring the river which flowed by the school to his sums, young Samarakoon immortalised it in verse to the fury of the mathematics master. The punishment was to sing his own lyrics [...]
Wearing off
Under the flyover in Dehiwala right next to the bus stop sits Michael Savarimuttu in his striped blue T-shirt and shorts, busily mending a cobalt blue umbrella with pink flowers. Thirty-two-year-old Michael is a father of two girls and works as a cobbler to make ends meet. Having no qualifications to speak of, Michael feels [...]
What happened to the good old rice ‘n’ curry?
“Uncle! Will you serve yourself some rice!” commanded Samanmalee (The Sam), my loud-mouthed-but-nice and long-legged and short-skirted niece, at a recent home ‘dinner party’. “Where is it, Dahling?” I asked. “What?” “Where is the rice Darling?” “Right in front of you!” “Can’t find it, Darling!” “You need eye surgery, Uncle!” she said. *** In my [...]
Make way for bamboo, the plant for the future
Bamboo with its graceful form has been an inspiration to artists and poets in many eastern countries. It is considered to bring good luck and prosperity to those who live near it. This is, in fact, a reality as bamboo is now established as an eco- friendly crop with high socio-economic returns. Forest cover in [...]
Celebrating UN Vesak Day: Spare a thought for our four-legged beings
This May, from 11th to 13th, the United Nations Day of Vesak will be celebrated in Sri Lanka. This follows a request made to the UN Vesak Committee on behalf of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, by Buddha Sasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, to host this Day in Sri Lanka in 2017. According [...]
Joy of jazz in a heritage setting
A restaurateur with a marketing background, Gehan Fernando is no stranger to the finer things of life. Sitting beneath the awning at Sugar Bistro with his shades, crisp white linen shirt and blue jeans Gehan makes no bones about his passion – “I’m a huge Jazz fan!” The second instalment of Colombo Jazz Festival (CJF) [...]
Art reflects society
Young artist Vimukthi Sahan’s latest exhibition ‘Moods’ opened on Thursday at the Paradise Road Galleries, Alfred House Road, Colombo 4 and will continue until March 1. The artist who says he wants to educate himself further explains that his work is somewhat political. “People become dissatisfied with their circumstances and are forced to limit their [...]
Await Rukshan’s musical fare for 2017
Rukshan Perera is preparing for his annual concert for the seventh successive year – ‘Rukshan Perera Live In Concert VII’ to be held at Bishop’s College Auditorium on Sunday, March 5. Rukshan’s concerts are always for a deserving cause, and this year he has partnered with RCU to organise the concert and donate all the [...]
Shantha’s gentle giants: It’s something to trumpet about
It took him all of 17 years and many long hours of sketching and sketching but now he has the complete set. For wildlife artist, environmentalist, instructor foraquatic life for the Young Zoologists Association (YZA) and Co-founder of the wildlife art group of the YZA, this set of five sketches which he calls ‘Gentle Giants’ [...]
More than hundred years ago, Sri Lanka’s Natural History Society took root
All the facts of natural history taken by themselves have no value, but are barren like a single sex, but marry it to human history, and it is full of life. Emerson Address on ‘Nature’ 1836. It was not a large gathering- about 60 persons congregated at a makeshift auditorium on Monday, January 16 at [...]
Imaginative, allegorical and metaphorical too
‘First Utterance’, a self-published book by Theena Kumaragurunathan, has just been awarded first prize in the second Fairway Literary Award, in the English category. It is a breakthrough book, in several aspects: it is short, it is extremely affordable at Rs.150, it is a work of mythic fantasy fiction, it successfully incorporates elements of poetry, [...]
Verses that show his versatility in the use of words
How can I wait without sending a letter, Duwa when I have no news from you for days? The telephone you gave for me to talk in an emergency has not worked for days May be the batteries are down I have no knowledge of these I was shaken up last night when neighbour Dayawathie [...]
India House lights up for 68th Republic Day
India’s 68th Republic Day was celebrated in grand style on the lawn of India House on Thursday, January 26 with an evening reception hosted by High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Earlier that morning the Indian expatriate community in Sri Lanka had their celebrations with Mr Singh hoisting the Indian flag and inspecting a Guard of [...]
Double celebrations on Australia Day
Australia House was the venue for the Australia Day celebrations in Colombo on January 26 which also marked the 70th anniversary of Australia-Sri Lanka bilateral relations.
Hitting the ramp at the races
Deepthika Jayakody launched her RTC fashion label last year and will be expanding her line with a new collection for the race season in April. A graduate of the University of London College of Fashion with an MA in Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation, as well as a BA (Hons) in Fashion Textiles & Design Technology, [...]
From colony to call for freedom
Independence is an opportune time to look back on the glorious days of Sri Lanka. As Ponnambalam Arunachalam (later Sir) reminds us in ‘Sketches of Ceylon History’ – a lecture he delivered in 1906 in the presence of Governor Sir Henry A. Blake – there is perhaps no country in the world that has such [...]
Moonstones under the microscope
Dr. Donald Stadtner, former Associate Professor at the University of Texas speaking on ‘A Sri Lankan Moonstone: Fakes, Fortunes and Unsolved Cases’ at a recent symposium organised by the Royal Asiatic Society Of Sri Lanka, chaired by President Dr. Hema Goonatilake. Wijerathna Bohingamuwa, Asst. Editor of RASSL gave additional comments on the ‘Moonstone’ auctioned in [...]
All island inter school Islamic competition
The Islamic Society of Zahira College Colombo has organised an All Island Inter-School Islamic Competition on February 12 at the College. Schools interested in taking part should send their applications to islamicsociety@zahiracollege.lk or call 77 165 6701 on or before February 8 to be part of this competition.
Indian schols for Lankans to study Hindi
The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India is offering scholarships to Sri Lankan nationals to study Hindi at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (Central Institute of Hindi), Agra, for the academic session 2017-2018. Applicants should have done Hindi as a subject at G.C.E. A/L or have done Madhyama or 100, 200 courses of KHS, [...]
Canadian HC launches second regional Young Women Leaders Dialogue
High Commissioner of Canada to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to Maldives, Shelley Whiting, on Thursday launched the second Regional Young Women Leaders Dialogue which brings young women leaders from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka together for a four-day series of meetings and discussions in Colombo and Delhi on the role of women [...]
Three years on, friends and colleagues recall Mel
Mel Gunasekara was a hard-nosed journalist, but many of her colleagues and friends remember her most for having a warm personality and being a good friend. Some of their fondest memories of Mel Gunasekera are of her infectious smile. “She used to be always smiling,” says Shafraz Farook, a colleague who used to work with [...]
Letters
Public protests: What do they really achieve? Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. This is a right closely linked to the right to free expression. This right applies to public protests and demonstrations. The people in our country enjoy this freedom in full measure and use it extensively since the last Presidential [...]
Appreciations
Noel Fernando Father of Sri Lanka squash who paved the way for all of us An Officer and Gentleman par excellence, diplomat and sincere friend indeed! That was Noel Fernando whom we knew as the “Father of Squash in Sri Lanka”! I was privileged to get to know Noel way back in 1980 when the [...]