Your ‘Bubble Baby’ is 3 years old!
Flanked by his ‘Thaththa’ and ‘Amma’, he walks in unfazed by the small crowd of people in the large room. Clambering onto a chair all on his own, he kicks off his shoes and looks around. It is then that he spots the décor — clusters of bright balloons and bunting strung across the hall. Attention [...]
Space to ‘say’ something not so beautiful
As the opening of Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s latest exhibition draws near, he seems to relish the thought of putting his viewers to work. “When you enter the exhibition you won’t see many paintings,” says the artist. “You’ll have to find them.” It’s a clever twist on his theme, ‘Beautification’. The space made clean and pristine, so [...]
Letters to the editor
If Westerners can turn to vegetarianism, why can’t Sri Lankans? According to a recent radio programme, it was announced that a vegetarian week was held in Britain to help, support and encourage the general public to consume vegetarian diets. It was reported that several actors and actresses played a major role to create awareness among [...]
Appreciations
She taught us the true meaning of love Rene Roberta Jayasekera Losing a parent is sad, losing both within a short time, heartbreaking. Parents are the rock on which the foundation for a happy home is laid. When we leave to make homes of our own, the parental home often continues to be called “home”. [...]
Buddha delivers the first discourse | Esala poya falls tomorrow
It’s Esala Full Moon Poya day tomorrow. Exactly 2603 years ago, at the sacred site of Migadaya – the Deer Park at Isipatanaramaya in Benares in ancient India, the rays of the setting sun are falling on one side. On the other, the Esala full moon is gradually appearing. The Buddha is quietly approaching the [...]
Recalling Thailand’s greatest gift to Sri Lanka
This year Esala full moon poya day which falls tomorrow, marks the 260th anniversary of the establishment of the Siam Upasampada in Sri Lanka. This was after the European colonisation of Sri Lanka’s coastal region, especially through the destruction by the Portuguese, the Buddhist Sangha had declined to its lowest ebb. The then Sri Lankan [...]
Love letters my thaththa wrote 75 years ago
As a child I was fun loving, always wanting some action and very inquisitive. I saw my mother (Amma) on several occasions going through some papers, taken out from an antique looking toffee box and rearranging them with a lot of care and with a smile on her face. I used to wonder what was [...]
Pera ’63 batch rejoice and reminisce | Celebration of a Golden Jubilee
It was a noisy Golden Jubilee celebration with hearty greetings flying around as the ’63 batch of the then University of Ceylon, Peradeniya celebrated their university days with fellow batch mates and Peradeniya contemporaries. Several of their teachers were a part of the celebration luncheon at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, some making a special trip [...]
Borneo Exotics once again wins top award
They’ve done it again! Sri Lankan company Borneo Exotics has been awarded a Gold Medal at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in the UK. This is the largest flower show in the world and widely regarded as the world’s second most prestigious flower show, after London’s Chelsea Flower Show, at which Borneo Exotics has [...]
Cherry blossom baby
Sri Lankan elephant couple Anula and Kosala have been the key attraction of Japan’s Higashiyama Zoo at Nagoya since 2007. And now there’s an added attraction for Anula gave birth last January to a female calf. The first Asian elephant born at the Higashiyama Zoo and the sixth Asian elephant to be born in Japan, [...]
The battle to protect our elephants
It was a daring effort -a daunting search mission to locate ‘Walawe Raja’ – the much loved tusker of the Uda Walawe National Park (UWNP) who had suddenly gone missing towards 2009. Raja was not only mammoth in size but also in character and for wildlife enthusiast and senior tourism and management professional, Srilal Miththapala, [...]
An eco-tourism dream
When the world’s most popular travel rating site TripAdvisor put out a list of the 10 most extraordinary Treetop Hotels, Sri Lanka’s very own Saraii Village in Weerawila, www.saraiivillage.com – a relative newcomer to the field of sustainable tourism and green travel made it to the list. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.treehouseEN1) Being rated by TripAdvisor among ten exclusive [...]
‘Her Stories’ come back to Colombo
After touring Ampara, Galle and Jaffna, the ‘Her Stories’ exhibition returns to Colombo this week. In the exhibition are 60 of the 220 stories that were collected fromTamil, Sinhala and Muslim mothers from across the country in Moneragala and Kurunegala, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi. In each narrative the women trace the arc of their lives [...]
An honour for Anne
The Sri Lanka Festival for the Performing Arts (SLFPA) held a Verse Speaking Recital, on Sunday July 7 at renowned poet Anne Ranasinghe’s home, which saw 18 children reciting her timeless classics out loud. This was a part of the festival which holds a competition on public speaking, mime, reading aloud and television and radio [...]
National Trust lecture on Ananda, Ethel Coomaraswamy
Architect Ismeth Raheem will deliver the National Trust lecture for July on ‘Ananda and Ethel Coomaraswamy and the Making of Medieval Sinhalese Art’ on Thursday, July 25, at 6.30 p.m. at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10. The lecture will be simultaneously transmitted to the E.L. Senanayake Children’s [...]
Important contribution towards a dialogue on Lankan polity
Book facts: Fire and Storm by Michael Roberts. Reviewed by Nimal Sanderatne. Published by Vijitha Yapa. Price Rs. 2,400 When Michael Roberts left Peradeniya in the late seventies, he was part of an exodus of intellectuals from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, arguably one of the best universities at that time. The exodus of academics at [...]
Rebirth of an old art through the twists and turns of the artiste
Book facts: The Sculpture of Tissa Ranasinghe by Neville Weereratne. Reviewed by Rohan de Soysa Imagine the seed of an ancient tree, presumed extinct, lying dormant in the soil for 800 years, suddenly sprouting and producing a shoot. The shoot grows vigorously, becomes a sturdy tree and then produces seeds of its own. These go on [...]
A writer for the people
Tasnim Nazeer realised the might of the pen while she was in Sri Lanka following the tsunami, covering relief efforts. Being a college student and still relatively inexperienced, the British born journalist of Sri Lankan heritage was in the very early stages of her career. But being in her native land at a time when [...]
Sharmini Candappa and the love of fabric
Most women struggle when it comes to dressing up for a special occasion. The choices, the need to wear something interesting and unique. Which saree? Which accessories? Finding inspiration in these everyday situations, Sharmini Candappa has been creating printed fabric jewellery that is original and distinctive. This is not Sharmini’s first creative effort. Until the [...]
People and events
23rd annual Susan George Pulimood Oration The 23rd Susan George Pulimood Oration will be held on July 23 at 5 p.m. at the Jeremias Dias Hall, Visakha Vidyalaya. The oration will be by Mrs. Kamalini De Silva, Attorney -at –Law and Secretary, Ministry of Justice, who will speak on the topic ‘ Tears on glass’- [...]
