Living on the edge
A run, a jump and a splash amidst the cruel rocks, with faces peering down anxiously from far above and spontaneous shouts and loud applause. The act though is not over — more jumps from rocks lower down and then a climb back to the top using the jagged rocks, monkey-style. Bare-chested and clad in long-shorts, [...]
Adding that Lankan touch to Christmas cake making!
Sri Lankans are well known to have a sweet tooth, or rather whole sets of sweet teeth, and so it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to me to be offered all sorts of sweets on my return to the Old Republic. Having lived too long elsewhere in the world I had lost [...]
Letters to the editor
What happened to 1212 on Christmas eve ? SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom) has made giant strides in the development of the industry to provide many services through one simple telephone line coming to a residence – telephone, internet and television. While congratulating the SLT on these advancements, I have to place on record that SLT [...]
Appreciations
Memories of a magnificent matriarch | Nanda de Rosayro With the death of Nanda de Rosayro earlier this month our family mourned its last matriarch and mentor. Aunty Nanda was my father’s older brother, Uncle Sonna’s wife and a surrogate mother to me and to all her nephews and nieces. She was there for us since [...]
Harriet conquers Ceylon and the world
On July 17, 1909, 43-year-old Harriet White Fisher, a wealthy widow who had inherited her husband’s company and become a successful businesswoman, set sail from America on the liner SS New York bound for Europe. Nothing very unusual about that you may think; a widow perhaps wanting to assist her recovery from her husband’s death [...]
I want everyone to be touched by my performance
When Kishani Jayasinghe sings at the Lionel Wendt on January 9 she’ll be singing with all her heart, just as she always has. Amidst the soaring notes of Bizet and Rachmaninov will be a special message of love for this time around she’s singing for the displaced children of the North and East. “To be [...]
Sonorous and inspiring; a Christmas concert only the Revelations can do
What does one do when one’s venue is burnt to cinders a week prior to one’s gala performance ? That’s what ominously happened to the Revelations when the hall at the BMICH burnt down, right down to the ground. Yes there was a lot of heartache and heartburn as the host for the evening Kumar [...]
“Domus” A much needed home for the arts and the artists
Art must be seen and the artist has to present his creation to find its worth. It is for such exposure that “Domus” – a studio with an Art Gallery was set up in Colombo 3 recently by two young committed men – Prasad Nagendren, himself an artist of multifaceted talents and Suren Samaratunge who has [...]
Who took centrestage?
January 6: Julian Marley performs in Colombo Julian Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley, a Grammy award nominated, roots-reggae musician, singer-songwriter and producer performed with his band at the Vihara Maha Devi Park in one of the first big concerts of the year. January 26: Kala Pola celebrates its 20th anniversary Kala Pola, [...]
Wildlife portraiture at its best
It cannot be gainsaid that coffee-table books celebrating Sri Lanka’s wildlife riches have become an established and flourishing genre. Where did it start? G.M. Henry and W.E. Wait’s four-part Coloured Plates of the Birds of Ceylon (1927–1935) is perhaps the work I would finger as the pioneer. It wasn’t meant to be comprehensive: there were, [...]
A piece of authentic fiction
Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha’s collection of short stories makes for very easy reading indeed. As a former officer of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry and more popularly, a medical officer of both the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps and the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, perhaps it’s no surprise that almost every story in the book [...]
Traditional hospitality in a modern setting
The mansion was built by a Sinhalese aristocrat and then became the official residence of the local representative for the P & O line that flourished in British-era Galle. Later it was a judge’s residence. Now it is called Tamarind Hill and has become an unusual hotel, one where guests are treated like welcome visitors [...]
Hauz Khas and a garden tomb
In Delhi, green tends to come in dustier shades, but there’s so much of it. The area adjoining Hauz Khas Village is a great example – the trees grow thick and a little wild but sadly the deer park appears bereft of deer. The village, swallowed whole by a ravenous, growing city, is now famous [...]
Shinagawa Beach resort: Friendship and luxury on the sands of Balapitiya
Located on a picturesque strip of land on the Balapitiya beachfront, the Shinagawa Beach resort which was officially launched on December 1, boasts a multitude of facilities and a location that is truly serene. Going beyond a boutique hotel on the golden sands that opens to its visitors a holiday in luxury, Shinagawa Beach also [...]
Into the deep with the Great Whites
Underwater photography can be challenging and sometimes fraught with danger. Challenging because the fish /mammals are always on the move and it is difficult to compose a photo as we are not in our natural environment, and may have to swim pretty fast to keep up with them. Then there is the visibility factor in [...]
A fishing they go in Vakarai
Those of my vintage and earlier remember Vakarai with nostalgia. This was in an era now long gone. Many, including planters, used to go to places like Arugam Bay, Passikudah, Panichankerni, Vakarai and Verugal, all of which are on the East coast, for rest and relaxation and to also indulge in shooting, fishing and sea [...]
Sir Wilfred Thesiger and the snows of Kilimanjaro
A little while ago I was looking through my diary of an entry a little over a decade ago. August 24, 2003: Sir Wilfred Thesiger died today. He was the last of the great adventurers who perhaps became most famous between 1945 and 1949 when he explored the southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula, and [...]
RAASL accepting papers for 7th Annual Research Conference
The Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka has called for papers for its 7th Annual Research Conference to be held on March 27, 28 and 29, 2014. Research papers may be presented on different aspects under the following subject fields: Media Studies, Aesthetic Studies, Social Sciences, Philosophy Studies, History/Archaeology, History and Science and Technology, Language Studies [...]
SUNFO felicitates society leaders
Sri Lanka United Nations Friendship Organisation (SUNFO) held an award ceremony to felicitate volunteer society leaders at the National Museum Auditorium, Colombo recently. Here Principal of Muslim Ladies College Dr. Hajarjahan Mansoor receives her certificate from Director General of (SUNFO) Dr. W. A. Deshapriya S. Wijetunge. SUNFO President Jeewanashuri Victor Ranasinghe, Secretary General [...]
New book detailing life as a planter
“It’s A Spade”, a book by retired planter Deepal Peiris will be launched on Sunday, January 5 at 4.30 p.m. at Eighty Club, No. 85, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. His passion for the tea and rubber industry is shared in this honest account of life as a planter, the day to day running of an [...]
Rise of the e-cards
How many Christmas cards did you send this year? And may we also ask, how many did you receive -by post that is? A greeting card is considered an excellent way to spread seasonal cheer. When we receive a card, we feel glad to have been remembered and the more sentimental amongst us, may even [...]
Thank God Christmas comes once a year…
This reflection is for true believers. You mustn’t feel obliged to trawl through it to the end and then troll my end-December deliberations. Don’t say you weren’t warned, dears! Christmas is about a bonny baby being born in Bethlehem some twenty centuries ago. Which is probably why not many children feature in the nativity celebrations [...]
