When Bellamy Brothers let their music flow
‘If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me’….. many of those who watched and listened to the legendary Bellamy Brothers live in Colombo last week must have been humming these words as they drifted into the night. It was a great performance — could have even been a breathtaking [...]
In search of a unifying goddess
There is a time in the wake of her great rage – after she has torn her left breast out, after she has called fire down on the city of Madurai – when a widowed Kannaki finds a moment of quiet by the banks of a river. Across from her boys are tussling, engaged in [...]
Letters
Norochcholai coal power plant – some unanswered questions The Sunday Times article on February 2 carries some explanations by officials of the Power and Energy Ministry and the Chinese Company on the problems the Norochcholai power plant has been encountering since its commissioning nearly three years ago. However, many questions are still unanswered and I [...]
Appreciations
My favourite aunt, the pragmatist on all occasions Mackiya Shums My maternal aunt, Mackiya Chichi as we nieces called her, was an absolute pragmatist. She believed in absolute justice too. In fact the word “injustice” was not in her vocabulary. In all her endeavours she took a practical approach and achieved quick and sensible solutions [...]
From the hearths of our Manikes, Sumiths and Baminis
Bree Hutchins can’t wait to leave the comforts of Colombo and hit the dusty roads of rural Sri Lanka to catch up with her friends in Siyambalanduwa, Kayts, Punkudutivu, Hatton, Pahalalanda and other parts of the country. Her friends are for the most part villagers -farmers, small entrepreneurs, housewives and war widows, who gladly welcomed [...]
A class cabaret act
Steve Ross has always played the piano. He remembers beginning at age six and never looking back. His love for the instrument accompanied him through little shows in high school, a stint in the seminary where he played the organ and later when he was a recruit in the army, stationed in Washington State, he [...]
Plays that cast long shadows
Quick, someone punch me hard… I must be dreaming – I went for a StageLight&Magic production and came away disturbingly comforted and comfortingly disturbed. Can’t remember the last time that happened with SL&M, dears, so I guess it is a good thing in the end? Ah, enough of all this light banter! Here, at last, [...]
From the dazzling to the muted
Entering its second decade, the HSBC Colombo Fashion Week 2014 that concluded on Saturday, February 8 proved that local fashion is heading in the right direction. Giving viewers their fill in terms of creativity and flair, both local and international designers presented collections that dazzled on the ramp in an overall well-executed and professional show. [...]
A canvas of 7 different strokes
When seven artists of different disciplines come together for one exhibition what can you expect? It could be utter chaos or symmetry in diversity; or as the seven artists in question will tell you it could simply turn out to be an interesting meeting of minds. The teaming of Royden Gibbs with Michael Anthonisz, Noeline [...]
Jith’s back with a classic British comedy
Jith Peries, a legend in his own right, is back again doing what he does best- produce dramas. A well known name in English theatre in Sri Lanka, Jith is the man behind such well known productions as ‘West Side Story’ ‘Annie get your gun’, the famous ‘Mudaliyar Quartet’ and recently ‘Chaos in the Vicarage’. [...]
The Phantom awaits your pleasure…
This October, the Workshop Players will present Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ by arrangement with The Really Useful Group. Speaking with the Sunday Times, the Artistic Director of The Workshop Players Jerome L. De Silva said, “Since the Phantom menace 12 years ago, we have been waiting for him to look [...]
A fantastical Lankan novel
This, the 2013 Gratiaen Prize-winning novel, is remarkable and unusual. ‘Remarkable’ because it is a work of high imagination written in simple and immediately comprehensible English. ‘Unusual’ because the results of Lal Medawattegedera’s imagination are applied in an unusual context, presented [by the Publisher] in an unorthodox way, using an unconventional short yet elegant and [...]
Life through a rear-view mirror
Romesh Gunesekera has several books to his credit including ‘Reef’ which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has been translated into several languages, including Chinese. Not many other Sri Lankan, English-language, literary texts have received such reader and critical attention. ‘Noon Tide Toll’ (hereafter NTT) consists of short stories, vignettes, divided into North and [...]
Let them eat meat
This week, there was quite a bit of a fuss over the killing of an eighteen-month-old giraffe. The ungulate in question was a denizen of a Danish zoo. It was considered surplus or redundant, somehow, because of a recommendation made by a European association of zoos and aquaria. These gents had sounded a caution about [...]
Rukshan raises voice for unity and peace
Scrambled eggs are undoubtedly an odd topic to write a song about but that never stopped Rukshan Perera who staged Rukshan Perera Live In Concert IV last month. The entire concert featured his original compositions that included tribute songs, thought-provoking reflective numbers and even some “fun” tunes as he called some of his more humorous [...]
Fifty years of excellent existence
The Kandy Society of Medicine (KSM), the second largest society of medical professionals in the country, is celebrating its fifty years of excellent existence this year. The Golden Jubilee celebrations started with the dawn of the new year and the annual Academic Sessions were held from February 5 to 8. The KSM emerged in 1964, [...]
WNPS lecture: Whales and Dolphins in Sri Lanka
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society’s (WNPS) next monthly lecture will be delivered by Anouk Ilangakoon on ‘Whales and Dophins in Sri Lanka: From obscurity to fame and emerging threats’. The lecture will be on Thursday, February 20 at 6.15 p.m. at the Department of Metereology auditorium, 383, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7 (opposite BMICH). Entrance [...]
Lecture on Italian contemporary design
Prof. Arch. Luca Molinari will deliver a lecture on ‘Design as an Italian phenomenon’ on February 21 at 5 p.m. at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute The idea of “good design” has been part of the Italian identity , says Prof. Molinari who will focus on a critical interpretation of the Italian post war, alternative phenomenon [...]
Floral exhibition and demonstration
The Shi-en Ikebana & Floral Art Society will present ‘Beyond the Rainbow’ their annual floral exhibition and demonstration on February 23 and 24 at the Galadari Hotel. The society’s annual exhibition is to fulfil a twin ambition: To promote floral art and also to raise funds to help the children suffering from Thalassaemia, in the [...]
Asiri Surgical Free Surgery Project hosts special celebration
Nine-year-old Gautam had a smile on his face and a blue balloon in his hand. The smile on his father’s face was even broader. Ravikumar had brought Gautam along with his little sister to the Asiri Surgical Hospital to be a part of a special celebration as the hospital hosted underprivileged recipients and beneficiaries and [...]
A kaleidoscope of voices and ideas
The conference room at the Hotel Renuka was a kaleidoscope of young voices and ideas last month as the International Study Visit (ISV) of the British Council’s Active Citizens programme drew to a close after a week- long session. The ISV provides a medium for young social activists from around the world to come together [...]
