Once it was David’s ‘big garden with lots of animals’
He looked deeply into the eyes of one and stood in admiration before another whom he had seen as a tiny baby. Not only was David Weinman re-tracing the footsteps of his father, he was also venturing back into his own childhood in a nostalgic journey replete with fond memories. Soon after David, now 70, [...]
Letters
Misuse of public property for polls: Can we stop it? Often opposition parties accuse the ruling party or parties of misusing public property for election-related activities Article 28 (d) of our Constitution reads “It is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka to preserve and protect public property and combat misuse and waste of [...]
Appreciations
Fr. Joe De Mel A towering Man of God – with a towering heart of gold A gentleman par excellence – Fr. Joe was proud of the ‘fruits of virtue and of knowledge’ he gathered from his parents at home and at his alma mater, St. Joseph’s College. There he learned, by the example [...]
A houseful of art
I’m wary of sweeping, absolute statements but here’s one that I can unhesitatingly stand by: The Sapumal Foundation is a must for art lovers. The first impression is that of accidentally wandering into someone’s house–but a house crammed with some of Sri Lanka’s best known art names. And that is perhaps exactly what it is, [...]
The boy who picked up the tabla now a master of it
Delighting a Sri Lankan audience with his ability to make the tabla sing, Indian percussionist Pandit Tanmoy Bose performed to a spellbound house last Sunday. His audiences these past years have included royalty from around the world like the Princess of Afghanistan to Prince Charles and he has won no less than four prestigious Grammy [...]
Love through the ages
Semage’s latest exhibition, ‘Chronicle of Love’ will be held from April 4 to 6, at the Lionel Wendt Gallery Colombo 7. He has had many previous solo exhibitions with titles like “Beyond the Horizon” and “Visa to My World”. What was the reason for the choice of present title “Chronicle of Love”? Semage explains: “I [...]
Nelun’s news flashes on screen prints
Artist Nelun Harasgama returns to Barefoot this week with an exhibition of screen prints and paintings. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Nelun explained that screen prints involved an elaborate process. “To achieve the desired textures in the final prints I first painted small paintings with oil on canvas then scanned them to make tracings or [...]
Prageeth goes back to his roots
Prageeth Manohansa is known for his assembled figurative works made from rusted scrap metal parts, but his sketches on paper depict the same fluidity and motion. The monotone nature and the sculptures’ changing texture have become Prageeth’s identity. The struggle of an artist cum landscape architect who claims to have learnt more from hard labour [...]
They did it their way, the ladies!
It was a Ladies VIP night and judging by the response, last week’s event was every bit as successful as the earlier events. The Kingsbury’s Balmoral Ballroom provided an elegant setting for the ladies who came in their numbers to enjoy some of the things they like to indulge in- high fashion, music, good food [...]
A taste of Italy at Waters Edge
Do as the Italians do and end your weekend with a traditional Italian barbecue at the Waters Edge. The newly refurbished hotel’s expansive lawn was the perfect setting for this feast of spit roasted meat accompanied by a smorgasbord of the land’s much loved dishes and an interesting selection of its best wines. General Manager [...]
Holi fun on Mount beach
It has become somewhat of a tradition for India’s Holi festival to be celebrated here and this year the Colombo Indians laid on their Holi party on the Mount Lavinia Hotel beach last Sunday with Bollyood music and a spread of Indian food. With the sun and sand and waves to splash in, it was [...]
Counting her blessings
As the years roll on, your future seems to shrink, while your past grows longer. And if your mobility is impaired and your physical activity becomes necessarily limited, you fall back on your inner resources and enjoy lying on an easy chair while your mind recalls people and events that have made an impact on [...]
Of death and the maidens of hope…
(Inspired by a recent report of a woman who waited to be reunited with her lost lover on the ill-fated MH370.) When she first heard that the plane had gone down, she started building up hope. Before she knew what happened to the plane, before it took off, before it went missing, there was no [...]
Something settling for restless minds
Manel Ratnatunga’s recent publication ‘Buddhism for the Young and the Restless’ is a simple yet dynamic and lucid presentation of a ‘Way of Life’ as propounded by Gautama Buddha. It reaches out to the younger generation nurtured on informative and readable material. The unusual layout adds to the design and quality of the publication, the [...]
Bringing back the blooms
Not only the invitation but even the envelope in which it came offered a splash of gentle colour – a beautiful hand-painted sprig of flowers which brightened an otherwise mundane day, creating images of areas not much trodden by human feet. The event too – the launch of the Third Edition of ‘Wild Flowers of [...]
Small grants but hidden, large benefits
Just the other day, I had to look up the World Bank website for some information on a project. I noticed that Sri Lanka had some 4.8 billion US dollars in aid for various development projects. The website of the Ministry of Economic Development shows that it is managing some 31 projects worth some 130 [...]
Meet our resident fellow creatures
A synanthrope is a member of a species of wild animals or plants of various kinds that benefit from an association with humans and live in the somewhat artificial habitats that humans create around them, like houses, gardens, farms, roadsides, garbage dumps, and so on. One side of my house at Rajagiriya borders the marsh [...]
The true spirit of innovation
“We saw this guy in a phone shop,” 18-year-old Afzal Fasehudeen recalls “he couldn’t hear or speak and the salesman didn’t understand his sign language.” Saddened that this person had to go away empty-handed because no one could help him, classmates Vinoth Krishan and Afzal Fasehudeen came up with a solution. That solution –a gadget [...]
Dettol CSR project: Hygiene awareness
At a media briefing held recently, Reckitt Benckiser elaborated on their Corporate Social Responsibility Project- “Suwa Setha Mehevara” -a project concerning hygiene awareness among three most important categories of people – schoolchildren, pregnant and new mothers and mid wives. From this year, they will add another category of people into their awareness project- Restaurant and [...]
Prof. Priyadarshini Senanayake wins ‘Inspire Award’
Research Scientist and Assistant Professor, Priyadarshini (Preenie) Senanayake of the Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, America, has been presented the ‘Inspire Award’. The Cole Eye Institute presented the award to Preenie for her invaluable contribution to the institute and community service. Preenie who has been [...]
Creative writing workshop
A creative writing workshop for first-time as well as experienced writers organised by the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission will be held on April 9 from 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. It will be conducted by Dr. Lucy Melbourne, a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar who holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina [...]
ACWBC Avurudu Pola
The All Ceylon Women’s Buddhist Congress will hold its annual New Year Pola on Saturday, April 5 from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Congress premises at 400, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. The funds raised will be utilised to construct the proposed new building within the premises to accommodate destitute elders. Well-wishers are requested [...]
Mallika Nivasa Samithiya to hold ‘Avurudu Salpila’
‘Avurudu Salpila’ organised by the Mallika Nivasa Samithiya will be held at Mallika Home , 45, Visakha Road, Colombo 4 on April 6 from 9.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Avurudu Salpila is being held to raise funds for the Mallika Nivasa homes for destitute, elderly women and orphaned children. On sale will be handicrafts [...]
