Pradeep takes home ‘obelisk’ trophy for his Kadju House
Architect Pradeep Kodikara walked away with the grand prize on Wednesday night at the 2013/14 Geoffrey Bawa Awards. His design for the beautiful Kadju House in Tangalle earned him the Rs. one million prize and a distinctive ‘obelisk’ trophy to take home. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Pradeep explained that since the building was completed [...]
Like Bawa her strong roots helped her to break free
The line of the equator runs through Mira Nair’s garden in Kampala, Uganda. The sprawling estate overlooks Lake Victoria; glittering blue under the warmth of an African sun, it stretches as far as the eye can see. At the heart of her garden, set with winding pathways and plants that have proved irresistible to the [...]
Letters
Burning of Jaffna library Going deeper into the confessions of a police sergeant This refers to the article relating to the burning of the Jaffna library by T. Seneviratne, retired S.S.P. that appeared in the Sunday Times of June 1. According to the writer, a police sergeant decades after the crime, made an unsolicited confession. [...]
Appreciations
Chula Ratnatunga Fun-filled times in Nairobi to discussions on meditation back home My good friend Chula was born on October 4, 1927 and passed away on May 9 this year at the age of 87 years, in Newcastle, England. He had his education at Royal College, Colombo, then passed out from the University of Ceylon [...]
Quran: Understanding this vast treasure to all humanity
All praise belongs to Allah, we extol him, seek his help and his forgiveness. Al-Quran! What a profound and inspiring book is this Quran that Allah has gifted to humanity. “Read” is the very first word that commanded humanity. It is remarkably significant that the starting point of Islam starts with the word ‘Read!’ This [...]
The shot that shook the earth
Famous as the personage whose death, by pistol shot, triggered the bloodbath of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was himself a tireless, single-minded shedder of blood – that of wildlife – long before his own blood was shed, by a political assassin. His murder took place on June 28, 1914, and a [...]
Beginning of life, look to space, not Earth?
Whether they agree with him or not, most scientists consider Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe a force to be reckoned with. His early career was marked by a string of honours – graduating in 1960 with a BSc First Class Honours in mathematics from the University of Ceylon, he went on to study at Trinity College and [...]
On a bicycle made for his mother
We met them on the eighth day of their journey, around 12 noon when they were approaching Waligama town in Matara. Around 3 p.m. on the same day, the Sunday Times once again spotted them in Matara town, and at that point they were some 125 km from their final destination – Kataragama. There is [...]
1934: When our last King’s regalia came home
Soon after the fall of the Sinhala Kingdom in 1815, the British plundered [as ‘spoils of war’] our Royal treasures and spirited them away to England. The most valuable of these were the throne of the King of Tri Sinhale, his royal crown and golden ceremonial sword. The throne was installed in Windsor Castle and [...]
National Trust Lecture: Getting to know Sri Lanka’s kovils
Prof. S. Pathmanathan will deliver the monthly National Trust lecture on ‘Kovils of Sri Lanka’ at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 on Thursday, July 31 at 6.30 p.m. Chancellor of the University of Jaffna, Prof. Pathmanathan has been the Vice- Chairman of the University Grants Commision and [...]
The music makers at Musicmatters
With the Musicmatters Festival just around the corner, we caught up with some of the visiting artists to talk to them about their work, what audiences can expect from them at the festival early next month and what they’re looking forward to in Sri Lanka. Here’s what they had to say: Dan Weisslikes to play [...]
Joshua, Vidhurinda and Sachiththa to star at SOSL Young Soloists’ concert
The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka is preparing once again for its annual Young Soloists concert. This year, the Young Soloists concert features two talented young musicians: Joshua Asokan, performing Mendelssohn’s piano concerto no.1 in G minor, and Vidhurinda Samaraweera, performing Mozart’s Horn concerto no. 3 in E flat major. The SOSL will also be [...]
The Golden Deer– Book launch
Premini Amerasinghe will be launching her latest novel ‘The Golden Deer’ at the ICES Auditorium, 2, Kynsey Terrace Colombo 8 at 4 p.m. on August 4. Her previous books include, a collection of poems ‘Kaleidoscope’ (shortlisted for the Gratiaen in 1998), ‘The Search’ (longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize), ‘Sophie’s Story’ and ‘Tangled Threads’ (shortlisted [...]
Public art that will get you thinking
The British Council’s latest effort is to draw attention to a few pressing issues in society. Project Social Canvas has brought together experts both from the inside and outside of the British Council to fill public places with pieces of art. Not just any art, as Director Arts, South Asia Shreela Ghosh puts it “thought [...]
Be a part of the Jujubee magic
The Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust (NTT) presents a fantastical tale of a kingdom of make believe with larger-than-life puppets, nail-biting suspense, a musical narrative and cast from across the seas! Performed by the Chennai-based Perch theatre group, this production promises to be a rare treat. It is an interactive theatre experience for the young from 5 [...]
‘A Passion for Faces’
A gathering of family, friends and well wishers were present at the launch of Barbara Sansoni’s latest book ‘A Passion for Faces’, a collection of her sketches over the years at Barefoot last week.
Look enchanting with Amante
To complement those fashion conscious women who look for glamour, elegance and sensuousness when it comes to their lingerie, Amante has launched its new luxury mid season lingerie collection- ‘Enchanting Elements’ . The luxury jacquard collection, ‘Enchanting Elements’ was unveiled at Amante’s flagship store at Racecourse Mall recently introducing its three main styles – Sublime [...]
House on the Lake with memories of bygone Rest House days
Heading up the bund of the Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa, a sense of tranquillity resonates from the surroundings. The warm copper shade spread over the lake blends beautifully with the orange tinge of the sky, as a few hundred cormorants swoop down on us. Our gaze follows their trail to a quaint little establishment towards [...]
Savouring the leisurely past
Tissa Devendra’s (TD) new book, “A Fiery Finale” makes pleasant reading; starting from the distant past, he takes us along half-forgotten, fading paths of memory and brings us to the present, all the while regaling us with his inexhaustible fund of tales memories, reminiscences, much of it his own and, so the material comprising the [...]
Following the monk method
“Bananas are very profound. “They are so commonplace that we assume we know everything about them. In fact, we don’t even know the correct way to peel a banana. Most people peel the banana from the top, the end with the stalk. However, the experts on bananas, the monkeys, always peel their bananas from the [...]
Valuable lessons for one and all
This is an unsolicited review of a book I enjoyed reading recently mainly for the lessons to be learnt by one and all. The author and the reviewer are not known to each other though they had worked in two state institutions for at least ten years not more than a quarter mile apart in [...]
Denying both fake and real violence
Last week, I wrote about testosterone-filled bravura footballers who bite their opponents in the field (Suarez) and others who literally break their antagonists’ backbone with an airborne challenge (Zuniga). You might have noticed I also mentioned ambitious young politicos (Dayasiri J and Harin F) and trophy-driven sporting high-speed demons (two unpronounceable Dutchmen) as belonging to [...]
Eliminating gender-based violence
History reads that as humans existed as nomadic ‘’hunter gatherers,’’ males were required to hunt during the day and in the night, to protect their families. Due to this, the task of bringing up the young fell to women and there was equal administration of responsibilities. However, as humankind developed from hunting to settlements, the [...]
Dhilan sings in aid of the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation
The last time Sri Lankan Baritone Dhilan Gnanadurai sang for a local audience was in March 2009, as a soloist for the Symphony Orchestra’s memorable performance of the Verdi Requiem. Since then Gnanadurai has spent most of his time in England, first as Director of Music at St Matthew’s Church Croydon, and afterwards moving to [...]
Sarath Kongahage pays farewell call on Angela Merkel
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Germany Sarath Kongahage met the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel, during the annual reception for the diplomatic community in Berlin and informed her about the completion of his tour of duty. During the meeting, he thanked her and Federal Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier for the [...]
Miss Universe China contestants on pre-pageant tour
It wasn’t so long ago when there were tours by a bevy of beauties from the Miss India and Miss France pageants. Now it’s now time to welcome the contingent of Miss Universe China for a pre-pageant tour in Sri Lanka. Twenty three beauties will be arriving in Sri Lanka on August 26 and they [...]
Correction
In our article on the Biona Supermodel pageant published in the Sunday Times Plus of July 13, it was stated that the Best National Costume was designed by Shari Weerabangsa. In fact, the award for Best National Costume Designer was won by Dilshani Satharasinghe.` Ishanka De Alwis was awarded Miss Triumph Body Beautiful along with [...]
NFOA film fundraiser
The NGO forum on Ageing (NFOA) will screen the film “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell” starring Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters and Telly Savalas on August 2 at 6 p.m. at the Russian Centre, 10, Independence Square, Colombo 7. This is a fundraiser for the “Felicitation of Elders” programme. Tickets are priced at Rs. 400. Please contact [...]
