My Grandpa who ‘ran away to sea’
One day, around noon, two schoolboys were walking home from school. It must have been about 1883, and the boys were from S. Thomas’ College at Mutwal. Mutwal and Kotahena were, then, the home of upper-middle-class people, many of them Burghers. The two friends were Burgher boys and, like all their clan, they were adventurous [...]
Letters
Study in contrasts: Kadirgamar and our present-day envoys The recent Sunday Times article on late Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar is both timely and thought provoking. It is timely, not only on account of his death anniversary which falls in August but more importantly, in view of the quagmire Sri Lanka finds itself presently in the sphere [...]
For folly, ice is also great, and would suffice to treat
There isn’t a cat who hasn’t caught the ice-bucket action on social media of late. The thing has gone so viral that you could even say it was an epidemic. That the challenge has infected local celebrities has been cause for comment, lament, and some spillage (literally). Problem is, it’s spilled over from the Internet [...]
Craftalive lights up local touch
The National Craft Council’s dynamic Chairman Buddhi Keerthisena and Colombo Fashion Week’s ever-innovative Ajai Vir Singh have a good thing going in their collaboration to highlight local crafts through fashion. The ‘Craftalive’ show highlighted this successful fusion last Thursday as against the glimmering lights of the stately columns of Independence Square, lissome models showed off [...]
Floating back to an older, gentler time
If the words ‘floating market’ bring to your mind images of boats laden with produce and frenetic commerce being conducted on busy waterways, you might be in for a bit of a surprise at the Pettah floating market, which was opened to the public on Monday, August 26. Located a short walk away from the [...]
Kandyan history entwined in Mauritian mystery
Readers in Sri Lanka have to be grateful for the serendipity that brought a medical professor from our island nation to the island of Mauritius [via the island continent of Australia]. This is a truly amazing book. Professor Bandaranayake’s chance ‘discovery’ of Ehelapola’s tomb, while leading an Australian medical mission in Mauritius, so enthralled him [...]
Colours of Kenya that took her on an artistic journey
Kishani Wikramanayake’s home is full of interesting objects. Papier Mache masks smile at you from the floor and colourful aborigine-styled paintings greet you from the walls. Standing in her studio, now piled high with paintings by her students she smiles, “there are still more entries to come.” Her 3-18 year old students are gathering their [...]
I spy with my little eye a bird!
Well known wildlife artist and leading naturalist Lester Perera is ready with his next exhibition of wildlife art under the theme ‘Wild in Ruins’. Among the colourful paintings of birds using watercolours and acrylics, the exhibition contains black and white ‘ink and pen’ drawings. At a glance, they seem to showcase archaeological sites in Sri [...]
OKTAVE in harmony with De Lanerolles’ for Perfect Fifth
The De Lanerolle Brothers together with the choir OKTAVE accompanied by Neranjan de Silva, one of Sri Lanka’s well known pianists have organised a thanksgiving service, ‘Perfect Fifth’ on September 6 at 6 pm. at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour in Colombo. The event will celebrate the Brothers’ fifth anniversary as well as [...]
‘Miracle’ birth of a sibling set him on his future course
One week he spends in Jaffna and the next in Colombo, commuting between the northern and southern cities either by Intercity train or luxury bus. It was not long ago that he was in England, but now that he is retired after 36 long years, fertility specialist Dr. Muthukrishna Sathanandan, 65, has made a conscious [...]
Someone to talk to on the other side of the line
“What you see is the very tip of a massive iceberg,” said Jetha Devapura, Founder and Chairman of the CCC Foundation at a news conference last week. “That tip is suicide. Underneath the surface lies a massive layer of anxiety, stress, and depression.” Mr. Devapura was speaking at an event held to launch the 1333 [...]
This flitting beauty is no longer extinct
The Tamil Oakblue (Arhopala bazaloides lanka), long considered extinct in Sri Lanka and removed from our list of butterflies, has been rediscovered in the wet zone lowland forests of Sinharaja and Kanneliya. In 2008, Chamitha de Alwis and a member of the Hiyare Wildlife Conservation Society of Galle had spotted a butterfly in the Kanneliya [...]
Looking down at a kingdom
The large rock is a distinct geographical feature of this town, though today, we may pass through Kurunegala little thinking of the historical significance of this ancient Royal Kingdom. Just 94 km from Colombo, Kurunegala is a fascinating destination, well worth a day’s visit, if a longer stay is not possible. Known as the Hasthisailapura–its [...]
RCCU inducts new president
The Rotaract Club of Centennial United (RCCU), a community based youth drive, celebrated their 6th Installation Ceremony and inducted new president, Rtr. Darini Sahadevan and her Board for the year 2014/15 on Sunday, August 24 at Waters Edge, Battaramulla. The Installation Ceremony began was graced by President’s Counsel and the Charter President of the Rotary [...]
Away from the humdrum of life on land
There are hundreds of rivers in Sri Lanka but only 16 of them are more than 100 km long, and the Bentota River is not one of them.Nevertheless, in its bid to enhance the tourist product in Sri Lanka, the innovative Jetwing Group decided to borrow an idea from India and replicate the popular houseboats [...]
Appreciations
Ranjani de Silva A dedicated professional with complete integrity When the news came to us on that cold rainy morning of Ranjani’s passing, we felt again that sheer sense of loss and pain that we have always felt when very dear friends leave us, friends who have grown into our lives over the years, in [...]
Dog of the Year
Ranjit Dahanayake presents the “The Dog of the Year” trophy to the owner of the Boxer Luthra’s Triple Ace, Hasitha Dinesh at the Ceylon Kennel Club Dog of the Year Contest 2014 held recently, while judge Theo Horchner and Chathura Semaratne, Business Manager Sri Lanka Mars Brands look on.
Adapting to our environments
The Faculty of Integrated Design of the Moratuwa University has always come up with innovative and novel ideas and initiatives. Their latest project- a student exchange programme done together with AEISEC, is the biggest project happening in the Sri Lankan University field at present. Under ‘The Art Project’, 26 foreign undergraduates from 12 different countries [...]
Federation of University Women dedicate 2013 – 2014 to women undergraduates
The Sri Lanka Federation of University Women have dedicated 2013 – 2014 to the Women Undergraduates of Colombo, Sri Lanka, since they have a difficult task in finding accommodation in Colombo. The Federation and the Executive Council led by the President Mrs. I. Puvimanasinghe and the Committee have completed the repair and renovation of the [...]
Officers of KDU Intake XX celebrate brotherhood
The date was 12 years ago- to be precise – September 1, 2002. The main lobby of the academic building of the Kotelawala Defence Academy (now Kotelawala Defence University) was filled with a group of young boys, aged 20 to 23 numbering a hundred plus, who had an expression that could be termed as a [...]
10th Annual Conference on Buddhist Studies
The 10th Annual Conference on Buddhist Studies, organised by the Dept. of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenapura in association with The Buddhist Times Trust will be held on December 26 – 27. Academics and researchers are invited to present papers relating to Buddhism from a variety of disciplines such as Philosophy, Civilisation, [...]
Strengthening early education
Charmian Colombage sees the Montessori system as a deep philosophy involving the application of many scientific disciplines. Therefore, in a country inundated with mushrooming Montessori schools and many questions about the standards of Montessori education, Charmian being awarded the Silver Medal by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries recently augurs well for this field [...]
