On the Yal Devi to Yalpanam
Though all the media hype was on the inaugural Yal Devi, the first train to officially arrive at the Jaffna Railway Station after 24 years on October 13 with President Rajapaksa on board, that special train made its journey only within the peninsula from Pallai to Jaffna. Determined to make the first trip to Jaffna [...]
Art to heal and make whole again
Young and old, we gather around a table strewn with pictures clipped from magazines. The instructions to each one are soft but clear. “Take a silhouette board and pick out any pictures you are drawn to and glue them onto the board.” As if by its own volition, my hand is drawn firstly to a [...]
Touched by the sound of music
Greg Snell – Australia’s “Best Jobs in the World” winner, visited The Music Project”, to gather research for his next potential project – a documentary travel series “Travel Global Think Local”. Greg hopes to feature The Music Project in the first episode. Here is his blog of his visit to Mullaitivu and Kurunegala. There is [...]
‘Black box’ in the wilds
Arriving on the site of his new assignment in a tractor, Architect Jayanath Silva knew this one would be a challenge. Remote and wildly beautiful, the location was close to the sacred Somawathie Chaitiya in Polonnaruwa. In poetry, Silva would later capture what he saw as his task: The landscape was magical…/ It was a [...]
A dramatic journey through banned books
The library at the British Council has been left open after hours for a photo shoot. Actors cluster around tables near the entrance, debating their choice of costume and using a dark window as a makeshift mirror while they apply make-up. All the lights are on – illuminating the rows of bookshelves and the listening [...]
Letters
Police transfers: Just another election stunt! I refer to a news item in the Daily Mirror of October 10 regarding a plan to transfer 10,000 police officers next year and a large scale grant of promotions, with a view to creating a more efficient Police Service. “A more efficient Police Service” implies that the Police [...]
Appreciations
Ben Eliyathamby P.C. The end of an exemplary life of an intellectual giant The recent death of legal luminary, and member of the Royal College cricket team of 1957, Benedict Trevor Eliyathamby P.C., marked the third member of that unbeaten side, to pass on to the Great Beyond, and considered probably as the most outstanding [...]
Puss started off “almost as an accident”
Feroze Kamardeen has the somewhat odd habit of sending text messages to himself – it’s how he archives his jokes. As the playwright and director behind the Pusswedilla juggernaut, Feroze has no shortage of funny lines, but he’s discovering that after 20 odd scripts featuring the MP turned President of ArsikLand, he needs to make [...]
Familians dance the night away
Oaken Splendour, a dinner dance organised by the Past Pupils Association of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya was held last month at the Hilton ballroom with Familians, enjoying the chance to party the night away in the company of old school friends. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Sophisticated from head to toe
Designer Ruchira Karunaratne picked the plush environs of the Asylum Bar at the Independence Arcade as the setting for her newest collection of sophisticated evening wear under the ‘Ruchira K’ label. The model’s hair and make-up were by Johann and his team from Cutting Station and she was photographed by Prishan Pandithage. She wore jewellery [...]
Soak in the luxury of a bath store
The Bath Store, a first-of-its-kind in Sri Lanka, is set to meet every conceivable bathroom need under one roof, offering chic products with a superior finish at a reasonable price. The brainchild of Director Ranil Samarawickrema, the store will feature standard bathroom hardware in addition to day-to-day needs – from spa soaps at non spa [...]
The clown prince of endearing renown
The 112th birth anniversary of Wijayananda Dahanayake of Galle, the former caretaker Prime Minister of our nation, falls on Wednesday. He was born on October 22, 1902 as a twin in a conservative Kachcheri Mudliyar’s family. Perhaps more than any other politician he was a sphinx-like and captivating individualist. Wijayananda came howling into the world [...]
The Saints go marching on
All Saints’ College which celebrates 110 years of service has indeed passed many a milestone to reach its present heights. In the early years of British rule, Punchi Borella, then more or less like a jungle was opened up for settlement with the construction of houses for the guards and engine drivers of the Railway [...]
He goes north, she goes west,we all go south
People, like corporate personalities, go places. Recently, if you watched them closely enough, some interesting people went to some interesting and unexpected places. In the past fortnight or so, and more, three such ventures have piqued the interest of yours truly. First, India went to Mars. Its ‘Mangalyaan’ spacecraft made Mars orbit with a good [...]
HelpAge charity musical
“Legends of Yesteryear”, a charity musical show presented by HelpAge Sri Lanka in collaboration with Royal College Group of 2000 will be held at the Musaeus College auditorium on Saturday, November 1 at 6.30 p.m. The show will feature Sri Lanka’s top performers, Annesley Malawana, Dharmaratne Brothers, Ronnie Leitch, Corine Almeida, Mariazelle Goonetilleke, Anil Bareti, [...]
A reading of Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake’s work
Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake will celebrate the launch of the second edition of her award winning novel ‘There is Something I Have to Tell You’ with a reading at Expographic Bookstore at Battaramulla on October 25 from 6 – 7 p.m. Also featured will be readings from her three short story collections Driftwood (State Literary Award [...]
Kidney donation appeal
Sudath Rodrigo, 50, a father of two is suffering from a kidney ailment and Drs. have recommended an immediate kidney transplant to save his life. He is appealing for a kind donor of ‘B’ or “O” + blood groups to donate a kidney. He can be contacted on 0766367229. Any contributions could also be made [...]
Workshop on Laboratory Animal Management
The Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) together with the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA) and the Medical Research Institute (MRI) conducted a two-day Workshop on Laboratory Animal Management for Research Purposes on October 6 and 7 at the MRI, Colombo 8. It was inaugurated by SLALAS President Dr. Mayuri Thammitiyagodage in the [...]
Sri Lanka Federation of University Women AGM
The 73rd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Federation of University Women will be held on Saturday, October 25 at 9 a.m. at the SLFUW Headquarters, 96/25, Kithulwatta Rd, Borella, Colombo 08. The SLFUW Hostel for Women Undergraduates will be formally declared open on that day. New office bearers will be elected followed by [...]
50 years of service to the YWCA
Edna Manel Nanayakkara completes 50 years of service to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Sri Lanka. The YWCA has 30 branch associations throughout the island including in remote areas such as Walkotuwatte, Baddegama and Kudagama. Many of the village YWCAs had been initiated by Ms. Nanayakkara who had been persuaded to serve the [...]
