Coming back home for the love of elephants
Dr. Shermin de Silva’s parents moved to the United States when she was just nine, and growing up in California meant she had opportunities to follow her dreams, it also meant she grew up a little distanced from her extended family. “A lot of people move away from Sri Lanka and don’t return,” she smiles. [...]
Toast to Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics are often shunned by society. The sad reality is that few try to understand the struggle they face on a daily basis, for society has deemed them “bad decision makers” and “long since given up on them.” “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes,” says Kumar*, a one-time [...]
Keeping an eye on the sight of youngsters
Last week 40 pairs of spectacles found their way to Batticaloa and Kegalle from Colombo, for several youngsters suffering from eye problems. It was just the early steps in what they hope will be a colossal project for the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) along with the Sri Lankan Women’s Association of Belgium (SLWAB) [...]
Flame tunes up for their ‘biggest event’
Naushad Rassool barely has a weekend off. A host of happy clients over the past 25 years and “easily over 2000 bookings” later, music has become a way of life for him and the band who take on charity concerts “when a meaningful cause crops up.” This year too Naushad and his seven-piece crew better [...]
Nicole in Seoul for Omega launch
OMEGA celebrated its De Ville Butterfly wristwatches with its brand ambassador Nicole Kidman at a high-profile event in South Korea. The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul was elaborately decorated for the launch where the Oscar-winning actress was joined by Swiss singer/songwriter Bastian Baker and OMEGA President Stephen Urquhart. OMEGA President Stephen Urquhart welcomed guests [...]
Letters
There’s still time to educate the people on dangers of 18A I read with admiration and with high regard, the bold and forthright Editorial in the Sunday Times of last Sunday (October 26, 2014), whilst acknowledging that over time, the Editorials were assertive and focused on issues at hand, even brave in blaming the officials [...]
Appreciations
Erantha Cooray Thank you for all the sweet memories It is now four months since you passed away on May 29 in hospital. Everything was over in a brief five days and I am truly thankful to Almighty God for taking you into His safe hands though we are left in sorrow at your loss. [...]
An evening with Scott Friedman
CEOs of leading companies and other corporate guests were at a reception to meet acclaimed speaker Scott Friedman at the Taj Samudra during his visit to Sri Lanka last month
Sunidhi of Dhoom Machale fame to wow Sri Lanka
Talented Bollywood playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan will entertain local fans when she performs in Colombo on November 22 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC). Widely regarded as the most sought after Bollywood playback singer today, Sunidhi has lent her voice to a number of hit songs performed on the big screen by Bollywood’s [...]
Country music in full swing
It was an evening of country music as the Inner Wheel Club of Colombo Mid Town held their fundraiser concert at the Park Street Mews last weekend. The club is working to help needy women and children through different service projects. Bands Flame and Cosmic Rays with compere Arun Dias Bandaranaike kept the gathering in [...]
Memories of ‘Maname’ brought back by ‘The Waving Tree’
Tomorrow is ‘Maname Day’. Dr. Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s epoch-making ‘nadagama’ – an opera in traditional style – had its opening night at the Lionel Wendt 58 years ago – on November 3,1956. Dr. Sarachandra was Professor of Sinhala at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya at the time he wrote and produced ‘Maname’ which was presented by [...]
Italian musical treat
‘Festa della Musica Italiana’, a concert by the Chamber Music Society of Colombo of some of the finest Italian music will be held at the British School in Colombo auditorium, on Saturday, November 8 at 7.30 p.m. Passes for this concert presented by the Embassy of Italy will be on a first-come first-served basis and [...]
Rewarding odyssey with Odissi
‘At Nrityagram, dance is a way of life.’ The school – dedicated to the beautiful art of Odissi – is said to recall the ancient ashrams where gurus imparted not only technique but also a philosophy of being. Dancers go beyond their immediate practice to explore yoga and the martial arts, and to study Sanskrit [...]
Two artists who love to paint
The exhibition ‘Different Strokes’ will feature the artistic expressions of Hilda Gomes Tennakoon and Chaminda Molligoda, two artists of different backgrounds and experiences with the commonality being their love for art. Retired Teacher Hilda taught at Madampe Maha Vidyalaya, Visakha Vidyalaya and Belvoir College in Colombo and she herself was a student at the School [...]
Veteran recollects village life of a bygone era
Baldwin Kuruppu has been a prolific writer for the past six decades or so. I remember him writing reviews to the Dinamina in the late 1950s. Presently domiciled in Australia I met him recently at his Melbourne home and had a long chat about the old days and how he spends his retirement. Being proficient [...]
Signature Lester-isms’ in Sinhala
The Sinhala translation of the biography of cinema legend, film director, scriptwriter and film producer, Dr. Lester James Peries, ‘Lester by Lester as told to Kumar de Silva’ was launched last week at the Foundation Institute. The book, a Samaranayaka publication, is named ‘Lester Pavatha’ and is translated by Athula Samarakoon, Senior Lecturer and Head [...]
Ancient Sri Lanka’s cultural mosaic
M. Asoka T. De Silva’s “Glorious Historical Antecedents of a Cultured Civilisation” is a mosaic of colourful events, episodes and impressions of ancient Sri Lanka which the author has retraced from works of classical and colonial historians, philosophers, voyagers, mariners and cartographers thus giving a new dimension to historical narratives. This is his second volume [...]
A child’s world
Devmini Fernando, a grade five student of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya has the rare talent of observing the real world around her and putting it into words. Even as a child of five or six years she preferred to express her thoughts in rhyming words with her vivid imagination. Her poem ‘Vesak Lanterns’ written when [...]
The middle path and the way forward for Buddhism in the 21st Century
Buddhism is the oldest of the four great world religions; the other three being Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Buddhism like the other major religions addresses itself to all mankind and has also found adherents in all parts of the world. Buddhism is also a world religion in the sense that it has been able to [...]
Theatre of the mind in topsy-turvy-land
Pinch me, someone. I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming that the Mikado of Topsy-Turvy-Land and his Lords High Poo Bah went to the theatre. And that they saw a play about local politics. They saw their own images, reflected poorly, in a glass darkly. And laughed. Because it was funny. Even though it was about them. But [...]
Promoting EU cultures
“Access to the European Union culture should make the EU closer to the people of Sri Lanka,” said Ambassador David Daly of the Delegation to the EU to Sri Lanka and Maldives, speaking at the signing of the EUNIC Convention, Memorandum of Understanding and Charter recently. The charter is an effort to promote EU values [...]
Private security industry holds first ever CEO forum
“The private security companies of this country are important stakeholders and an integral element in the ongoing nation building exercise and as such the CEO’s of these organisations bear a vital role of accountability and responsibility in reaching the country’s development goals,” said President SLASSPA (Sri Lanka Security Service Providers Association) Major Tissa Aluwihare. To [...]
Caring for the community with the musical side of Rotary
Celebrating its 25th anniversary the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan will be launching its fundraising initiative for 2014/2015 with their much anticipated annual sing-a-long Many Voices – One Vision. Organised and conducted by its member and well-known musician Rukshan Perera, this interactive concert show will take place on November 5, from 8 p.m. onwards at [...]
Please help Yelani
M. F. Prasadini of Athurugiriya appeals for help for her daughter, 12-year-old P. Yelani Roshelle de Silva, student of Good Shepherd Convent Kotahena, who is suffering from severe Thoracolumbar Scoliosis. Doctors have recommended that she should undergo Posterior Scoliosis correction and instrumentation surgery for which she has to go to Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India [...]
Caring for the community with the musical side of Rotary
Celebrating its 25th anniversary the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan will be launching its fundraising initiative for 2014/2015 with their much anticipated annual sing-a-long Many Voices – One Vision. Organised and conducted by its member and well-known musician Rukshan Perera, this interactive concert show will take place on November 5, from 8 p.m. onwards at [...]
Quest begins for best bird photographers
Giving an opportunity for all eager bird photographers to showcase their talent, the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) has launched a Bird Photography competition titled “Birding with the 3rd Eye”. Entries can be submitted for six categories – Bird Portraits, Bird Behaviour, Bird Habitats, Endemic and rare birds, People and Birds, Birds in [...]
