She faced it all and didn’t bow out
Acclaimed actress Anoja Weerasinghe no longer yearns to be in front of the camera. Nearly four decades of being an integral part of the Sinhala film industry and many personal ups and downs later, she now takes pride in seeing actors trained by her make a mark in local cinema and television. And Anoja, who [...]
“Pin sidda wenawa”: The words said it all
Her eyes light up with hope, as a “crowd” troops into her tiny home, as the rain pelts down on the shanty-town of Welsiripura, Madiwela in Kotte on a Thursday morning. The crowd comes not only bearing a gift which she has yearned for but also giving out hope that she is not alone in [...]
Letters
A choice between stability and virtue I start with a quote from Shang Yang (390-338 BC), an insightful statesman in the Chinese state of Qin: “A country where the virtuous govern the wicked will suffer from disorder, so that it will be dismembered; but a country where the wicked govern the virtuous will be orderly, [...]
Choose how you should remember these days
Two key events in the national life of our island republic took place this week. Both highlighted the soft fact and hardening perception that we are a people with often diametrically opposed views. First, at the beginning of the week, there was the avatar of Victory Day – or Remembrance Day, as it has been [...]
A little jab that goes a long way to ease pain
As a little boy, no toys would be given to him by his Thaththa, a teacher and President’s Scout. Having seen a latent talent in his son to tinker with knick-knacks and come up with unique stuff, he just presented him with an empty box. It is in this box that the boy collected any [...]
Retreat into the wilds with comfort at hand
“Do you want to come with me to look for a loris?” I’ve been welcomed in many ways to hotels in Sri Lanka but this was the most memorable. “A loris?” I said with pretended knowledge, “is that the animal like a monkey with big eyes?” “Yes,” the man dressed in a waiter’s tunic told [...]
Negombo Lagoon: Second to none in its flora and fauna
(Continued from last week) Negombo Lagoon is characterised by high biodiversity in its flora and fauna. The mangrove community in the lagoon is the most diverse of all mangrove communities in the west coast of Sri Lanka. The zonation of plants and animals in the mangroves is not as spectacular as that in South East [...]
Tube under Kandy Lake to ease traffic above?
Driving round the lake has been a major issue in Kandy for almost two decades. The closure of Dalada Veediya added much valued serenity to the Temple of Tooth but created inconvenience to commuters. A road through Udawattekele Sanctuary and reopening of Dalada Veediya are discussed in the news media to address this issue. An [...]
Fantasy, fable and reality; all in one
While deep in conversation with Mike Masilamani about his book, there were times where I almost expected the book’s small, insignificant looking protagonist to shyly sidle up to our table and join our discussion. When Mike speaks of his book ‘The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers’, he matter-of-factly refers to it as ‘The Boy’. Soon, [...]
Chamber Music Society presents Beethoven and Mozart Piano Concertos
The Chamber Music Society of Colombo, sponsored by Fairway Holdings in association with the Goethe-Institut will present a rare treat for music lovers on Sunday, June 7, at 7 p.m. The featured artist will be Ramya de Livera Perera. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and a recipient of the Hon R.A.M awarded [...]
A celebration of 60 years of choral singing
The Colombo Philharmonic Choir, one of the oldest performing choral groups in the country, will present performances of classical choral music in Colombo and Galle later this month in celebration of its Diamond Jubilee. The 60th Anniversary Concerts, generously sponsored by the German Embassy, will take place in Colombo on Friday, May 29 at 7.30 [...]
Inspiring different brush strokes in her students
The Artist in Every Child – The Legacy of Cora Abraham has just been published. Written by art critic Neville Weeraratne who has books on the Lionel Wendt Theatre and the artist Richard Gabriel to his credit, this book focuses on the philosophy and legacy of the founder Principal of the Cora Abraham Art School. The [...]
Building bridges through vignettes
Imagine the pack of monkeys that merge in the legend. By twisting together they all stood as an acrobatic bridge from India to Lanka. Well known travel writer Neil Wijeratne has twisted his vignettes on India once again and his new book is titled Enawada Yanna Mohali? The said acrobatic bridge from the past still [...]
“Everything rattled and shook, I knew I had to get out”
11:56 a.m., Saturday, April 25, 2015. Kathmandu. The moment he got up from in front of his laptop, it started. Everything rattled and shook, like he was sitting in a plane going through turbulence. There was so much noise. Beneath the clattering of the doors and windows and furniture, there was also something deeper, a [...]
The point of a Princess
When Andrew Morton asked the question “What is the point of a Princess?” in his light-hearted look at the day-to-day life of the then Princess of Wales, in his book “Diana’s Diary”, he answered his own question by saying: “The point of a Princess is to be pretty!” Of course, he was speaking of a [...]
Appreciations
Nethin de Silva A beautiful rose Two years ago on a bright Monday morning God looked round his garden on earth And he saw the most beautiful rose He sent an angel into our little garden To pick that beautiful rose You were that rose, darling Nethin baba The angel took you back to heaven [...]
A Vesak pandal in distant Perth
For Sri Lankans living thousands of miles away it is indeed a most satisfying and pleasant experience to participate in Vesak celebrations just as they did back home. Observing ‘sil’ and listening to ‘bana’ is more or less a routine during Full Moon Poya every month, but to see and absorb a Jataka story on [...]
Berlin Buddhist Vihara celebrates Vesak
The Berlin Buddhist Vihara celebrated Vesak with a series of traditional observances. Guests of honour included the Sri Lanka Ambassador to Germany –Karunatilaka Amunugama, the Secretary of the German Dharmaduta Society –Senaka Weeraratna, and the Chairman of the Berlin Buddhist Vihara Friends’ Association (Förderverein Buddhistisches Haus) –Tobias Siesmayer. As a tribute to Walther Schmits (1884-1957), [...]
National Trust lecture: Class and ethnic prejudice in Ceylon
Class and ethnic prejudice in 19th-20th Century Ceylon will be the subject of the lecture to be delivered by Dr. Michael Roberts in the Monthly Lecture Series of the National Trust – Sri Lanka. The lecture will be at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 p.m. [...]
New lane to Sri Dharmarama Kovil open
Western Provincial Councillor Jayantha de Silva recently declared open the lane leading to the Kovil at Sri Dharmarama, Dematagoda. The lane was constructed and concreted with funds allocated from the Provincial Council budget.
Mission services at Holy Trinity Church
Mission services on the theme ‘A Church for Others’ will be conducted at Holy Trinity Church, Wellawatte this week by Rev. Marc Bilimoria, Warden, S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia. The programme is as follows: May 29 at 6 p.m.: ‘A Compassionate Church’ May 30 at 6 p.m.: ‘A Contemporary Church’ May 31 at 8 a.m.: [...]
Lecture: Sharks of Sri Lanka
Rex I. de Silva will deliver a lecture on ‘Sharks of Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean’ on May 30 from 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. at the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo. The lecture is open to the public – entrance through the Thurstan Road gate.
Alzheimer’s care lecture
Barbara B. Shadden, Professor Emeritus of the Program in Communication Disorders, University of Arkansas will deliver a lecture on ‘ Helping People with Alzheimer’s Disease communicate successfully: Techniques and Tools’ on Friday, May 29 at 6 p.m. at the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation auditorium, 110 Ketawalamulla Lane, Colombo 10. Caregivers often list communication problems as one [...]
Empowered to serve, Christian unity rally for Pentecost
The Inter-Church Fellowship (ICF), an informal interdenominational fellowship, is holding its fifth annual Pentecost event on Saturday, May 30. The event brings together people representative of the entire Christian community – Roman Catholic, Mainline, and Evangelical. The spirit of ICF is to build bridges of friendship and trust, spanning the diversity of the community. The [...]
Cambridge Choir donates all profits to CCA Sri Lanka
The Organising Committee of the concert tour by the University of Cambridge’s Jesus College Choir donated all profits amounting to Rs. 1 million of the Colombo concert held in December 2014 to the ‘Pibidena Kekulu Project’ of the Cancer Care Association of Sri Lanka. The charitable organisation, ‘Cancer Care Association’, has arranged for the donation [...]
RASSL lecture: The Buddha’s Sri Lankan visits
“The Buddha’s Sri Lankan visits-an Astro-Archaeological point of view” will be the subject of this month’s Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka (RASSL)’s public lecture. It will be delivered by Dr. Kavan Ratnatunga, astrophysicist, Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology on Monday, May 25 at 5 p.m. at the Gamini Dissanayake Auditorium, No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, [...]
