Remembering the thinker and tinkerer
Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Chairman of the panel of judges of the Ray Award remembers first spying Ray Wijewardene across the room with a sense of nostalgia. Sooriyaarachchi was delivering a lecture–one of his first as a young marketer back in the day–and he was stunned to note the senior, accomplished Wijewardene taking down meticulous notes in [...]
‘Seeing’ a new country
Chatting over post-dinner drinks and an enthralling performance by performers of the traditional martial arts – Agampora – at the Cinnamon Bey at Beruwela on Monday night, Nigel Barker is asked, “Is there something special that you would like to take home as a souvenir?” Letting his thoughts flow, sipping some wine in between, Barker, [...]
Letters to the Editor
Not cricket, not civil, not nice… I know someone who, when Sri Lanka plays India, always supports India. I know someone else who, when Sri Lanka plays Australia, always supports Australia. I know… but why do I feel like you’re losing interest, already? It makes me mad. It makes me madder than a boisterous VIP [...]
Air Force shapes animal care culture
A wet nose pokes out from behind red metal mesh. The magi board stuck on the doorframe tells us the curious white Pomeranian peeking out at visitors is called Spoon. What began as a cautious security check morphs into a chorus of confused barking and simultaneous tail wagging as Spoon is soon joined by her [...]
Appreciations
A humanist who inspired us Tima Lazarus Tima belonged to a generation of Sri Lankans who were idealists, who travelled the world with little in their pockets, but with the single thought, expand their horizons. He also belonged to those idealists, fewer in numbers, who returned to their home country, decades later, to give back [...]
A rare ‘feast’ of beautiful vagrants
Her ears confirmed what her eyes had beheld from the tank-bund in Chilaw, even as frantic calls to Colombo yielded disbelief followed by the query, “Are you sure?” Gripped by amazement, as she peered closely from the bund and heard the sound, more like ‘a shikra’s call’ at a different pitch than the usual ‘whistling’ [...]
A tale of romance spanning 65 years
Ivy and Charles Jayawardane, who met when Ivy was just 15 and Charles 25, have a tale of romance that reads like the script for a black and white film. Almost seven decades (and gala 65th wedding anniversary celebrations) later their tale is as fresh in their minds as the day they met, and the [...]
Retelling the past to save the future
At what point does history change? This is what Anne Ranasinghe asks in her latest book, Who can guess the moment? It begins on a Thursday. She was nine years old. Her family was travelling in a train along the banks of the Rhine. The grape harvest was just getting under way on either side [...]
The importance of pushing boundaries
The scene is suspiciously low-key for a play rehearsal. Five men sit in a row, talking, suddenly bursting into defensive anger or murmuring in soft dejected tones. Sitting in the audience is a voyeuristic experience. Hearing their stories, fears and despondence makes one wonder how one specific organ can control a man’s life. When Identities [...]
A dance of ‘being’ and ‘vision’
So much of what passes today in Sri Lanka for ‘contemporary dance’ are movements and gestures borrowed from, or based upon, acting. Not so with Kapila Palihawadana’s nATANDA company’s performances. These are all firmly grounded in, and genuinely founded on, classical western ballet and contemporary dance techniques without which performances would be empty of ‘Being’. [...]
Elegant French connection
Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Jean –Marin Schuh, hosted an elegant evening for France’s National Day at the Galle Face Hotel on July 14 with the Ballroom packed with guests both from the diplomatic community and Colombo society.
Waltzing back to schooldays
It was a time to go down memory lane to their carefree schooldays when the Past Pupils Association of Holy Family Convent Dehiwala presented ‘Blue Danube’, a dinner dance at the Kingsbury.
A different ball game
On the field the competition has been stiff but there was time also to have some fun and fellowship away from the cricket for members of the visiting Pakistani cricket team and their Sri Lankan counterparts when the Pakistani High Commissioner Maj. Gen. (R) Syed Shakeel Hussain and his team hosted them all to dinner [...]
CFW dives in with Swim
Colombo Fashion Week began the year with a celebration of the Sri Lankan Batik industry. Off the ramp, fashion even seeped into the plates of their partner restaurants which created menus inspired by global fashion icons. Settling between the main show and the Resort Wear Show later in October comes another CFW innovation. Introduced as [...]
Myanmar and its many connections to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Kandy
Not only in Sri Lanka, the worship of the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha in Kandy is considered an unparalleled religious act among the Buddhists in Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. All Myanmar kings wished to obtain a replica of the Tooth Relic; some even wanting the genuine Tooth [...]
Gut feeling: Our body knows best
The session comes to a close and everyone gathers around the refreshments. The women neglect the pots of tea and milk for the bottle of fermented kefir. They sip the pale amber liquid tentatively and then exclaim over its subtle but refreshing flavour. Shalini McCray encourages everyone to drink only a little bit – “everything [...]
Aarambhaya hosts musical show for their mission
Aarambhaya, is a page on Facebook which managed to score a thousand likes in under a week of its existence. A project aimed at raising a whopping Rs. three million in aid of the differently abled currently in the care of the Ragama National Hospital, the page is the handiwork of 22 interns. Every year [...]
Chatrini Weeratunge named an Asia 21 Young Leader by Asia Society
Chatrini Weeratunge has been named an Asia 21 Young Leader by the Asia Society and will be part of a pre-eminent network of young leaders from across the Asia Pacific, representing the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. An international development specialist and photographer, Chatrini has nearly a decade of experience working on issues such as [...]
Zoom-In: UMT’s ‘journey of love’
One lit candle, spilling its flame onto another spreads through the room as tiny orbs of light soon bathe 500 to 600 students in a serene glow. Marking the end of Unity Mission Trust’s (UMT) biggest annual event, it is also one of the most significant moments of the Unity Mission Camp for Founding Trustee, [...]
Girl Power makes it happen
Readers may remember ‘Girl Power’, the fun event organised by several girls school recently. The monies collected from the Girl Power Sports Meet where Old Girls from six leading schools in Colombo – Holy Family Convent, Ladies’ College, Methodist College, Musaeus College, St Paul’s Milagiriya and Visakha Vidyalaya took part were utilised to build two [...]
JICA elects 2015/2016 Executive Committee
The Japan International Co-operation Agency Alumni Association of Sri Lanka elected its Executive Committee for 2015/2016 at the Annual General Meeting held on June 27. Patron: Ambassador of Japan Kenichi Suganuma Vice Patron: Kiyoshi Amada, Chief Representative, JICA President: Chitral Jayawardane Secretary: Upali S. Jayasekera Treasurer: Sam Chandrasena Vice Presidents: Thusitha Munindradasa Camillus Abeygoonawardena Jagath [...]
Royal Sing Along with Rukshan
The annual “Royal College Class of 69” Sing Along with Rukshan Perera backed by Sohan & the Experiments will be held on August 2, at 7 p.m., at the Galadari Hotel Main Ballroom. This is their 4th sing along with all the golden oldies, the best of 60s and 70s hits along with special entertainment [...]
Karnatic Music lecture-demonstration
An ‘Introduction to Karnatic Music’ a lecture-demonstration by Nissanka Abeyrathna, B.P.A; M.A. (Karnatic Music) will be held on Monday, July 27 at 5 p.m. at the Mahaweli Centre, No 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. Karnatic Music represents the oldest system of Indian music as expounded by the ancient authorities of Indian music such as [...]
13 artists exhibit at ‘Embody: the Gender Issue’
The walk through the Harold Peiris Gallery was heady. It felt as if the photos on the walls were bursting to break out of their frames. They challenged all norms and traditional conceptions of gender; and they stimulated, thrilled and exhilarated. Titled Embody: the Gender Issue, the exhibition featured 13 photographers; or more properly, artists. [...]
National Trust lecture: “Exploring a district: Discovering a country”
The 75th Session of the Monthly Lecture Series of the National Trust – Sri Lanka ‘Exploring a District: Discovering a Country’ by Bradman Weerakoon will be on Thursday, July 30 at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 p.m. Exploring the Districts they were posted to and [...]