Writer on the move
What would Kesari do? As Amitav Ghosh stood arguing with a taxi driver, a character from his book popped into his head. For Ghosh, who in 2015 brought his enormously ambitious Ibis Trilogy to completion with the release of Flood of Fire, this is what it means to live with the people he writes into being. [...]
Letters
Don’t let politicians tinker with new Constitution Every citizen irrespective of racial, ethnic or religious differences should feel this is his/her country where he/she has equal rights and faces no discrimination in any form. The equality of all Sri Lankans must be ingrained in the new Constitution. We can boast of a history of reform [...]
Appreciations
Siddique Sally and Shayir Sally Craft followed craft until they flew no more I vividly remember January 17, 1966, the day 50 years ago when Flight Sergeant Mohamed Shayir Sally of the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF – now Sri Lanka Air Force) was killed. Three days short of his 26th birthday, he was flying [...]
Kala Pola with added attractions will hit the road
‘Beauty is in the eye of its beholder’. This is the concept on which Kala Pola has operated for the past 22 years and it is the basis on which they will hold their annual fair once again this year on Sunday, January 31. An event where anyone can display and sell their art, the [...]
Colombo Courtyard’s Thanksgiving cocktail
The Colombo Courtyard hosted a Thanksgiving cocktail at their Amber poolside on December 15 for guests and clients with all the seasonal trimmings.
Under the spell of glam and hypnotism
Whether you believe in hypnotism or not, Alan Bates’ Colombo show would have had you captivated. Eight people were chosen (as volunteers) from the audience to assist Bates on stage-by which we mean consent to be hypnotized and step in as the evening’s source of amusement. Organised by Colombo VIP Night, the show took place [...]
Final high tea fashion for 2015
The Kingsbury High Tea’s final fashion offering for 2015 on December 30 was by designer Rajini De Silva who presented an elegant collection from her label “Radisi”.
Goldi Sands’ 44th b’day
To celebrate their 44th anniversary the Goldi Sands Hotel Negombo, one of the veterans in the hospitality industry hosted a cocktail reception at the hotel on November 27.
Her own secret world
Anuradha Roy’s habit of amassing notebooks (and she has many by now) began when she was a child. Her first notebook, she remembers, was given by her mother to distract a much younger Anuradha from being upset that her brother was old enough to head off to school and she wasn’t. She laughs about it [...]
Standing up for brown
Many living in Asian countries migrate to the West in the hope of improving their standard of living and giving their children a better life. Immigrant parents most often expect their children to excel in the new country and perform academically in order to have successful careers. Nazeem Hussain’s parents were no different. They migrated [...]
The aerodynamic properties of bras
A not so strange thing happened in the Old Republic recently. A mediocre singer called Enrique, from a place called Madrid, held a concert in Colombo. He was late, forgot to bring instruments, and was said to have lip-synched as well. A disgruntled member of the audience, who happened to be female, employed her bra [...]
Wrestling with the word and the world
When Jeet Thayil was 13 years old, he bought a copy of Catch-22. His father, the noted journalist and editor TJS George, did not approve. When he found Heller’s book, he confiscated it. Thayil went out and bought another. Enraged, believing the book to be inappropriate teenager, and certainly for one who was already pushing [...]
Vipassana meditation: An eye opener
On a pleasant, calm Saturday in December 2015, I was one of the 95 participants of the 144th ten-day Vipassana Meditation programme conducted at the Dhamma Sobha Vipassana Meditation Centre in Kosgama. It is located about 47 km from Colombo, on the Colombo-Ratnapura Road. Dhamma Sobha, Dhamma Kuta and Dhamma Anuradha are three Vipassana meditation [...]
Don’t wait to become another India or China to tackle pollution
Pollution of the environment has gone from the discharge of effluence to water and emissions to the air, to pollution caused by vehicles. It is not only vehicles on surface but connected to air as well as sea. Western countries have placed major emphasis on controlling pollution by vehicles. Strict laws were imposed to control emissions [...]
A blaze of sound, dance and of course the writers
Built by the Portuguese, fortified by the Dutch and gentrified by a melting pot of cultures over the years, the Galle Fort provides a history-steeped atmosphere which easily lends itself to a festival which abounds with books, conversations, history and culture. This year, the Galle Literary Festival emerged from the ashes of its hiatus with [...]
It’s all for the writers, books and ambience
The Fairway Galle Literary Festival began, as all things in Sri Lanka inevitably do with plenty of lights, sounds and people ( and an unusually small number of delays). Many of Thursday’s attendees seemed bowled over by what they called “a spectacular opening ceremony” on Wednesday evening but it was a love for literature that [...]
Australian help for CKDu-stricken areas in Sri Lanka
In response to the outbreak of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu), which has claimed many lives in the villages in the North Central Province and in particular in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts, the Lions Club in Moorooka, Queensland, Australia, have joined hands with the Lions Club of Borella to launch a project to provide purified [...]
Old world charm of Galle hidden among abstract strokes
Hidden within the splatter of fiery colours of Mueen Saheed’s canvas is the essence of Galle, of colonial times gone by and of a city romanticised for its old world charm. Mueen Saheed, whose art works are highly narrative is an established artist based in Colombo. He does not believe in photogenic paintings or art [...]
Former Trinity principal’s memoirs launched
When Life touches Life – the memoirs of Leonard de Alwis, former Principal of Trinity College, Kandy was launched recently amidst a distinguished gathering. Sriyantha Senaratne, Senior Attorney-at-Law, an eminent old boy who was the guest of honour paid a glowing tribute to Mr. de Alwis for his illustrious career at Trinity and his dedication [...]
Young artists confront society
Young artists Harshana Kumarasiri and Teran Indika presented ‘Entrance – an exhibition of visual arts’ last week at the J.D.A. Perera Art Gallery in Horton Place, Colombo 7. Harshana questions the materialistic society we live in and asks if it is possible to envisage a knowledge-based human society in the future. Teran explores the glossy [...]
Protect the primates: Dr. Wolfgang Dittus to deliver WNPS lecture
The monthly lecture of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) will be delivered by Dr. Wolfgang Dittus on the subject of ‘Primate social evolution and conservation’ on January 21 at 6 p.m. at the Met Dept. auditorium on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. Sri Lankan primates are a unique national heritage and global biological treasure [...]