Seeing a shared humanity wherever she goes
When documenting a bumper crop of captive bred pandas in China, photojournalist Ami Vitale carefully donned a panda suit soaked in panda urine to take her pictures. Bred in captivity, the animals are released into the wild when ready and the suit was necessary in order to simulate wildlife conditions. The fragrance (Perfume-du-Panda, quips Ami) [...]
Appreciations
Chandra Ranaraja She leaves behind footsteps in the sands of time It is difficult to believe that Chandra Ranaraja is no more. She passed away as peacefully as she had lived, on March 3, 2016 after a brief illness. She leaves a void which is difficult to fill as people of her calibre are hard [...]
Letters
Enough is enough! Our leadership must have the courage to repress populism In recent times I have been reading a great deal about Sinhala Buddhist Culture and the threats to it. Kishani Jayasinghe’s operatic rendition of ‘Dhanno Budunge’ came in for a lot of flak from ultra-nationalists who saw in it a serious threat to [...]
A life-sustaining collaboration
Do not release even a drop of rainwater to the sea without first utilising it” –King Parakramabahu’s wisdom of old highlights the importance of water conservation. Anyone who has been to Anuradhapura or any other area in the dry zone of Sri Lanka would understand – rain is scarce in these areas and water conservation [...]
A treasure trove of stories
When the New York Times reviewed ‘Island of a Thousand Mirrors’ – Nayomi Munaweera’s prize-winning debut – they said the novel’s “beating heart” was not so much its characters but Sri Lanka itself. Munaweera’s love for this island stays true in her second, much anticipated novel ‘What Lies Between Us.’ Included in lists of 2016’s [...]
A roller coaster ride of people and places
John Gimlette’s journey to Sri Lanka starts in a seemingly dangerous part of the world where rival Tamil gangs roam slicing each other with machetes. In one year, he writes, 15 gang members died and the city did not notice. The book begins in a temple where fallen leaders of a ruthless terrorist movement are [...]
“Why we don’t tell our daughter she’s pretty”
Six months ago, my husband and I made a conscious decision to stop telling our daughter she was pretty. This rather unusual decision, was based on the cumulative effect of a few random acts which put together, had us re-thinking our parenting lingo. We found that every time we told her that, she would find [...]
“No one must be left behind”
The world has a new goal – to end violence against children by 2030. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Marta Santos Pais said that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “have included violence against children as a cross-cutting concern,” and added that the 2030 deadline provided [...]
A freewheeling artist
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed is how you see Suresh Nissanka Weerathunga. Deep into his art, however, you will see a seemingly serious approach that speaks of personal focus. He is thin, although lithe would be nicer put. He has an angular, Modigliani body. In later years his now youthful beard will be grey and pointed. And [...]
Energised German lieder and arias to take centre stage
With the first recital of the series, Classically French, an undisputed success with a sold out performance and rave reviews, classical duo Kishani Jayasinghe (Soprano) and Soundarie David Rodrigo (Piano), are set to thrill audiences once again, this time with ‘Classically German’. This second recital in the Royally Classical Recital Series on Monday, April 4 [...]
John Rutter’s Requiem for the first time in Sri Lanka
The Colombo Philharmonic Choir, one of the oldest performing choral groups in the country, will present John Rutter’s Requiem this April – the first occasion this work is being performed in Sri Lanka. The performance will take place on Sunday, April 3 at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Galle Road, Colombo 3. The [...]
She has used words to fight oblivion and forgetting
This story was meant to be published on November 9, 2015, the memorial day of the ‘The Night of the Broken Glass’ in 1938, when Germany’s biggest and most beautiful synagogue burst into flames. But Anne Ranasinghe neither owns a computer nor is she a friend of Facebook or Skype. Calling over the phone is [...]
Respect for trees, not worship in the time of the Buddha
March 21 is International Day of Forests. On this and similar “international days” the organising committees try to get as many elements of society involved as possible, with varying degrees of success, and with fluctuating levels of enthusiasm. Religious leaders and bodies are usually roped in to help too, and given religion’s influence in [...]
Medin Poya and Ananda Thera’s role in strengthening the Buddha Sasana
The Buddha’s first visit to His hometown Kimbulwathpura or Kapilavasthu, made on a Medin Full Moon Poya Day seven days after Enlightenment, was one of the most significant events in the life of the Buddha. It marked Buddha’s poignant meeting with Yasodhara and her sending seven-year-old prince Rahula to the Buddha to ask for his [...]
100 years of Guiding
Adjusting their blue ties, checking if the metallic pin is on straight before standing in formation to commence their weekly meetings, a Girl Guide company coming into session is a quietly ceremonial event. “Be prepared is our motto,” Chief Commissioner Sri Lanka Girl Guides (SLGG) Yasmin Raheem says, which was perhaps the thinking that led [...]
All Ceylon Women’s Buddhist Conference New Year Pola
The Annual Pola of the All Ceylon Women’s Buddhist Conference this year will be held on Sunday, March 27 from 9.30 – 5 p.m. at the ACWBC office premises No. 400 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. Their activities include the running of a Home for the Elders and another Home for young women with disabilities. In [...]
Gamini Dissanayake’s 74th birth anniversary
Commemorative functions will be held today, March 20 to mark the 74th Birth Anniversary of the late Gamini Dissanayake, former Minister of Lands, Land Development and Mahaweli Development, Minister of Plantations and UNP candidate for the 1994 Presidential Election. Floral tributes will be laid by family members, members of the Commemoration Society and GDF Board [...]
Peradeniya Ramanathians get-together
The 27th get-together of Ramanathians (male and female) will be held on Saturday, April 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Police Family Welfare Association Hall at No. 7, Joseph Frazier Road, Colombo 5 (next to the Police Officers mess in Bambalapitiya). As usual to strengthen friendship any Ramanathian hall past student can [...]
RASSL Research Conference
The 9th Annual Research Conference of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) will be held on March 24, 25 and 26 at the Mahaweli Centre, 96 Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7 from 8.30 a.m. – 5 p.m. This year too, around 250 presentations in Aesthetics, Archaeology, History, History of Science and Technology, Language [...]
Royal College Lawyers Association
The inaugural meeting of the Royal College Lawyers Association was held recently at the Royal College hall. Rohan Sahabandu, PC was elected President. Principal of Royal College H. Abeyratne is seen addressing the Association members.
Holy Week services at St. Michael and All Angels
Services for Holy Week and Easter 2016 at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. Polwatte will be as follows: March 24 Maundy Thursday: 6 p.m. Holy Eucharist with feet washing, procession of witness in the village and agape meal. March 25 – Good Friday 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. Good Friday Liturgy with [...]
Easter cantata: ‘Never thirst again’
‘Never thirst again’ – an Easter cantata presented by the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour will be held on Monday, March 28 at 6.30 p.m. Entrance is by programme available at Commons Cafe and Park Street Mews priced at Rs 500. All proceeds will go toward buying pillows for patients at the Cancer hospital, [...]
Family fair at Cathedral
The Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour will hold a family fair at the Cathedral grounds , 368, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7 on Sunday, April 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ( after the Sunday service). The variety of stalls range from food – baked, savoury and sweet items, achcharu, lamprais and yellow rice, [...]
‘Francophonie’ month: Lecture on Lieutenant de la Nérolle
In the ‘Francophonie’ month, the Alliance Française de Kotte (AFKo), the only official French language institute affiliated to the Embassy of France, will present Yasmin Rajapakse’s lecture on “The journey of a French Naval Officer in Ceylon– De La Nérolle”. The presentation on De La Nérolle on Thursday, March 24 at 6.30 p.m.at the AFKo [...]
A DREAM COME TRUE
The 74th birth anniversary of the late Hon Gamini Dissanayake, the former minister in charge of the implementation of the great Mahaweli irrigation system falls on 20th march 2016. Almost the entirety of the great Mahaweli irrigation and hydropower generation scheme as dreamed by him has being completed successfully. the last element in this scheme, [...]