Ceylon Navy’s prized ‘catch’
“Do you know how an Italian Navy ship surrendered to the CRNVR?” It was around the middle 1970s. I was collecting first-hand accounts of incidents involving the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) which had been mobilized by the Royal Navy as the “Ceylon RNVR”(CRNVR) during the second world war. The question was put to me [...]
Hundred years on, vivid are the memories
Dorothie Anne Ebell celebrated her 100th birthday on May 23 in the same manner in which she has lived her life – sustained by her family and her faith. Family, her sons and daughters-in-law, her grandchildren, all her great grandchildren, Rishane, Rachel, Chaarya, Rakhil, Caleb, Zoe and Anaisha, relatives and friends had gathered in her [...]
Flooded with kindness and filled with resolve…
One woman’s tragedy is sometimes another woman’s opportunity – opportunity of the best sort. The sort that allows a woman to feel unbridled compassion, anguish and empathy for the loss that a fellow sister is feeling. Never has this sort of opportunity been more prevalent than during these past two weeks..two weeks during which our [...]
Think of the children
‘Oba yuwathiyak wana dina mama pas godak pamani. Duwe! Eya paganna!’ wrote popular journalist Premakeerthi de Alwis in a note to his daughter Surangi when she was young (“when you are old enough to understand, I will be dead and you should still prosper and live successfully”. Premakeerthi had been afraid that he would not [...]
Butterflies in the limelight
The Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are one of just two orders of animals that are strictly protected in their entirety under Sri Lanka’s Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. It is illegal to kill, capture or have in your possession even a single insect, a rule that extends (albeit in the breach) even to the agricultural [...]
The global burden of diabetes
It was a high-level advocacy breakfast meeting on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in Copenhagen graced by none other than Princess Benedikte, younger sister of the reigning Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, on May 17. Titled ‘Women and Diabetes: Breaking the Chain for Future Generations through Investment in Women’s Health’ and organised by the World Diabetes [...]
Colourful celebration
The diplomatic community and other dignitaries were present at the colourful Europe Day reception held earlier this month at the Hotel Taj Samudra.
Special evening for ladies
The Grand Gourmet restaurant down Horton Place held a special evening for ladies to celebrate Mothers Day and many joined in with family and friends.
Relaunch of Dress Factory
Dress Factory at Visaka Road, Colombo 4 relaunched its popular clothing boutique inviting customers to a wine and cheese soiree earlier this month.
Enchanting evening
Lingerie label, Amanté, treated members of its Enchantress loyalty card programme to an elegant evening of music, poetry and art at The Curve, Park Street Mews. The event featured performances by Vivimarie Vander Poorten – author of the Gratiaen Prize winning book ‘Nothing Prepares You’ and winner of the SAARC Poetry Award 2009, and vivid [...]
Canvas of hope
In a bid to help people living with leprosy, Hajara Asad Ali (former student of Colombo International School), Shari Jayawardhana (former student of Ladies’ College), Sandali Pathirana (student of Visakha Vidyalaya) and Anoushka de Silva (student of Ladies’ College), all students of Saumya Jayasekera will display over 80 paintings at, “Shades of Hope.” The exhibition [...]
Drama and dance, Sunera performing arts workshops in the limelight
The annual drama festival presented by the Sunera Foundation showcased the talents of young participants attached to the Sunera Performing arts workshops successfully erasing from the viewers mind that the performers are disabled or in need of special care. ‘Samanalayaya’ which was staged at Lionel Wendt on May 18 was the final performance of the [...]
Art as a Place: A landscape of transition
Conflict is often capitalised upon – and art is no exception. Art produced during crises tends to gather curators and collectors alike. Remarkably however, less attention is paid to the time when it all ‘ends.’ In her book “Art and War” scholar Laura Brandon tell us that artists engage with conflict as a site of [...]
Shani Diluka to perform at Ravinia
Shani Diluka, the well known Paris-based concert pianist of Sri Lankan origin, will be giving a recital at the prestigious Ravinia Music Festival in June this year. The festival, established in 1904, is held each year from June to September in Ravinia Park, Illinois. It is the oldest outdoor music festival in America as well [...]
Photo exhibition and documentary on community development
‘Changing Lives’ a photo exhibition and a set of seven documentaries reflects the perseverance of communities in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. The display also highlights how the European Union funded Support to District Development Programme (EU-SDDP) has empowered individuals and assisted in improving the living standards of people. The exhibition [...]
Kaerakena Keliya: Mind Adventures with Janakaraliya
The Mind Adventures theatre company in collaboration with the Janakaraliya Cultural Foundation presents ‘Kaerakena Keliya’ on May 31 at 7 p.m. at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort. The show is based on ‘The Travelling Circus’ adapted and devised from ‘The Boy Who Speaks In Numbers’ by Mike Masilamani, which was first performed by Mind Adventures [...]
Together, we can-sur-vive
For the second consecutive year on June 4, the Can-Sur-Vive programme – a CSR effort aimed at reinstating lost zeal while providing survivors with emotional, psychological and societal confidence and presented by the CAN SUR VIVE Trust will take place at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No 6, Independence Avenue [...]
Come and see: Action to save Mother Earth
A three-day exhibition and sale, action and awareness programme on saving Mother Earth will be held by the Kithu Dana Pubuduwa on June 3, 4 and 5 at the Sri Prasansa Ramaya at Diyagala in Ragama. It is one year since the groundbreaking encyclical “Laudato Si” – on the care of our common home — [...]
RASSL lecture: Maritime archaeology
‘Maritime Archaeology in Ancient Harbour at Ambalangoda’ will be the subject of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka lecture on Monday, May 30 at 5 p.m. at the at the Gamini Dissanayake Auditorium, No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7.It will be delivered by Mahinda Karunarathna, former research officer, in Maritime Archaeology, Department of [...]
Letters
Why is the EP Governor not taking action against the Chief Minister? Your sister paper Daily Mirror (on 24.05.2016) has quoted the Defence Ministry Secretary Karunasena Hettiarchchi as having stated, that he had not received any complaints about an incident where Eastern Province Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed is alleged to have rebuked a naval officer [...]
Appreciations
Dr. James Horace Yates A well-lived life of service I first met Dr. Jim Yates about 16 years ago, when he and his wife Norah were living in Melbourne – and they started seeing me as their regular GP at the clinic where I worked. Despite the difference in our ages, Jim and I soon [...]