Together in trust
Mahamailankulam, Vavuniya: For a brief moment in time, one of the commonest scenes across the world is replayed on Wednesday morning – a ball is flung and an excited dog catches it in its mouth and human and ‘pet’ engage in a friendly tussle. This heartwarming human-dog encounter we are witness to is not in [...]
Await some page-turners at next year’s GLF
Your favourite Literary Festival is back! The Fairway Galle Literary Festival returns from January 11-15, next year and an exciting initial line-up of authors has just been released. First on the author list are: Colm Toibin – author of Brooklyn, adapted onto the big screen (the film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best [...]
The red woodpecker is our very own
It was not a case of the “hota petalenawa” (the beak getting entangled) when the Keralla pecks the banana bark, for the zoologists who peered closely at the wide and varied plumage of this beautiful bird. Instead of getting entangled in a messy mission, these zoologists have through the study of the feathers, morphology and [...]
Zoos: For whose benefit – man’s or animal’s ?
Close zoos, Do not close zoos, Close some zoos – this is the current debate worldwide. A debate has now begun in Sri Lanka. DOC ZONE in Zoo Revolution : History of Zoos traces zoo history from 3500 BC to 2007, some milestones being: 3500 B.C, recent excavations near Hierkonpolis, Egypt discovered the earliest zoo, [...]
Amritaa: From classroom to crowning glory
The grand finale of the Siyatha Miss World Sri Lanka 2016 was worked off on August 30 at the Hilton Colombo and it was 23-year-old model and teacher Amritaa De Silva who carried away the coveted title of Miss World Sri Lanka 2016. She will represent Sri Lanka in the Miss World pageant to be [...]
Tasty and healthy: Get it right at Eat Right
Eating out is a Lankan pastime and you have to just count the number of restaurants and food outlets in your area to realise just how popular it is. But if the thought of whether all this is good for you niggles, Eat Right might be the best option. Having recently opened their first outlet [...]
A duty to remember
“Not only had the Nazis killed all my family, destroyed my childhood, deprived me of my country, home and possessions and severed my roots – but they had also robbed me of my language. Because, although one can learn a new language, or many new languages, no language can really replace the mother-tongue.” At the [...]
She lived the truism that a little kindness can go a long way
Known as “The Living Saint” during her lifetime, Mother Teresa will be formally Canonised by Pope Francis today, thus placing her among the multitude of Saints of the Catholic Church. The year was 1910, the day August 26, in a little town in Skopje, (the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia), a girl who [...]
Fairway Literary Award shortlist: Exploration of wide-ranging themes
The shortlist for the second Fairway National Literary Award was announced at a news conference in Colombo last week. Shortlisted authors in each language category will receive a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 while the overall winners of each category will be awarded Rs. 500,000 each. The four shortlisted authors in the English category were [...]
Laki returns with ‘Lost Collection’
Laki Senanayake returned last week with an exhibition at Barefoot of his ‘Lost Collection.’ The paintings and sketches will be on display till September 14 and date back to the years between 1971 and 1978. The story goes that it was 1974 and Laki was living in a commune farm in Dambulla, when he first [...]
Bengal Bungalow back with a bang
He may seem to have lost his memory and be full of smiles, but beware this fellow has got the kind of charm that might steal your daughter’s heart. Papa’s daughter, Lillian Fenworth is no saint either, and is quite the ‘hot’ topic amongst the locals, with her little ‘escapades’. In fact rumour has it [...]
His passion is to make watercolours move on paper
“Watercolour is my favourite medium because it is a friendly and beautiful medium – I love the way it moves on paper. This exhibition is titled “Impression” as I am trying to provide an impression through my brush strokes to the audience of my paintings -landscapes, religious places, portraits and still life.” The young artist [...]
The legacy of our powerful ‘Great’ grandmothers
I have been moved, humbled and simply awed during these past three months as I have borne witness once again to the extraordinary history and beauty of our homeland whilst travelling through Sri Lanka. Our country has long been heralded as a paradise island, with a rich historical past, blessed with so many of nature’s [...]
Here come the brides in Gatsby style
Brides of Sri Lanka with Hilton Colombo is to host another extravagant bridal show on September 18 at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Colombo as a fundraiser for the Maharagama National Cancer Institute. The Gatsby themed evening “A wedding affair by Brides of Sri Lanka” will see over 50 well-known and upcoming bridal designers taking [...]
Positive Living with PD meets on Thursday
Positive Living with PD – a Support Group for families living with Parkinson’s Disease will hold their next meeting on Thursday, September 8 at 6.30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church Hall, Rajagiriya. The secular non-profit group hopes to break through the stigma that surrounds Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and uplift the quality of life for all [...]
Flemingo Foundation joins the Music Project to build bridges
Flemingo Foundation, the CSR arm of Flemingo International has signed an agreement to partner with The Music Project as part of its CSR initiatives. Flemingo will sponsor the music education for the children of Lakdas De Mel College, Kurunegala from April 2016 to March 2017 including their weekly classes, holiday programmes, festival programmes, competition as [...]
Please help little Poorni
Six-year-old A.H. Poorni Pyushani from Kalutara is suffering from end stage kidney failure and is awaiting a kidney transplant. She is currently warded in the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Borella. She is to be sent to Global Hospitals in India for her surgery, which would cost her family Rs. 8.5 million. With the frequent [...]
Letters
Taken for a ride over and over again Private passenger buses have been granted a fare revision, but the all-important question that begs an answer is whether commuters enjoy any facilities which justify the demand to pay more for a journey from one point to another. Buses operated by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) [...]
Appreciations
ROBERT CYRiL FERNANDO He blew no trumpets and sought no publicity Looking back over the years, one is reminded of the solemn passage in the Book of Revelations, chapter 7: “I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people” from every corner of the island. “One of the elders then spoke and said: Do [...]