In search of little known heroines
Philippa Gregory found Mary Boleyn when she was hunting for a female pirate. It was in a book about the Tudor navy that she discovered a ship named after Anne Boleyn’s sister. For a moment Gregory was certain there must have been a mistake. But there in the footnotes was Mary, and in her the [...]
Fire, drums… let the lit show begin
Sri Lanka’s most anticipated literary event, the Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2017 opened on Wednesday, January 11 to a packed audience at Galle Fort’s historic Law Court Square which was transformed into an open air stadium for the evening. The programme began with a cultural show featuring an assortment of dance genres presented by the [...]
A man of hope who realised his dream
The Sunday Hindi movie on the black and white television screen installed in the first SOS Children’s Village in Greenfields, India in the late ’60s by J.N. Kaul, was not only the ‘highlight’ of each week but an occasion which called for brotherhood and merry-making. With food to pass around and blankets to nestle in, [...]
South Asian women and decision making
The dawn of a new year usually brings about new resolve, enhanced purpose, renewed energy and new opportunities. My New Year dawned with a smattering of all of these things, particularly the latter: an opportunity to shape, enhance and further the cultural arts of our South Asian Region, in the form of the Deputy Director [...]
Sanchi – Serenity and beauty on top of a hill
It was during the third century BCE that the emperor Asoka built the first stupa here, when the then adjacent city of Vidisha (present day Besnagar) was an important centre on the empire’s great north-south trade route. Over the ensuing years, subsequent rulers as well as travellers and traders along the route contributed to the [...]
Agricultural researcher who dared to leave the heavily trodden path
Dr. Handawela has written an absorbing and thought- provoking book on a subject that is very familiar and dear to him, Dry Zone farming. This is not the usual mundane description of what is there for every discerning person to see. It is an intuitive analysis of what most intellectuals studying our Dry Zone have [...]
Kala Pola: Where artists have flourished over the years
Kala Pola, the much awaited annual open air art fair, will be held next Sunday, January 22, for the 24th time. An opportunity for Sri Lankan artists to exhibit their art to a wide audience, the event is organised by the George Keyt Foundation and John Keells Holdings PLC who announced at a news conference [...]
Heywood Realists hold exhibition
‘Heywood Realists’ – the most recent arts group to emerge from the Heywood Institute of Art which has become the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Sri Lanka, will present an exhibition of their work from January 17 to 19 from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30p.m. at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo 7. The artists [...]
‘Colours’ of a 70s artist
Veteran artist S.H. Sarath begins the new year with an exhibition of his recent work titled ‘Colour’. The exhibition at the Harold Peiris Gallery of the Lionel Wendt will be open to the public from January 21-23. Sarath who first gained fame in the 70s has exhibited in Canada, Norway, the US, Cuba, Brazil, France, [...]
Waiting for the truth at whatever cost
Anjan Sundaram was robbed twice in his first few months in the Congo. If he needed proof that he had very little idea of what he had got himself into, he had it that second time, standing on the curb and watching thieves drive away with all his meagre savings. Sundaram’s mother had cried when [...]
A lot of lit and a bit of this and that
It seemed to be the perfect weather for walking around the Galle Fort – not too sunny but just cloudy enough to allay the scorching January heat as the second day of the Fairway Galle Literary Festival unfolded. Festival-goers strolled around the narrow lanes of the Galle Fort, looking for their next session, but seemed [...]
A thanksgiving for the sun god at Cancer Society Kandy branch
Yesterday, January 14 was Thai Pongal. Not strictly a religious festival there is a touch of religious observance in the celebration, as religion has become a part and parcel of most festivals. Thai is the first month of the Tamil calendar which is January and Pongal is celebrated between the dates 12 and 15Â every [...]
Last day of Pakistan fair
Public Administration and Management Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara who was the chief guest at the official opening of the Pakistan Food Festival at the Galadari Hotel samples some of the food watched by Pakistani High Commissioner Major General (Retd) Syed Shakeel Hussain (right). The Pakistan Food Festival is part of the Pakistan Single Country exhibition [...]
WNPS monthly lecture: Threat facing our corals
Marine biologist and underwater photographer Nishan Perera will deliver the monthly Wildlife and Nature Protection Society monthly lecture on ‘Corals in Crisis: Increasing Resilience to Climate Change’. The lecture will be on January 19 at 6 p.m. at the Cinema Lounge, BMICH, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. Climate change and rising sea temperatures are now posing [...]
A pictorial cry to protect nature
‘Montage on Life ii’ by veteran photographer Mahinda Vithanachchi will be held on January 20, 21 & 22 at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo 7. The exhibition will highlight the importance of protecting nature and will portray man and nature. A photojournalist for 34 years working for leading newspapers in the country Mahinda Vithanachchi is [...]
Opportunity for youth to find their true calling
WOW Riverlution goes live on January 20 at The Stables @ Park Street Mews at 7.15 p.m. The youth-focused ministry, Riverlution, led by Roshith and Tashali Perera concentrates on youth-empowerment through mediums of sports, performance arts and career guidance. Riverlution gives both youth and young adults an opportunity to find their true calling, while encouraging [...]
YMBA scholarships for under privileged students in Borella
The Colombo YMBA Scholarship Awards Ceremony for Undergraduates and A/L students in the neighbourhood of the Colombo YMBA Borella will be held on January 28. This year too, the Colombo YMBA Trust Committee will award scholarships to a large number of deserving students – over 300 undergraduates and 75 GCE AL Students in the neighbourhood [...]
Letters
A course of action that could save several hundred potential dengue patients I live in Dehiwela, which is a high risk area for dengue fever. The usual practice of the health authorities when a patient suffering from dengue fever is admitted to a hospital is; to notify the MOH of the area in which the [...]
Appreciations
Christopher Gregory Weeramantry He carried his excellence with utmost humility On January 5, Sri Lanka lost one of her most illustrious sons, Justice Christopher Gregory Weeramantry–who justifiably earned the iconic Sri Lankabhimanya, for having ‘rendered exceptionally outstanding and most distinguished service’ to Sri Lanka–barely six weeks after he celebrated his 90th birthday on November 17. [...]