Going beyond a story on the silver screen
Vindana and Kalpana Ariyawansa were movie buffs who always wanted to make high quality cinema in Sri Lanka. But despite having the resources and network through their father (one of Sri Lanka’s best loved songwriters, Kularatne Ariyawansa), they didn’t start the project until 2012. There were myriad story ideas to work with, but they chose [...]
The most venerated mountain by generations past and generations to come
Sri Pada – Holy Footprint –to Buddhists and Adam’s Peak to others is perhaps the most venerated mountain in the world. The annual pilgrim season which began on Unduwap Full Moon Poya –December 13, reaches its climax with Medin Poya today. As mentioned in the Mahvamsa, during the third visit of the Buddha to Sri [...]
With a new lease of life it will truly be a happy b’day for this 15-year-old
A lad’s life on the brink of being snuffed out by cancer……..hopes shattered into smithereens, swirling in the very depths of despair and then with the dawn of this year, a fresh lease of life. A ‘tryst’ with tragic destiny preempted and K.M. Shenon Praminda Kumara from Kumbukgahamulla in Kuliyapitiya becomes a flag-bearer in the [...]
Vintage Cader
Exquisite Sri Lanka’ is Ifthikar Cader’s ode to the country that has given him unending inspiration and joy in capturing on canvas scenes that his artist’s eye finds spellbinding. Even for the casual onlooker, there is an unmistakable depth of feeling behind every painting and his love for the land shines through the shades of [...]
The methods and the madness
When I met Jerome for the first time more than 25 years ago at St. Peter’s, he was already a legend. He was famous. And terrifying. The archetype of a theatre director. Full of artistic mannerisms, eccentric beyond belief and well, slightly mad. Or so it seemed at the time. To the 14-year-old me, this [...]
Women artistes to the fore
It was a Women’s Day event with a difference when the SAARC Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka marked the day on March 8 honouring pioneering women artistes who had made a significant contribution to Sri Lanka in their respective fields. Iranganie Serasinghe, Vajira Chitrasena, Nanda Malini, Sumitra Peiris and Mary Anne David were all felicitated [...]
Indo-Lanka Society celebrates Indian Republic Day
Diplomats and politicians were all in attendance when the Sri Lanka India Society held a dinner in celebration of India’s Republic Day on February 25 at the Taj Samudra Grand Ballroom.
A journey strewn with flowers
Dreaming of buying an alluring lipstick, 17-year-old Joan Perera handed over her carefully made short eats for a VIP event. But though well relished, Joan was never paid for her hard work. “How I yearned to have my own lipstick as my mother would never hear of it and it was devastating not to realize [...]
Rolling back on nostalgia and spicing it up
For the newly refurbished, 130-year-old Hotel Nippon, nostalgia has been a powerful pull for its customers. Once when Vishnu K.Vethody, Managing Director of Hotel Nippon,was passing through the hotel’s coffee shop, he noticed a woman in her seventies seated at one of the tables. She was gazing out through the window, absorbed in quiet thought. [...]
Go Italian to the sound of waves lapping the Induruwa shore
As tourism moves up market, restaurants are opening in resort areas to cater for discerning guests who want a change from typical hotel fare. Some have recruited Sri Lankan chefs who have returned from working abroad and want a job close to their home towns, so guests benefit from the local chef’s international experience. Others [...]
Il Ponte’s fresh off the oven offer
The Il Ponte is offering a special deal for pizza lovers:You can now order a pizza of your choice from the special Happy Hour pizza menu available at the Il Ponte, Hilton Colombo and enjoy a second pizza absolutely free plus a glass of draft brew on the house! Fresh off the oven, a series [...]
Buddha’s tribute to Yasodhara on Medin Poya Day
Today is Medin Pura Pasaloswaka Poya – a Poya which is synonymous with the life of Princess Yasodhara – the wife of Prince Siddhartha. It was on this day that the Buddha made His first visit to the royal palace in Kapilavasthu after He attained Enlightenment and acknowledged Yasodhara’s fidelity. He paid her the highest [...]
The status of women during the Buddha’s time and now
According to records, the first Women’s Day took place in New York on March 8, 1857, when women in the garment and textile factories struck work protesting over low wages, long working hours, inhumane working conditions and their inability to vote. Yet, even in the 21st century are women and men treated as equals in [...]
The duck who caught the attention of Dutch Governor Gideon Loten
The Comb duck, or Knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos), has been observed by bird watchers and naturalists in Sri Lanka since June 2012. The unusual looking large duck has a worldwide distribution. It is found in tropical wetlands in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and South Asia from the Indian subcontinent to Laos and extreme southern China. It [...]
Transforming lives with ‘Sari Connection’
On Saturday March 4 to mark International Women’s Day the ‘Sari Connection’ project and its unique products made by seamstresses from Jaffna and Mullaitivu were showcased at the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo. A novel project, the ‘Sari Connection’ has made waves in the community and is implemented by a Japanese non-profit organization known as PARC [...]
Carrying out duties in a way that inspires patients’ trust
Dr. Harsha Samarajiwa celebrates 50 years of dedicated work in the medical profession. I have had the privilege of knowing him for 27 of them and found him to be consistently professional, caring and compassionate. His bedside manners are par excellence and the time he allocates to each patient, usually upto 20 minutes, is indeed [...]
AGM of Pera Uni Alumni Association
The Annual General Meeting of the Alumni Association University of Peradeniya (AAUP) will be held on Sunday, March 19 from 9.30 a.m. at the Chemistry Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya. Dr. Neil Halpe, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist, and a former President of the AAUP, will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest. [...]
WNPS lecture on Blue whales
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society lecture for this month will be on ‘Blue whales in a changing world’ by Dr. Asha De Vos on March 16 at 6 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall (Committee Room A), BMICH, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. Blue whales in Sri Lankan waters are unique, non-migratory, and little known yet [...]
Tribute to a brilliant mind and humble human being
A portrait of President’s Counsel S.H.M. Maharoof was unveiled at the Law Library of the Kandy Courts Complex on February 6 amidst a large gathering of Judges of the High Courts, District Court, Magistrate’s Court and the Members of the Kandy Bar, led by its President, Nilantha Perera. Here are extracts of a speech made [...]
‘This is My Story’: Old Joes choir looks back in song
Rewind 20 years. Francis Almeida joins St. Joseph’s College as their new choir master. A new old boy, Navindra Abeyesekera finds himself back at the college grounds assisting the school rugby team. An encounter between the two sparks a conversation about music. “I mentioned that I had sung in the school choir,” recalls Navindra. Together [...]
Letters
Historic strings attached to Deloraine Brohier’s pearls The pearl set that Deloraine Brohier wore because she valued its history of the pearls being hunted by the Aboriginal people of Australia (“The knight with the pearl earring”, Shamalee de Silva Parizeau, The Sunday Times Plus, March 5) in olden times might, in fact, have been the [...]
Appreciations
Rajan Chanmugam What he has accomplished will remain with us for a long time Dr. Jayarajan Chanmugam, popularly known as Rajan, who had won the hearts and minds of his family, friends and colleagues in many walks of life, is sadly missed today. He associated with a broad group of intellectuals in international life, but [...]