He stole the show on stage and off
The limelight seems empty, the uproarious hilarity he once provoked has faded into a silence that washes over everything. As the nation mourns one of its best loved singers and comedians, there is disbelief first to overcome. How could he have given up on us, when the party seemed to be at its gayest and [...]
Letters to the Editor
A few points to help sanity and safety prevail on our roads The current mess in transportation which severely restricts the peaceful use of the roadways is of concern to all. Here are some of the reasons for the gridlock which we hope can be urgently addressed. 1. Inadequate infrastructural facilities that are incapable of [...]
Appreciations
You taught us the meaning of unconditional love Major General Janaka Perera and Mrs. Wajira Perera Ten years ago, on October 5, 2008, our parents were taken from this world alongside 30 other innocent civilians in Anuradhapura in a senseless violent suicide bombing. There were no warnings and no goodbyes. While it was the worst [...]
Ornella wins a title and lesson in patience
‘If you want to get to the rainbow you have to be willing to put up with the rain’ – Dorothy Barton. Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2018 Ornella Gunesekere lives by this quote. Taking a chance, the 26-year-old applied for the local Miss Universe contest this year and says being crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka [...]
Enter two ‘saronged johnnies’
No one would have cast a second glance at them, seemingly two ‘saronged johnnies’, having a cup of tea in a shop at the Kada Panaha in the New Town or haunting the market in the Old Town like hangers-on found around Anuradhapura those days looking for odd-jobs. What no one suspected was that they [...]
When garbage is music to the ears
Deep in the rain forest of Nicaragua live the Mayangnas, a ‘people of the mist’. The music of this isolated forest people had never before been recorded by sound engineers. The first expedition that set out on the task was followed by Brad Allgood. The filmmaker recalls their venture into the region known ominously as [...]
‘Upskirted’ on the streets of Maharagama
It is 3 a.m. and I am awake with my heart pounding wildly. The sounds of nocturnal animals and insects outside provide a faint sense of reality that I am actually in my own surrounds. I have not been able to sleep for two whole nights; my appetite is non-existent and I am afraid to [...]
‘Dancing queens’ get your tickets and support Zontians ‘Mithuru Piyasa’ project
A hundred years ago Marion de Forest had a dream. The American playwright and journalist from Buffalo, New York believed that women all over the world needed a voice, champions to protect their rights, their freedoms. And she attracted a group of like-minded women with whose help the Zonta International movement was born. Today there [...]
It’s another shopping extravaganza as Shop Til’ You Drop comes to the Taj
On Saturday, October 13, Colombo VIP Night presents its one-day shopping extravaganza – Shop Til’ You Drop 2018 at the Taj Samudra Hotel. This exclusive retail therapy event will see more than 55 of Sri Lanka’s premier vendors under one roof – under a grand marquee. “Shop Til You Drop” now in its third year [...]
Dance drama ‘Sivakamiyin Sabatham’ celebrates Kalalaya school of Dance and Music @70
The Sri Lanka Tamil Women’s Union inaugurated by Dr. Mary Rutnam in 1909 is a community that strives to preserve the rich culture of Tamils. Their literature, art, music, dance, sculpture and drama have all been nurtured and grown prosperously through the encouragement of the SLWTU. On September 1, 1948, the SLWTU opened the Kalalaya [...]
Sunanda wins poetry, song writing award
Sunanda Kodagoda won first place in Poetry & Song Writing in the Maharagama Regional Literature Competition conducted jointly by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Maharagama Divisional Secretariat with the National Literature & Art Festival. Cultural Affairs Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe was the chief guest at the ceremony held at the auditorium of the Maharagama Divisional [...]
Don’t miss the thrill of competing in the Senior Citizens Scrabble Tournament
Every Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, the members of the Colombo branch of the Sri Lanka Association of Senior Citizens meet at St. Paul’s Church Hall, to not merely reminisce about the good old days but also to share a game of bingo, scrabble, bridge, carrom and card games. Age is no barrier [...]
Country Roads inspirational journey of 30 years
In its inception in 1988, during the tumultuous years of the war, the Country Music Foundation’s (CMF) Country Roads concert for children was a beacon of hope and real positive change for the neglected and disadvantaged communities in parts of the country no one else thought to go to. That sincere drive to help those [...]
Why I am against female circumcision
I would first like to say, that even though there have been other opinion pieces written either anonymously or with pseudonyms that have appeared in the media that many people have mistakenly attributed to me, I do not want to take credit where it is not due. This is the only piece I have written [...]
The unheard voices of the ‘left-behind’
An innovative project by Save the Children seeks to give a unique platform to children whose mothers have gone overseas in search of work Every day, Malini* meets another woman determined to leave Sri Lanka. As a Foreign Employment Officer in the island’s Nuwara Eliya province, Malini is responsible for issuing Family Background Reports – [...]