A work of art, in all its granite glory
The gentle scent of incense pervades the air and the calming chant of Om floats forth interspersed by the ringing of bells with the flickering flames of numerous oil lamps beckoning people into the dim-recesses within………therein an ancient world of rites and rituals opens up, spreading an aura of serenity and peace. It is the [...]
See you in Galle at the FGLF 2019!
The Fairway Galle Literary Festival will begin on Wednesday- January 16. In nine editions the festival has grown a distinct international identity. The old romantic Dutch fort in the South, lapped by an azure ocean, full of nostalgia, history and a maritime mix of cultures, is the ideal setting for a more intimate exploration of [...]
Letters to the Editor
Cronies in state enterprises: High time the practice was stopped I refer to the headline ‘Corporation bosses to be vetted by presidential committee’ in the Sunday Times last week. I believe most readers will agree that this is something that should be the established practice in managing all our state enterprises. These state-owned businesses have [...]
Appreciations
A Lankan pioneer at the United Nations Lakdasa Hulugalle Lakdasa Hulugalle, who passed away on Christmas day, in Colombo, was one of the earliest Sri Lankans to join the United Nations. Most of his career in the United Nations was with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, where he lived [...]
Classical and fusion kathak dance recital
Nrutya Visharad Thilini Rangika and her students of the Rangara Kathak Dance Academy will present a Kathak dance performance of classical and fusion items at the Indian Cultural Centre on January 18, at 6 p.m. Entrance is free. Thilini Rangika has a Masters in Performing Arts from the University of Kelaniya.
Ravana Sithabhilashaya at the Lionel Wendt
Ravana Sithabhilashaya – a musical, will go on the boards at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on January 18 at 3.45 and 7 p.m. In a recent review Prof. D. C. R. A. Goonatilleke calls Namel Weeramuni’s interpretation of the play as “innovative, superhuman”. “There is a vigour and newness about Weeramuni’s production…. Visually the production [...]
End stage renal failure patient needs kidney transplant
Sanath Wijayawardana, 55, employed as a Senior Superintendent of Surveys at the Survey Department, Narahenpita has been diagnosed with End Stage Chronic Renal Failure. He is currently following supportive treatment at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka under Consultant Nephrologist, Dr. Ruchika Lanerolle and urgently needs a kidney transplant. Any prospective kidney donors of blood [...]
Red Lotus helps children with kidney disease
The Red Lotus organisation for humanitarian assistance established after the tsunami in December 2004 has been active in providing assistance to disaster victims. This year Red Lotus instituted a scholarship scheme for children suffering from kidney disease in Thambuttegama, Anuradhapura. As a first step, three school-going children were awarded Rs.1,000 a month, and this effort [...]
Love and life in Ramya’s Frangipani garden
In Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe’s new book ‘Love Poems from a Frangipani Garden’, a garden that seems so inviting ‘bursting out in white, clustered, flowers’, is, one soon discovers, a tortured garden. “It’s in a way ironic this title,” the poet says wryly, reflecting on the fragrant image that grows increasingly fraught in the poem ‘The [...]
Bonding with Lord Ganesh
Talking with Mahen Chanmugam, you occasionally see flashes of the charming enfant terrible he had been – when his face breaks into a roguish smile after a gag, for example. But for the most part Lord Ganesh has converted, and made into an artistic hermit of sorts, the boy who was expelled from S. Thomas’ [...]