Drawing on love for country and tradition like Bawa
From the air, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium – built for the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 – resembles nothing so much as a leaf that has just fluttered to the ground. Designed by Kenzo Tange, its long elegant curves and ribs seem almost organic and yet its material is concrete. His first encounter with it, when [...]
Talking architecture award in a classic Bawa room
The music room of the de Saram house overflows with Geoffrey Bawa’s gloriously catholic taste in the arts: a grand piano, jewels of art from the ‘43 Group, and walls lined with a vast miscellany of paperbacks. The room also embodies the classic Bawa character: the shady tropical garden wanders indoors while itself constituting ‘a [...]
Letters to the Editor
Let us not turn into a Mexico or Colombia of Asia The decision by President Maithripala Sirisena to introduce the death penalty to drug king-pins who keep carrying on their vicious trade while in prison has received mixed reception from various quarters. Some who oppose it have their own personal agendas. Whether it’s the death [...]
Appreciations
I hope one day we will be a family once again BERTIE & ROSHANTHA KULATILAKE Happier times, happier days until life was snuffed out of both of you like candles in the wind. My days have been dark and lonely since June 25, 2017 and July 31, 2018. When Bertie passed away so peacefully I [...]
Different strokes to heal a nation
The Duo Exhibition of Paintings which will be on on August 3 and 4 in Colombo, will feature paintings by Sri Lanka’s renowned artist and sculptor Raja Segar and young artist Nisansala Karunaratne Rajapaksa. The first joint exhibition by the two, Nisansala sees the venture as a display of true harmony between two artists as [...]
Thenuwara’s latest on political corruption
Artist, activist, lecturer and curator, Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s body of work is dedicated to exposing political corruption. These works are exhibited annually on July 23 to commemorate ‘Black July 1983’. In 1997 he began a series of work titled Barrelism in response to the changes in the cityscape during the war. He moved from Barrelism on [...]
We need empathy for reconciliation
Robi Damelin has her ancestry buried in the pastoral landscapes of Germany and Lithuania, though she never knew Europe, having been brought up in South Africa. Today, she is a global citizen not hedged by boundaries, for hers is a peripatetic dove’s life, travelling the world with a message. As an active member of the [...]
Keeping the island’s spirits high at Botanik Rooftop
Three months after the Easter Sunday blasts, the hospitality industry is striving to find its feet once more. Aiming to lend a helping hand, ‘The Island Spirit’ campaign continues today (July 28) at the Botanik Rooftop Bistro and Bar. Presented by travel company ‘Island Story’, in collaboration with Botanik Rooftop Bistro and Bar, this initiative [...]
You can now hop a bus or train and go places with Google Maps
Do you use Google Maps checking the many travel options – driving, riding a motorcycle, walking and taking a taxi before planning a trip? If you have rued the lack of public transit options (bus and rail routes) active in other countries, but unavailable here, rest easy. Last week the transit option was also added [...]
Appointed Justice of the Peace
Don Dudley Herman Ferdinando, of 58 1/1 St. Anthony’s Road, Kadalana, Moratuwa, who was appointed as a Justice of Peace (All Island), took his oaths before Additional District Court Judge and Magistrate R. M. B. Daminda Ramanayake. Mr. Ferdinando is a teacher, actor and social worker, and manages an eco-friendly recycling plant.
All about marine stingers
A Talk on ‘Marine stingers – Venomous marine animals, their stings and what to do if injured’ will be given by Dr. Malik Fernando tomorrow, July 29 at 6.30 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA), 275/75, Prof. Stanley Wijesundara Mawatha, Colombo 7. Organised by the Sri Lanka Natural History Society, [...]
RASSL lecture on the Tripitaka
The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka’s (RASSL) public lecture for July will be on “Usefulness of the commentarial tradition of the Tripitaka” by Ven. Maho Gnanaloko Thera at 5 p.m. tomorrow, Monday, July 29, at the Gamini Dissanayake auditorium, No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. The texts of the tripitaka itself reveal a [...]
Heritage Diploma, send in those applications fast
The Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology of the University of Kelaniya is calling for applications for a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Heritage. The entry qualifications are any Bachelor’s degree or academic/professional qualifications acceptable to the University Senate. The course will be in Sinhala and English. Application forms and information can be downloaded from www.pgiar.kln.ac.lk. For more [...]
“Double Blue Classics”: Have you bought your ticket?
The “Double Blue Classics” fundraiser in aid of the Smart Board Project of Wesley College Colombo organised by the OBU of Wesley College will be held on August 9 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium at 6.45 p.m. The show will feature well known artistes Annesley Malawana and the Super Chimes, together with the Dharmaratne Brothers, [...]