Practising an age-old faith in extraordinary times
Like many medical workers, Sabith Liaquat is accustomed to navigating hospital shifts during Ramadan. For the past four to five years, he has been on call during Ramadan and as a doctor, he now knows how to calibrate the rhythms of work life to the rigours of fasting. This year, he takes extra precaution to [...]
The giving heart of Ramadan
The month of Ramadan is coming to a close and although it is popularly associated with fasting and even feasting, the spirit of the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar has more to do with charity than indulgence. Reflection on the teachings, prayer, abstinence and giving form the core of Islam’s holy month that [...]
Letters to the Editor
The urgent need to review liquor licences As a columnist once wrote if you rake up the issue of liquor licences, it will stink sky high or something worse. The intention here is not to drag in personalities as owners, defacto owners, and stand-in owners, which will be revealed as part of the revelations in [...]
Appreciations
The officer that many respected and even emulated Rtd. Senior DIG Gamini Herbert Gunawardane On May 5, Sri Lanka lost an illustrious son of her soil, a devout Buddhist who was an exemplary human being and officer. Gamini enlisted in the Sri Lanka Police on May 2, 1963 as a Probationary Assistant Superintendent at the [...]
Badahena-galge reveals prehistoric ‘language of dimples’
The cave called Badahena-galge is the ideal haunt for a leopard or sloth bear or giving occasional shelter for the villager foraging for the natural bounty of the thick forest. Till February this year, however, it was just one of the small caves that clung like swallows’ nests to the mountains of Balangoda. Till a [...]
Keeping the wild biodiversity intact essential for survival of humankind
Our lives will never be the same again. The new coronavirus, a zoonotic pathogen, which is believed to have jumped species to spread the illness of COVID-19 among humans, could be taken as a crystal clear message that nature in all its diversity needs respect and protection. This is for the very survival of humankind! [...]
Thoughts while chugging along on the Denuwara Manike to Badulla
On February 20, my family members and I made a journey on “Denuwara Manike”, the latest addition to Sri Lanka Railways rolling stock, from Colombo to Badulla. Our return journey took place on the same train on the 22nd. The facilities available on board are excellent with some new additions to the Sri Lanka Railways [...]