Mythical gets mod in mountain setting
Ella has just as much mystique as it has mist. Lanka’s answer to Kathmandu, the town had a checkered history, beginning with legends of Ravana, whose name rings in great waterfalls and gaunt forested cliffs. Today, as a trekkers’ paradise, Ella is losing that touch with the ancient tales of the Ramayana. All the more [...]
Unfolding chapters of a pioneering library in the hills
September is known as the reading month or literature month and making a worthy contribution to literacy in the Central Province is the century-old D.S. Senanayake Memorial Public Library in Kandy. In past years many programmes were arranged during the month, but with the COVID-19 pandemic activities have been curtailed. Still with their centenary celebration [...]
Letters to the Editor
Such a pleasant surprise to see smooth operation at Passport Office I had a very uplifting experience at the Passport Office Battaramulla on September 22 which I thought I should share. Even though in present times a passport does not serve a great purpose, I was nervous about hanging onto one about to expire and [...]
Appreciations
A happy man, he lived an uncomplicated life Don Ananda Rajakaruna Gunawardena It was indeed a very sad moment when we heard of Ananda’s demise. In many respects Arna, was quite a remarkable individual whom we all loved over the many years he was with us. From our boyhood days at De Fonseka Road in [...]
A little trailblazer born of a frozen egg
Wide-eyed and inquisitive, a pretty six-month-old baby girl is not looking at the person taking the photograph but at her father who is holding her gently. What the little one does not realize is that she is a trailblazer in Sri Lanka – born of a frozen egg (female gamete or ovum), subsequently thawed and [...]
The one that got away – Abdul Halik Azeez
Part of a generation that grew up during the war, with limited opportunities for travel around their own country, Abdul Halik Azeez began to blog a couple of years before the conflict ended, as an ‘exercising of agency, to interpret the world through my own perspective’. The blogging led to a job at the Sunday [...]
Making these elders feel they are not alone
On a routine visit to the Thalawathugoda Post Office, Savithri Panabokke noticed a small group lining up inside. Each month, this group of needy elders would come there to obtain the monthly Government allowance of Rs.2,000 which they depended on greatly to meet their living expenses. Eager to do more for them, Savithri enlisted the [...]
Big Bad Wolf goes online: Get your favourite books from the comfort of your home
The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale this year will happen online. Hosted through a platform called “The Readers Portal”, the sale will be live 24/7 from October 1-4, it was revealed at the launch of the website, attended by Nishan Wasalathanthri, Director of ProRead Lanka and through live web conferencing by co-founders of Big Bad [...]
Evening of opera at Mirissa Hills
Mirissa Hills was the venue for a rare musical treat as well known teacher and opera singer Barbara Segal along with her students treated their audience to an evening of opera. The performance was a fundraiser for scholarships for the more talented students to attend a conservatory in Paris to be trained free of charge [...]
Gratiaen Trust holds literary weekend and Children’s Day event for young readers
The Gratiaen Trust, in association with John Keells Foundation, is organising a series of events that will connect its award winning writers and their books with readers and lovers of literature. The first in the series is a literary weekend being held this weekend in partnership with the Bentota Beach Hotel.The second celebrating Children’s Day [...]
Keep a date with Tamarind Gardens’ Farmers’ Market
Tamarind Gardens at Aluthwatte, Digana will hold a Farmers’ Market on Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. There will be fresh produce, arts and crafts, delicious food, entertainment and fun activities for children. All proceeds will go for the humanitarian work done by the Rotary Club of Kandy Hill Capital. Entrance is [...]
‘Novel Era of Eye Care: Marvels and Concerns’– Pulimood Oration on Oct. 6
The 30th Annual Susan George Pulimood Memorial Oration of VisakhaVidyalaya, will be held this year on Tuesday, October 6 at 5 p.m in the Jeremias Dias Hall of the school. The oration will be delivered by Dr. Champa Priyadarsini Banagala (nee Kaluarchchi ) on‘Novel Era of Eye Care: Marvels and Concerns’. Due to the prevailing [...]