‘I still love getting my hands dirty’
The Queen’s New Year Honours List for 2021 announced recently includes Prof. Mohan Edirisinghe, biomedical engineer and Bonfield Chair of Biomaterials, University College London (UCL). Later this year, the Queen will decorate the Sri Lankan-born scientist with the medal that bears her grandparents’ profiles – a traditional honour at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle that [...]
Always moving forward: Chundikuli Jaffna marks 125 years
As Dr. Evangeline Mutthamma Thillayampalam sat at her desk, pen poised, she was filled with a great sense of hope. The year was 1946, Sri Lanka was on the brink of independence and Chundikuli Girls’ College, Jaffna was celebrating its 50-year Jubilee. Dr. Thillayampalam was the first Ceylonese principal of Chundikuli Girls’ College, and an [...]
Have you seen this invader?
A novel invasive plant in Sri Lanka, “Giant sensitive plant” (Mimosa diplotricha), is reported to have already established in some parts of the Puttalam District. This species is related to the well-known ‘Nidi-kumba’ or Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), which is frequently seen as a weedy creeping herb, especially in the low country wet zone of [...]
Letters to the Editor
Let us take some steps to resolve controversy over burial of COVID victims In recent times, a serious controversy has arisen regarding the request especially by the Muslim population that people who died and were tested positive for COVID should be buried and not cremated in keeping with their religious and other convictions. Similarly, many [...]
Appreciation
Hers was a journey through the mosaic that is just life itself Viola Welikala 100 years is a time period of significance. In the last century people have seen world war, slavery, colonialism, apartheid, nuclear bombs, the emergence of technology, mobile phones, the internet, and most recently a global pandemic that shuttered the world and [...]
Sustainable tourism and lessons from Bhutan’s happiness philosophy
Sri Lanka Design Festival’s 2021 edition concludes today with a timely convention focusing on revitalizing the tourism industry in response to post-pandemic challenges and the mounting issue of climate change. Sharing a regional view, former Prime Minister of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay will deliver the keynote address on “Bhutan’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness [...]
WNPS lecture: Co-existing with leopards
With Sri Lanka coming out of the worst ever year for its big cats, with over 13 reported deliberate killings, it’s important to look at unique stories of harmony between man and the leopard and adapt possible best practices. Leopards of Jawai is a story of the harmonious relationships shared by the leopards and the [...]
A little book that will leave you with a great sense of enrichment
Anecdotes from a Surgeon’s Life in Sri Lanka- by Dr Channa Ratnatunga 128 pages Price: Rs 500 Available at the PEMSAA Office, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Peradeniya or the College of Surgeons, Noel and Nora Bartholomeusz Centre, 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. (All proceeds from the book will go to a Medical ‘Studentship’ [...]
Poignant tales compellingly told
Mandvi – The interwoven stories of five women. A complete saga of life, loss and love By Nilu A Notion Press 2020 Mystical Mandvi, is a place the author says has held a particular fascination for her and if the name gives a hint of romance and mystery, you won’t be far wrong, for in [...]
A long lockdown in the ‘watte’
“Free,” is how she feels, stepping out of her little home to walk to the kade close by to get the family’s basic necessities, although the hope of resuming work as a domestic help in a house some distance away is bleak. Even though ‘60-Watte’, home to about 400 families, nestling amidst posh and palatial [...]
Donate some books for these children
In 2013, the Faculty of Management and Finance of the University of Colombo began a course assessment for its Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) curriculum called the Community Development Project (CDP) which has continued through the years. The foundation of this project was to help students under the supervision of the academic staff of the [...]