Building an instrument that pulled at his heartstrings
When one considers the harp, the immediate connotation is a vision of heaven. An instrument with thousands of years of history behind it, it is often depicted in classical art in the arms of angels or as a rich addition to orchestral music, thanks to its unique tone. Angelic it may seem, but for 25-year-old [...]
Kanya gets a step closer to big prize
Sri Lankan writer Kanya D’Almeida has won the Asia Regional Prize in the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Now in its tenth year, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from the Commonwealth. This year’s regional winners, announced on May 12, were chosen from a record [...]
Letters to the Editor
Need of the hour, prioritise COVID-19 vaccinations under Public Health COVID is here to stay with us, not for months but years. We cannot control this with curfews or quarantines alone. Those measures are temporary ‘patch-ups’ executed by sensible nations to prevent their health services from being overwhelmed. This lack of understanding or purposeful denial [...]
Appreciations
A letter to a girl about the gardens that await Christo Rodrigo Dear Trinella, Although I know your name, I have never had the pleasure of meeting you. I know that no words can comfort you. Knowing that makes it that much harder to write, however, you will one day learn that sometimes people do [...]
Human connection is the essence of life
Wings, the new book celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sunera Foundation, is the affecting story of the organization’s history and the work they have done with the disabled community in Sri Lanka. Founded in 2000 by Sunethra Bandaranaike, the organization has produced theatrical performances, showcasing the talents of differently-abled Sri Lankans, and runs 38 [...]
A parody of all stories
Lal Medawattegedara has been among the most maverick of writers to emerge from the island, so one is surprised to hear that he is a very “homely” guy, for whom the lockdown meant an idyllic spell- all snug and cosy reading, writing and cooking- rather like Badger in The Wind in the Willows. Shortlisted for [...]
Grand old Lankan pays tribute to fallen comrades on ANZAC Day
97-year-old Felicitas Appathurai served as a Radar Plotter with the Royal Ceylon Air Force during World War II Felicitas Appathurai, aged 97, did Sri Lanka proud at the 106th ANZAC Day celebrations in Australia. Felicitas fondly known as Girla, who at the age of 19, had worked as a Radar Plotter with the Royal Ceylon [...]
Learning from my father, five years after his passing
I was mingling with the audience at a poetry reading in Toronto, where I had been reading some of my new poems, when I was approached by an audience member. He asked me a question that I’ve encountered before in some form or another throughout my entire artistic and professional career… “Excuse me, are you [...]
Long, fulfilling journey with Colombo Friend in Need Society
To understand why and how I became a life member, member of the Board of Management and later Vice President of this 190-year-old charitable organization, I need to explain in brief my beginnings as a surgeon and my interest in artificial limbs.In 1969, as a lecturer in surgery at the Colombo Medical Faculty, I opted [...]
‘The Planets & Humanity – Piano Reflections’: Tanya’ s third solo album released
‘The Planets & Humanity – Piano Reflections’, Sri Lankan-British composer-pianist, Dr Tanya Ekanayaka’s third solo album of her own works for solo piano performed and produced by her has just been released on May 14. “The framework for The Planets & Humanity – Piano Reflections whilst conceptually an extension of my previous albums, came to [...]
Protecting Horton Plains
‘Conserving Horton Plains: What the Science Tells Us’ is the title of Dr Rohan Pethiyagoda’s lecture for the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society on May 20 at 6 p.m., via Zoom. Just about everyone who visits a protected area in Sri Lanka comes away with many ideas of how its management could be improved. Horton [...]