Laki as I knew him
I am confident that there will be a fair share of obituaries and appreciations of Laki Senanayake that will attempt to capture something of the man and his work. This is a more personal account of my encounters with Laki, which span over half a century. Although Laki and I first met at school at [...]
Diyabubula, where the magic happened
Laki, our blessed friend, passed away on May 30. Laki was an incredible artist, landscape gardener, architect, mathematician, naturalist, writer of prose, who was comfortable working in several art forms and prolifically. He enjoyed meeting friends, was never one to discourage people knocking on his door- many visitors would drop by to meet this special [...]
Where have all the fruit trees gone?
I live in the same neighbourhood where I was born three score and ten years ago. My grandfather’s garden which was approximately three acres in extent was literally, a self-sown orchard. Hence it attracted many birds, butterflies, lizards, land and water monitors and other reptiles. It was not uncommon to see a Cobra (naya) or [...]
Appreciations
My Thathie, my hero Mayadunnage Bertie Edward Wijeratne Thathie who would have been 86 on June 1, was a very loving, jovial and romantic person. He loved his wife and three children very much. He was a magnificent personality and always had his own style of doing things. He was very confident and meticulous in [...]
All in the saliva: Lankan prof leads pioneering research on oral cancer
Heavily into biomedical research, a family tragedy propelled her in the direction of the early detection of oral cancer through non-invasive sampling. Poring over microscopes in her laboratory in Brisbane, Australia, or collecting samples of saliva from people fearful whether they are victims of oral cancer, her efforts have paid off, with the Food and [...]
A bygone judicial institution
Lokubanda Tillekeratna hailing from the village of Maradankalla, Mihintale, son of the late Seneviratne-Banda, former Wel-Vidane has launched his book ‘Rata Sabha: The ancient legal system of the Nuwara-Kalaaviya’. The book details the treasured rural judicial institution that prevailed until the end of the 1930s. This was the only means by which villagers in Nuwara-Kalaaviya, [...]
He leaves behind a gigantic trail and stories only he could have told
It is being said that an eerie silence pervades Diyabubula. The three-toed kingfisher has magically reappeared and the water monitors have all come ashore. The fish owls are hoot-less; the monkeys declared a swing-less day while the hump-nosed viper found common ground with the Indian krait and the Trojan horse stands head bowed. They are [...]