Facing a pandemic in the evening of their lives
Vaccination of the elderly has been under the spotlight but as the world commemorated the International Day for Older Persons on Friday (October 1), has Sri Lanka with its rapidly ageing population turned a strong focus on the well-being of this voiceless group during these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic? As the pandemic, unprecedented [...]
Making sense of loss through artistic exploration
When halfway through our conversation on his first solo exhibition, Ajantha Ranaweera opens up the plain little notebook he carries with him it is quite a revelation; on one page, there are arresting sketches of an unusual gopuram and on another a geometrical lamp, coping details for walls, furniture layouts, even a design for a [...]
Letters to the Editor
Pursue restructuring foreign debts under ‘Road Map’ Recently, Dr. Harsha De Silva, MP stated as follows: “There was a gap between reality and the picture painted by government spokesmen…If solutions are delayed, the blow on the people would be harder…We should restructure our debts, if the government does that then they will be able to [...]
Appreciations
A humble man and well-recognised expert in the field of forestry SHANTHA BAMINIWATTE Loku Aiyya to his siblings (late brother, two sisters) and cousins, Bamini to his school friends, Shantha to professional colleagues and to me, Apuchu/Appachchi to our two children (Narmada and Ranga), was a very humble gentleman with exceptional qualities. He was the [...]
A magisterial oeuvre that reads like a detective story
A magisterial oeuvre on Sir Edwin Arnold’s famous poem in eight cantos, The Light of Asia, is an exhaustive and entertaining volume, bringing together far-flung threads to present a complete, compelling biography of the Victorian poem. The book was a beacon for men from D. H. Lawrence and James Joyce to Mahatma Gandhi and Pundit [...]
The Unmarriageable Man in the UK
The Friends of Sri Lanka in the UK (FOSLA) launched Ashok Ferrey’s new book The Unmarriageable Man at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly – their first live event in 18 months – before a distinguished gathering of 70 people including Saroja Sirisena, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the UK. Chief guest David Hare – the [...]
Is there nothing nice to report?
This country is spiraling into a vortex of depression. Feelings of gloom are exacerbated day after day by the media which does not seem to know the invaluable art of ‘Morale Lifting.’ Too many citizens are feeling disconsolate, uneasy and isolated at the moment. One wonders how the British got through World War Two with [...]
Wandering minstrel
Whence the melody? Whence the beat? The evening breeze stops, pauses, changes gear. On the cusp of change a scrap of melody squeezes through and whispers in my ear. Just a scrap, hardly a phrase, and then it’s gone. With the wind. But in that fleeting moment, I know that I know it, I know [...]