Time is the essence of New Year
Avurudu is the apotheosis of the old Sinhalese (solar) calendar when the sun embarks on a fresh journey and the people celebrate the harvest- a long year of sowing and reaping- with children playing on harvested fields with joy and freshness everywhere: new clothes, new pots, new paint, new kevilli, new hopes. ‘Nekath’ or auspicious [...]
When the village came together for Aluth Avurudda
As a child I lived with my grandparents in Meewatura, a village close to Peradeniya and my mind goes back to the Aluth Avurudu I spent there. I vividly remember the paddy harvest season; the rains came at the right time and the farmers had a good harvest to celebrate the Aluth Avurudda. Many cultural [...]
Letters to the Editor
Listen to the people; they want a responsible Govt . not partisan politics The government is now driving the ordinary people of Lanka to desperation and the edge of anarchy. The people deprived of the basics such as energy, power, transport, medical supplies, food at reasonable prices are also being denied the freedom of expression [...]
Appreciations
He was an institution at the University of Moratuwa Singarayer Pathinather Singarayer Pathinather was an institution at the University of Moratuwa (UoM), particularly in the Civil Engineering Department, which was his academic home for so much of his life. This was partly due to his being a link between Moratuwa’s eventual university status and its [...]
One man’s dedicated mission in dangerous times
Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke F. R. C. S. has brought out a book containing his experiences as a surgeon in a strife-torn Sri Lanka when the deadliest phase of a war between the armed forces of the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (L.T.T.E.) was in progress. The book is titled “The Extra [...]
People’s protests give new meaning to Fearless Collective’s Colombo murals
Colombo has become home to two new towering street-side murals, at the Rio Cinema and the Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, depicting under-represented women of the community. The work of The Fearless Collective, a movement founded in India by artist and activist Shilo Shiv Suleman, artists from nations across South East Asia collaborated to bring these [...]
Making Bharathanatyam a language of connectivity
“I think what’s important for us is we see the resilience of the people – despite the curfew and everything people are still willing to come and see the shows,” says Aravinth Kumarasamy. The Artistic Director of Singapore’s Apsaras Arts Dance Company, he was in Colombo for ‘Parama Padam’ – the Bharathanatyam performance initially scheduled [...]
Spare a thought for our police and security forces
Last week I mentioned an incident at a restaurant where a policeman asked diners to move their cars, as part of the security preparations for the advent of the Prime Minister, who was making an appearance in the area. Diners defiantly refused. They told the officer that if the PM wanted the cars shifted, he [...]