Keeping alive the humble message in hard times
Humble, they line the roads of Moratuwa, a simple symbol of Christmas and God’s greatest gift to mankind, the Babe born in Bethlehem in a stable, amidst the cattle and sheep because there was no room in the inn. Unlike the other trappings we have come to associate with yuletide, from turkey to tinsel and [...]
Christmas is not an old story but a new beginning
Today is ‘Christmas Day.’ Perhaps this may be your 25th, 50th or 75th annual Christmas. Is it going to be just another Christmas for you? Let me relate an event that took place in a hospital on a Christmas Day, a few years back. A little girl of a poor family became ill just a [...]
Long time ago…“pol kudu” and “cheena patas”
Pol kudu first, because it showed itself on the morning of the 23rd. These were in the mid-1940s when our home was at Hamers Avenue in Wellawatte, which means garden by the sea. The elongated rectangle-shaped house had a square verandah first, adjoining it a square sitting room and after that a square dining room [...]
Those familiar carols that resonate come every Christmas
The most wonderful time of the year, known to all Christians and most others as Christmas is once again, upon us. It means something different to everyone but some aspects of the season are dear to all such as family gatherings, food, drink, and presents. Along with the decorations that sometimes go up as early [...]
Philharmonic Choir: A testimony of spirituality and masterly performance
Advent and Christmas usher in a range of musical events celebrating the birth of Christ. The icing on the cake was ‘What sweeter music’ -an evening of carols and verse by the Colombo Philharmonic Choir on December 16 at St Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Colombo. The evening was one of musical contrasts of unusual anthems interspersed [...]
A feast of Christmas from SOSL
The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka pulled out all the stops when they brought back their much-loved Christmas concert on December 16 and 17 after a three year COVID pause. A packed audience at the Bishop’s College auditorium enjoyed a feast of Christmas music under the batons of Dushyanthi Perera who took on the bulk [...]
Letters to the Editor
Put an end to ways and means of narcotics getting back into society Narcotic consumption among schoolchildren, undergraduates and members of society at large has raised its ugly head lately. This was echoed in Parliament by Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe on December 6. He insinuated something I suspected for a long time, that much of what [...]
APPRECIATIONS
Thank you Mummy, you will forever be in my heart Ranji Thiyagarajah It’s 5 o’clock and the 132 bus is making its way up the hill of Alan Avenue. Two little boys eagerly peer into the bus looking for their mother. When the slim and smartly dressed lady alights, the boys run and wrap their [...]
Kick Up Some Moon Dust, 2nd volume out
Following the success of Volume One of the short story anthology Kick Up Some Moon Dust, the second volume is now available at leading bookshops. Published by IBBY Sri Lanka (International Board on Books for Young People), all the stories are local in content and contributed by local writers. While the first volume was written [...]
The mystery of Lovinia: Much more than just a love story
It is 1805, and the new Governor of the Crown Colony of Ceylon has just arrived to take up his post in the country. The Kandyan War continues unabated in the hill country and the local half-Sinhalese, half-Portuguese beauty, Lovinia, experiences the impact of these events on her blossoming life. Imagine being transported to Colonial [...]