Ready to climb the Matterhorn ‘like a girl’
Seven years after cementing herself in history as the first Sri Lankan to summit Mount Everest, mountaineer Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala is now setting her sights on Switzerland’s Matterhorn. A women’s right advocate for two decades now, Jayanthi plans to complete the climb under the theme #ClimbLikeaGirl, a movement to challenge gender-based stereotypes and help inspire emerging [...]
150 years ago a monk set out on a mission to challenge missionaries
The “Panadura Controversy,” the name coined by the media in the 1870s, recalls the historic “Panadura Vaadaya” or Panadura Debate, that ignited the Buddhist revival in colonial Ceylon. Born on February 9, 1823, in Balapitiya, Miguel Mendis Silva excelled in Christianity, English and Latin from a young age. Joining the all-European editorial team of the [...]
Hope of a little boutique brings light to his life
Striving to be independent and start his “own” thing to make ends meet, blind Wathukarage Ashoka Thilakeratne is seeking some support from kind-hearted people. Diminutive Ashoka, 37, who lives in remote Pussethota, far away from Pallebedda town off the Embilipitiya-Ratnapura Road, has turned a small section close to the sandy track in the front of [...]
Letters to the Editor
A plea to right the wrong done to senior citizens over FD income The banks have delivered a serious killer blow to the senior citizens under the DDR/DDO. The interest rate on Fixed Deposits has been slashed to 10 -12% of late. With the 23 -27% rate given by the banks in the latter part [...]
Appreciations
To the Peter Pan I met in real life Jithman Lodas Ramachandra Dearest Toffee Seeya, Before I get to the part on how much of a great person you were, I must thank you for all the yummy toffees you gave me, every time you came to visit us. Even though we did not get [...]
Familial hypercholesterolemia: The need for awareness in Sri Lanka
Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a condition in which there is high blood cholesterol. Around the world about 1 in 300 people have FH. In a study in Sri Lanka with lipid profiles in a tertiary-care hospital and a primary-care setting the prevalence was 1:217. In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognised familial hypercholesterolemia as [...]
Looking back on a varied canvas of postcolonial literature
In yet another year with no Galle Lit Fest, it was a celebration, if academic, of postcolonial literature coinciding with the new leadership for the Commonwealth after 70 years. The Sri Lanka Association of Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies hosted its ninth conference, titled Continuing Postcolonialism, looking back on a canvas as rich and varied [...]
Leading Greek choir in concert with Soul Sounds Academy in Colombo
Ss. Cyril & Methodios Youth Choir from Thessaloniki, Greece will collaborate with the Soul Sounds Academy, to present a very special concert “Young Greek Voices – to Sri Lanka with Love” on Friday, September 1 at 7.30 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. The Greek Youth Choir enjoys a high reputation as one of the [...]
Christie’s supports auction to help Sunera Foundation
Paradise Road Galleries will present an auction of modern and contemporary Sri Lankan art in aid of the Sunera Foundation next month. The auction will feature works from Justin Pieris Deraniyagala, Richard Gabriel, Manjusri, Ivan Peries, Ranil Deraniyagala, Jagath Weerasinghe and more. All proceeds from the auction will directly benefit Sunera Foundation’s initiatives. This is [...]
A toast to 40 years of Colombo Toastmasters Club
The Colombo Toastmasters Club, one of the oldest Toastmasters clubs in South Asia celebrated 40 years and the installation of a new president on July 28, at Hotel Galadari. Taking as their theme for the year, “The Legacy Lives”, the club celebrated 40 years of leadership, public speaking and training. Newly installed president Shashikala Wanigasinghe [...]
RASSL lecture: All about Sri Lanka’s lesser known languages
Dr Romola Rassool, Director, Postgraduate Institute of English, Open University of Sri Lanka will talk on the ‘Preservation of the Lesser-known Languages of Sri Lanka’ in this month’s Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) lecture. The lecture is on Monday, August 28 at 5 p.m. at the Council Room of RASSL, 96, Ananda Cooma-raswamy [...]
Unveiling the tale of Koneswar
“Swami Rock” in Trincomalee holds immense significance as a sacred site. This month’s National Trust lecture on Thursday, August 31 at 6 p.m. at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No. 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo is on “Koneswar Temple on Swami Rock, Trincomalee”. The lecture will be delivered by Angeline Ondaatjie. [...]