Inspiring wannabe young writers to feel ‘Oh, I too can’
The Lake District, with its silver mirror lakes, daffodils, and green hills, was where children’s writer Sita Brahmachari grew up. It was also typical Beatrix Potter country, so for little Sita, what was in her ‘treasure trove’ of Potter books came alive outside her home, and she would find Jeremy Fisher on a reedy pond [...]
He loves going to school but the odds are mounting
He loves to go to school. As Avantha Osada Siriwardana’s wheelchair is taken down from the trishaw, a band of boys await him at the Molagoda Jayapala Maha Vidyalaya in Kegalle to take him to his class. The Principal and teachers are also very supportive in ensuring he continues his education. They had even shifted [...]
A song of hope marks a milestone of this Blood Cancer Centre
Faces in the audience and similar faces on the screen – smilingly raising their voices in song in a bid to dispel the misconception that cancer is a death sentence……….giving hope in a situation that many feel is one of utter hopelessness. The melody and lyrics of ‘Anduru walakulu atharin hinahenna’ fills the atrium of [...]
Appreciations
A visionary human rights activist, he also cared for his flock in more ways than one Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe The July 1983 attacks on Tamils were disastrous for Sri Lanka. Apart from the appalling suffering Tamils all over the country experienced, it caused Sri Lanka to be seen as a pariah state, which has made [...]
“Operation Goshen”- A chapter in the story of the Indo-Ceylon ferry
With the ferry service between India and Sri Lanka re-commencing after almost 60 years, Lt. Commander Somasiri Devendra shares an interesting story of how the service came to be disrupted. Writes Lt. Commander Devendra: “It was because the last ferry, SS Goshen, was lifted by Cyclone “Emily” in 1964 and cast ashore, high and dry, [...]
My bad hair week!
October is breast cancer awareness month. I am a three-time breast cancer — this happened over a period of 10 years. I did not know that there were many different types of breast cancer. The first time I had breast cancer it was what is known as metaplastic breast cancer and it is serious because [...]
Seeing through the lens of multiple heritages
Nina Mangalanayagam, does not complain about not belonging- even though with a Sri Lankan Tamil father and a Swedish mother in London (where she went to university), she would not have exactly blended in. When she grew up in Sweden, this visual artist and photographer, whose work now interrogates and disturbs us as part of [...]
A ‘ Brief’ encounter
It was a day out in the domain of the Green Man stirring memories of the old days when Bevis Bawa – the ‘tallest man in Ceylon’ – held sway in his timeless garden ‘Brief’ in Beruwala, an artistic watering hole long before Geoffrey, his younger brother, created his own arcadia at Lunuganga. When the [...]
Lankan doctor honoured at leading hospital in New York city
The Maimonides Medical Center (MMC), one of the leading hospitals in New York city, honoured a Sri Lankan physician. Dr. Kadirawel Iswara, by dedicating the Ambulatory Surgery Waiting Room in his name. The Medical Center commemorated 50 years of “generosity, service, and excellence in patient care, teaching, leadership, and civic service” in a tribute to [...]
Early phases of Ena’s career, an exhibition at Barefoot
Imagining New Natures: Collaborations with Ena will be on at the Barefoot Loft Gallery from October 27- November 9. The exhibition presented by the Ena De Silva Foundation and supported by the Geoffrey Bawa Trust and the Aluwihare Heritage Centre marks the conclusion of the centenary celebrations of Ena de Silva, exploring the trajectories of [...]
Ruk Rakaganno remembers soil scientist Dr. Panabokke
Ruk Rakaganno, the Tree Society of Sri Lanka celebrates the life and work of renowned soil scientist, the late Dr. Chris Panabokke, patron of Ruk Rakaganno, with an online guest lecture by Dr. Bhathiya Sumithraarachchi, (former Director of the Botanic Gardens of Sri Lanka) on Sunday, October 29 at 6 p.m. The event will include [...]
National Trust lecture on hidden value of trees
Dr. Ranil Senanayake will talk on “Uncovering the Hidden Value of Trees – can they create a new economy to save us?” in this month’s National Trust lecture on Thursday, October 26 at 6 p.m. at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No. 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. Online link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89094373286). [...]