“And the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us …”

One Christmas day during World War II, a young family was outside making a snowman. Suddenly a plane flew by overhead. After it passed, the tiniest child turned to her father and said, “Daddy, how do people....

CATASTROPHIC LOSS CLEAVES LIFE INTO Z ‘BEFORE’ AND AN AFTER

Sonali Deraniyagala who published the memoir titled ‘Wave’ about her terrible tsunami experience that claimed her husband and two little children penned the following piece that was printed in the Sunday Times of England.

Gender based violence Taking girls, women for granted, root cause

By At first glance, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) may seem like just another issue in the world that doesn’t apply to your life. But in truth, you are at risk of experiencing GBV in the very next second and you would be completely unaware of its occurrence due to normalization of such acts. During our life, all of us encounter some form of GBV. It could be in forms of domestic

Screams of desperation

The Eastern Province is home to as many as 60,000 war widows who have been forced to become breadwinners of their families upon the death or disappearance of their husbands. 10 years after the war, some are still destitute, going from place to place doing odd jobs as they were not educated or skilled enough to take up ‘dignified’ jobs. Some recall how they last saw

Moratuwa Uni grabs 1st Place at IEEE BIBE 2019 Brain Computer Interface Hackathon

A team from the University of Moratuwa won the 1st place at the premier IEEE BIBE 2019 International Brain Computer Interface Hackathon, held in Athens, Greece in October this year. The competition was organised by the BR41N.IO in conjunction with 19th IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bio engineering 2019.

Jesus is everything to us!

Jesus’ job is to save. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a saviour who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

Mary’s Christmas dream…

I had a dream Joseph. I don’t understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks.

THE UNRECOGNISED KING

When Thomas Jefferson was Vice President of the United States (1797 and 1801), there was not a railroad in the world and there were no broad highways as there are now. The roads were crooked, muddy and rough. If a man were obliged to go from one city to another, he often rode on horseback, jolting along through mud and mire, exposed to wind and weather.

Christmas A cry for dignity and human rights

The world is once again blessed with a fresh opportunity for celebrating the Christmas festival, a profoundly religious event that takes on great importance because of the perennial echo of its traditional and age-old message of peace. A second important issue intertwined with it is the one on human dignity and human rights. Christianity which bestows this festive season to the

WhatsApp wars over India protests divide families

With their parents bombarding them on WhatsApp with misinformation and even abuse over their stand on India’s new citizenship law, young women are hiding their identities on social media to voice outrage and find alternative families.

Birth of Jesus: Where are we?

Oh Mary, Joseph and Shepherds, Birth of Jesus was good news for you all.

Save the note South Asia

Western classical music, which was introduced to South Asia during British rule, was absorbed by a section of the local elite who were highly Westernized. But it is now a vanishing species, almost at the point of extinction. Nationalistic forces across the

“Truth plus justice plus reparations equals reconciliation”

The Apartheid could be described as one of the most gruesome blows to human existence. Non-whites not only had to work as slaves, but were isolated from society, separated by law and were denied basic human rights. With the involvement of iconic figures such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Apartheid system was put to a halt during the early 1990s. Thereafter, the struggle was continued to ensure that justice was served to survi

The Prince of Destiny

The angel Gabriel came to her and said “Don’t be afraid Mary: God has been generous to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus: ‘How this can be? I am a virgin? and the angel replied. ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you.’ Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem u

Come Divine Messiah Christ!

Messiah Christ! - Messiah! Christ! Today more than at any past time - We await thy coming, with bated breath To heal our hearts, our minds, Torn by conflict of unpredictable happen

“Peace on Earth” was not the Christmas Message

Every Christmas we see and hear the message “Peace on earth and goodwill among men” in Christmas cards, newspapers, magazines, display material on radio and T.V. Even wars are halted by mutual consent of the parties concerned. Such temporary ceasefires are considered to represent the ‘peace on earth’ significance of Christmas. First, let us see what man considers ‘Peace’ to mean. Primarily, peace is considered a state in which people co-exist

Review “The Beauty of Becoming”

The young writer in English in Sri Lanka is severely handicapped by a lack of range and of experience. Then again, this criticism can be made of writers in English in general, regardless of age: when was the last time I came across the playful rhythms and deliberately punctured syntax which I did with Vihanga Perera, Malinda Seneviratne, Lakkdas Wickramasinghe? These were, and are, not men

In the shadow of Jesus

The name of Jesus is repeated trillions time per second around the world as no other’s. Printed, the Holy Bible and other sacred literature billions of time. The symbol of his cross recognised even by little ones long before they are able to talk. What is the mystery of this sacred leader whose birth and death upon the cross was prophesised even before his birth over two thousand years ago. To Einstein h

Starving the future

Globally, estimates suggest that almost 2.3 billion children and adults are overweight, and more than 150 million children are stunted. However, in low- and middle-income countries these emerging issues overlap in individuals, families, communities and countries.

Christmas Message of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference - 2019: Let us commit ourselves to change

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem which is God’s loving entry into human history. As St. Paul says in the letter to the Philippians God shares the divine nature with us human beings.

Senior broadcaster Vishvanathan felicitated

Ministry of Cultural Affairs, State Advisory Council for Television, and the Arts Council of SriLanka, recently held State Television Awards Ceremony-2019 at ‘Nelum Pokuna’.

Life will be happier if one refrains from fulfilling desires: Jayantha

Listening patiently to others and tolerating their views would be the key to success and that the individuals, who ignored the views of others and strictly adhered to their whims and fancies would not serve any purpose...

Celebrity Ambassadors to raise awareness on SDGs

Although the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), knowledge and awareness on them countrywide are almost nil. Recognising the need to enlighten Sri Lankans on the collection of these global goals,

Lois Goonesekera Angel who led me out of darkness…

Most people only dream of meeting angels to solve their problems. I was lucky enough to have lived in the presence of one, for many years. Lois Goonesekera, my grandaunt, was one of the most generous, selfless and empathetic people I have ever known. She was the culmination of boundless patience, independence and love. I was so attached to her as she was to me. I well remember at one point of time she decided to travel overseas on a long holiday.

A.F. Dawood Outstanding pedagogue and versatile writer

I was shocked to have heard about the demise of A.F. Dawood who passed away in December last year following a brief illness. It is heartbreaking to know a great teacher has been robbed from his learners!

Focusing on God through the Rubble

Christmas is around the doorstep, but the festive spirit will not be the same again for those families that lost their loved ones on Easter Sunday; another special day in the Catholic and Christian calendars. Out of the eight locations that were bombed, Zion Church in Batticaloa received much attention as many of the victims were children.

Elephant deaths: Listen to the villagers’ story

When seven elephants were found dead under suspicious circumstances in Habarana the country was shocked and the debate on the human-elephant conflict was renewed. Within hours, there were efforts to tagvillagers as having a hand in this horrendous act.

Climate Threads

Through community enterprises established under the Climate Change Adaptation Project of the UNDP, communities in Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya District and Medirigiya in the Polonnaruwa District, are now more climate-resilient.

Building reconciliation and friendship

Sri Lanka has dealt with a three-decade long civil war, which has scarred people irrespective of ethnic differences. The collective memory of war is a haunting one. And those affected by war struggle have to cope with their experiences. But the idea of “reconciliation” has given people some hope in a post-war context. This vast topic cannot be easily defined or grasped due to its

Sri Lanka Scout Association Colombo District Branch organises 54th Colombo Scout Camporee

The 54th Colombo Scout Camporee organised annually by the Colombo district branch of the Sri Lanka Scout Association will be held from December 19 to 23 at Ratmalana Hindu College premises and Kandawala Maha Vidyalaya premises.