Mass celebration of Bengali New Year Bangladesh asserts its secular character

Few would know that the only social and cultural festival jointly observed by Muslims and Hindus in the Indian sub-continent is the Bengali New Year in Bangladesh.

Review Garrett Field’s “Modernizing Composition”

The Sinhala people do not, strictly speaking, possess a musical tradition of their own. In this they are far away from India. But then the Sinhala villager did spend his time learning, or articulating, verse. Music was, literally, poetry in motion, and there were verses to be performed for different occupations and even times. And quite in contrast to feudal European society,

CandleAid sheds light on underprivileged undergrads

CandleAid Sri Lanka, an organization based in Moratuwa focused on improving the lives of children in underprivileged conditions, launched another phase of their English & Personality Enhancement Programme in Moratuwa recently. This programme aims to improve the English language skills of university level students in underprivileged families where they have limited access to English language skills development. The language training programme wa

Celebrating Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar after Christmas and Easter. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and marks the beginning of Holy week events leading up to Jesus’ death. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ. When I started to prepare my message for palm Sunday, I asked my self the question what is the history of Palm Sunday? How it began after the death of Jesus? The celebration of p

Dr Anula Nikapotha, She has left a void that can never be filled

Anula Nikapotha nee Aluvihare was the daughter of Bernard Aluvihare, lawyer and Dr. Mrs. R.A.M. Aluvihare, Gynaecologist and the wife of Dr. Vijitha Nikapotha, Radiologist, from Nugegoda. Anula was a psychiatrist specializing in child psychiatry. She practiced in Colombo, working in the General Hospital before she migrated with her family to UK and practised in UK, and went on to become a UN consultant, advising and training in child psychiatry t

More power to them, no power to us?

When you have so many planners but very few doers in power, this is what happens. Last week was the second or third of what was promised to be a months-long series of rolling power cuts. The Minister in charge, Ravi Karunanayake....

Arrest of writer Sathkumara sparks debate on freedom of expression

On April 1, award-winning author and poet Shakthika Sathkumara was arrested and remanded on contrived charges of inciting religious hatred, a move that has been decried by artists, academics and free-speech advocates as setting a dangerous precedent against the freedom of expression.

How to provide an uninterrupted sustainable water supply to the Greater Colombo Area

Presently the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB) is providing water to Greater Colombo area from the following water sources:

A Conversation on Conservation

Efforts aimed to reverse environmental damage and help people reconnect with nature, are all part of a growing global consciousness of caring for the world we live in. Although a relatively new phenomenon for many, Sri Lankan born singer-songwriter Alston Koch distinguished the potential impact of climate change, almost three decades ago.

CITES CoP 18 in May will Boost Sri Lanka Nature Tourism

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement among governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The Parties to CITES are collectively referred to as the Conference of the Parties. Every two to three years, the

Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere Exhibition to mark World Health Day

Green Building Council of Sri Lanka joined the exhibition held to mark World Health Day, organized by the World Health Organization - Sri Lanka, under the theme “Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere”.

A courageous woman’s struggle for survival

This is a story of a courageous woman who lives in Watawala Dewahuwa in Galewela. She labours hard in agriculture for her survival without the help of others. When we met her on the day when the whole globe was celebrating ‘World Women’s Day’ there was no change to her daily work routine.

‘Festival for Our Planet’ highlights Sri Lanka’s urgent need to address climate change

Recently, the NGage Goodvocacy and the Environmental Foundation Limited hosted their very first ‘Festival for Our Planet’ at the Good Market as an environmental awareness event to coincide with the worldwide youth climate strike that took place on March 15. The aim of the festival was to educate and mobilise enthused citizens about climate and environmental justice.

Putting the private bus service in order

Public transportation in Sri Lanka is widespread that the majority of people prefer to make it their mode of travel. Apart from the people’s habit to travel in trains, they often choose the bus as a mode of transport. However, there has been criticism regarding buses in terms excessive speed, extra horns, competition among buses and sound systems that produce loud noise, etc. It is the commuters who feel inconvenien

Re-reading Lester, and misreading Lester

Philip Cooray called Delovak Athara the most personal film that Lester James Peries ever made, and it shows. From the milieu depicted in it to its choice of subject matter, it may well have been a “statement” in the same vein that Truffaut’s The 100 Blows or Bergman’s Wild Strawberries had been. Audiences hadn’t seen this kind of story in a Sinhala film before. To Lester’s credit, to have sustained interest for two hours within such a narrow fram

264TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. SAMUEL CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH HAHNEMANN Homeopathy - cures IN the natural way

Samuel Christian Friedrich Hahnemann, the founder of the homeopathic system of medicine, was born on April 10, 1755 at Meissen in Saxony, Germany. He studied first at the “elector’s school” of Meissen, and thereafter as a student of medicine at Leipzig and Vienna. He took the degree of M.D. at the University of Erlangen in 1779, Dr. Hahnemann was very dissatisfied with the limited knowledge of human organism, disease process and the effects of

The Poetry of South Asia An anthology of Poems

Before we see whose poems appear in this volume, we should know something about the compilers. Dr Sigma Sathish is a friend of mine and she has sent a copy to me because I like poetry.

SRIMA DISSANAYAKE-AN APPRECIATION: She walks in beauty like starry skies

Shakespeare’s famous words All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts remind me of this remarkable woman....

World Autism Awareness Day organized by SocialService.lk

Internationally the World Autism Awareness Day is recognized on the 2nd of April every year. World Autism Day is one of the seven official health-specific UN Days that brings individual autism organizations all around the world....

Rotary Club of Colombo conducts health camp

The oldest rotary club in the country, the Rotary Club of Colombo, with the assistance of the Rotary Club of Kelaniya, recently conducted a successful health campaign for the residents in Kelaniya. They were supported by a skilled team of doctors and nurses from Siddhalepa.

Linnette de S. Wijeyeratne You are our angel who will always continue to protect us

We thank God everyday for blessing us with you as our amazing mom. However, time with you will never be enough, we will always wish for one more hug, one more laugh, but above all, for one more day! With your last breath the world around us has tumbled with no one to call mom.

Rev. Fr. Harold Goodchild Tribute to a Great Servant of the Lord

Death has removed from our earthly scene my senior in the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Harold, as I called him in the recent past, began as a teacher at St. Paul’s School in Kandy when he was a lay person. In Kandy, he was known for his interest in scouting. From there, he moved to the North and East, where he tested his vocation to be a reverend in the local monastic movement.

Gerry Crake Birthday Remembrance

On your birthday, only gift we can offer is the precious memories you left behind

Leo Singham A loving father and banker par excellence

If our father were alive, he would have celebrated his 100th birthday on April 12 this year. Unfortunately, he passed away on December 13, 1978 at the age of 59 due to a heart attack.

Pakistan steps up cultural diplomacy with SL: Gandhara civilization presented as centre of civilization ties

Pakistan is predominately an Islamic country and Sri Lanka, a Buddhist country in main. So, presumption of many is that there is no cultural nexus between the two countries. As if to dispel such presumption and to woo Sri Lanka, Pakistan....

“Rereading Nobodies to Somebodies” and revisiting the rentier elite

When Kumari Jayawardene wrote and published Nobodies to Somebodies at the beginning of the millennium, there were howls of protests from two separate though interrelated camps. First and foremost, there were the descendants of the families....

Yohan Liyanage appointed High Court judge in Fiji

Fiji’s Judiciary welcomed in another addition to its rank following the swearing in of High Court Judge Yohan Liyanage yesterday at the State House. Justice Yohan Liyanage is from Sri Lanka and....

No dream too big for Fight Cancer Movement

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on April 1, 2019, between the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine and the Kadijah Foundation’s Fight Cancer Team with plans to purchase Tomotherapy and LINAC...

J’pura university creates a new app to find bananas with carbid: Undergrads impress at “Innovate Sri Lanka 2019”

Nowadays schoolchildren and university students pay more attention on innovations and are willing to develop novel things which can be used to solve current problems in our day-to-day lives. Our new education system also highly contributes....

‘SPACE 2019’ CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION

A group of women artistes, graduates of the University of Visual and Performing Arts, featured their collaborative and inclusive annual arts exhibition for the 6th consecutive year to mark ‘International Women’s Day,’ on March 8, 2019 at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo 7.