Metamorphoses, writes Shehan Karunatilaka in his introduction to the Sri Lankan issue of PIX, “is the past becoming now; the broken becoming the whole as Sri Lanka is transforming, from war porn to tourist brochure; from third world mess to Asian hopeful. It is the dark ages before our renaissance, the difficult puberty that we’re … Continue reading
The world of high fashion is divided into people who have worn a hat by Stephen Jones and those who have not. In the former camp are the aristocrats you’d spot at Ascot and a dozen actresses including Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley and Cate Blanchett. There’s Carla Bruni Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron’s … Continue reading
Growing up Sri Lankan, Hindu and transgender in Lancaster, U.S.A would give D’Lo all the material he ever needed to be a comedian. His stories about a little boy “trapped” in the body of a girl born to conservative, immigrant Tamil parents are as hilarious as they’re heart wrenching; and they’re what he brought to … Continue reading
Though she was born in Sri Lanka, raised in Zambia and is currently resident in America, Dr. Neelika Jayawardane has long since resigned herself to being Indian. “In Africa, if you’re South Asian, you’re Indian,” she says. “They see us as one monolithic Indian, just as we see Africans the same way. Instead of being … Continue reading
For a journalist, meeting the cast of the Workshop Players’ forthcoming production of ‘Evita’ can be an intimidating business. One is faced not just with one, but four Evas and three Ches and two Perons besides. Do you blame me for saying ‘No, thank you,’ to meeting the Magaldis? High flying’ adored: From left, Dilrukshi … Continue reading
Isuri Dayaratne has been reading Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’ and she simply loves it. Martel’s strange but very precise description of one character in particular – Mr. Satish Kumar – got her hooked. ‘His construction was geometric: he looked like two triangles, a small one and a larger one, balanced on two parallel lines,’ … Continue reading
In recent weeks, daily power-cuts have reminded Sri Lankans that a steady flow of electricity can be something of a luxury. However, in parts of rural Sri Lanka even interrupted power would be a welcome step-up from having to rely on kerosene. Now, researchers from the Kelaniya University’s Physics Department have hit on what could … Continue reading
Daisy has trouble with her table manners – she can’t seem to resist putting her feet into her food. Scolding her affectionately, Ayesha Perera urges the pregnant cow to step out of her feeding trough. Luckily, we’ve all been introduced already – Daisy, Molly, Elsa, Goldie and Preeti have just celebrated their second birthdays at … Continue reading
This is the question: How can he reconcile his love for jazz with a deep appreciation of Sri Lankan ritual music? For Dr. Sumudi Suraweera the answer was to literally fuse the two by building his own ‘hybrid’ drum kit. Paired with the sweet, clear notes of the piano and the heavy thrum of the … Continue reading
One imagines that somewhere on Prasad Pereira’s list of life’s essentials, you’d find ‘watching movies’ noted down just under ‘air,’ ‘water,’ and ‘food.’ “I’ve always been mad about cinema since I was really, really young and film making is very important to me,” he says, “it’s more than a career, it’s one of those things … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 