[COLOMBO] Lack of reliable data on forest resources could prevent Sri Lanka from immediately accessing UN funds pledged to help the island nation reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, a new study said. Sri Lanka was last month (25 March) promised initial funding worth US$ 4 million from the UN-managed, multi-partner trust fund to reduce … Continue reading
By the time I heard Sonali Deraniyagala’s voice over a Skype call, I had been waiting for months to talk to her. In that interval, I had read and re-read her impossibly poignant memoir Wave while watching the reviews proliferate online. Praise abounded (Michael Ondaatje dubbed it ‘the most powerful and haunting book’ he had … Continue reading
Moviemakers have coaxed Sri Lanka into costume more than once—that’s her masquerading as a small Indian village that needs Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking assistance in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and there she is again, looking like Thailand and the site for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). In Tarzan, the Ape Man(1981), you’re supposed to mistake … Continue reading
There are only five in existence. Ananda Pilimatalavuva’s ola leaf manuscript is more than two centuries old, and he treats the long, dried palm leaves with care. Typically, the thin, spidery writing would belong to an astrologer or a priest, but this is actually the work of royal chefs. On its pages are 103 recipes … Continue reading
It turns out that 200,000 Sri Lankan rupees (around Rs 8,000) is just enough to publish a modest number of books. Enabling that first run is what the Gratiaen Trust does for its winners. The trust was instituted by Michael Ondaatje with his winnings from the Booker Prize for his novel The English Patient in 1992. Today, … Continue reading
Avinash Kumar treats the name B.L.O.T as part instruction manual, part personal philosophy. An acronym for Basic Love of Things, B.L.O.T is a two man audio-visual collective. Avinash’s friend and collaborator Gaurav Malaker is in charge of the music, while Avinash is the resident VJ. Having performed in Colombo before, Avinash was back to lead his … Continue reading
Under a blazing sun, a forest of metal towers shimmer. The constant rumble of heavy machinery fills the air, as clouds of dust are kicked up by bulldozers and big trucks. When it’s complete, the New Chilaw Grid Substation currently under construction will supply the island’s North Western Province with an estimated 450MW of power. In … Continue reading
For many years the only dwarf Randika Cooray saw was the one in the mirror. Born with achondroplasia, Randika had a genetic condition that resulted in disproportionately short arms and legs. Short though they may be, Randika’s limbs didn’t let her down at the 2013 Dwarf Games held in Michigan, U.S.A. The biggest yet, the event … Continue reading
It was 2008 going on 2009 when Sharad Amalean turned to his elder brother Mahesh Amalean and said, “This is going to unravel completely.” It wasn’t news to Mahesh, who as Chairman of MAS Holdings had watched as the company reeled under the economic downturn. As orders dropped, they had had to lay off people … Continue reading
Each episode of the television show ‘America’s Got Talent’ draws anywhere between 10 and 12 million viewers in the United States alone. This is the largest audience Sean Panikkar, 31, has ever performed for and it makes for an unusual twist in an already very successful career. Having been voted through to the semi-final round … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 