Standing at just 4’11, Thilini Gunasekera is used to being dismissed. It happened when she wanted to join the Air Force and study aeronautical engineering – she didn’t meet the height requirement. It happened again when she stepped into a classroom full of men to study how to become an automobile mechanic – except this … Continue reading
Exciting research based on finds at the Fa-Hien Lena (cave) in Kalutara are transforming anthropologists’ understanding of how Homo sapiens moved through our world some 45,000 years ago, while offering an explanation for why we are today the solitary survivors from a family tree that once included other hominins such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus. … Continue reading
… …A few hours south of the capital, the gardens at Lunuganga are still and quiet. Over the lake, clouds are gathering with the promise of rain. My guide and I go for long stretches without seeing anyone else. Pointing out places of interest, Isuru Randeni leads the way. Lunuganga was Bawa’s magnum opus, a … Continue reading
Earl Barthelot loves a good Portuguese Burgher wedding. There is always feasting – keep an eye out for that wild pork curry – and singing and dancing. The women in their flowing, silken gowns, and the men, all trussed up in formal suits, mirror each other’s movements as they dance the Kaffringha, their quick steps … Continue reading
A year after their daughter’s death, the Storries found themselves confronting a tsunami. Having gone on vacation to the Maldives, Graham and Mary and their sons were in a resort when the Sri Lankans working there began to get calls from home – the wave was on its way. “All the guests just barricaded themselves … Continue reading
When Sean Panikkar became the first person of South Asian descent to play Mahatma Gandhi in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha, it was the realisation of a lifetime’s dream. For the role, Sean had to shave his head, and learn how to inhabit the stillness and restraint that a portrayal of Gandhi called for. The performance itself … Continue reading
Lina Gedvilaite and Jacinta Lim like to talk about the time they went to Bali and met a driver named Ketut. They knew what they wanted to see – the truly local. Ketut’s response was to take them to meet local craftsmen in Bali’s remote villages. They were impressed by the guide’s knowledge and friendliness, … Continue reading
