If you know where to look, you can find the numbers all over Ena de Silva’s house. Faded yet still legible, the white scribbles mark each tile in the parquet floor, each pebble and boulder in the sunny interior courtyard. Under their layer of paint, the bricks are numbered, and so are the columns and … 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
Embossed on the gold coin is the arrogant profile of Alexander the Great. On it, the young conqueror’s features endure: his luxuriant curly hair and the crooked line of his broken nose; his elongated cheeks and large, unblinking eyes. Curiously though, his head is covered in the scalp of an elephant, its trunk curling triumphantly … Continue reading
It begins in Kotte and ends in Kanda Uda Rata. Along the way, it passes through Hanwella, Ruwanwella, Hettimula, Ganethenna and Balana. The ancient Colombo Kandy route is 13 miles longer than its modern counterpart but it is not the added miles that would have defeated modern motorists. The palanquins and elephants that moved along … Continue reading
When a young Romila Thapar met Mahatma Gandhi, he charged her five rupees for an autograph (a donation to the cause) and admonished her for wearing silk instead of khadi. His advice made an impression. By the time I meet her, several decades have passed and one is still likely to find this famous historian … Continue reading
The shark tooth ornament seems too small and delicate to have survived so many centuries unaltered. The two people who wore it lie beside it, but on them time has taken a heavier toll. Their bones lie scattered in the quiet cave, and are unearthed in pieces. Buried with them is the debris of their … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 