When Min Jin Lee published her multi-generational saga Pachinko in 2017, it took the literary world by storm. It landed on 75 best-of lists, was a finalist for the National Book Award — and made it into the ‘must read’ recommendations of former US president Barack Obama. The sprawling saga of sacrifice, oppression and resilience … Continue reading
July 29, 1999. Vasuki Nesiah was on her way to meet Neelan Tiruchelvam when she heard he would not be able to keep their appointment. As his course assistant, Vasuki had been working with Neelan, helping him to prepare for a constitutional law class that considered how the Tamil epic Silapadikaram and the Greek tragedy Antigone could be ‘sources’ … Continue reading
Philippa Gregory found Mary Boleyn when she was hunting for a female pirate. It was in a book about the Tudor navy that she discovered a ship named after Anne Boleyn’s sister. For a moment Gregory was certain there must have been a mistake. But there in the footnotes was Mary, and in her the … Continue reading
Jan Ramesh De Saram uses his phone as a torch, casting a small circle of light at his feet as he walks down the corridor. The passage ends in darkness, where bats squeak and flap their wings. A row of abandoned rooms are occupied only by an upturned chair or two, lonely rejects from the … Continue reading
Bettany Hughes was once described as the ‘Nigella Lawson of History’. Ask her about it now, and she bursts out laughing. In that moment, the similarities between the two women could not be more obvious — vivacious, uninhibited and good looking, both exert a magnetic pull on TV viewers across the world. However, the focus … Continue reading
It’s 9 a.m. on a Friday and the Old Dutch Hospital is barely stirring. Standing at the entrance, the World Trade Centre towers at his back, Mark Forbes has his gaze firmly fixed on the past. It’s what he’s become increasingly well known for – this ability to peel back the skin of crowded, bustling … 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
The crumbling remains of two forts (one Dutch, one British), an old barn once used to store arecanuts and some rare silver tokens bearing the legend Fanam are all that remain to tell the tale. They are all connected to Ruwanwella – one of the key points along the ancient road that once stretched all … 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
Smriti Daniel 