“When one reaches the 80th year, one enters the realm of the legendary octogenarian,” writes Dr. R.O.B. Wijesekera. “There is little to look forward to, save the antics, memorable as they are, of grandkids; and then there looms the danger of ill-health, incapacitation and the manifestations of infirmity. In compensation, however, there is a world … Continue reading
Category Archives: Researchers
Srilal Perera, Elmo Alles, Sujatha Meegama and Roland Silva: On The Old Road Again
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
Juliet Nicolson: The Great Silence that followed The Perfect Summer
Seated on a veranda in the heart of Galle Fort, Juliet Nicolson is feeling the heat. Despite the inevitable discomfort, the sweltering weather is actually ideally suited to a conversation about her first book. ‘The Perfect Summer,’ is a work of non-fiction, a retelling of the events of the summer of 1911 through the eyes … Continue reading
Dr. Tilak Hewagama: Finding Methane on Mars
Looking up at the new moon, Leonardo da Vinci imagined something that no one before him had. The sight of the “old moon in the new moon’s arms” had long inspired poets even as it confounded scientists. Looking between the horns of the crescent moon, da Vinci hypothesised that the faint ashen glow that lit … Continue reading
Philip Hoare: A-whaling We Go
Philip Hoare is about to see his first blue whale. There, five miles out, the towering spout rises like a fountain in the middle of the undulating expanse. The height and width of this column of condensed breath (with traces of seawater and whale ‘snot’) is unique to this giant mammal. In a time when … Continue reading
William Fiennes: Once Upon a Time in a Castle…
If you grew up in a castle, and then had to write about it, you might find, as William Fiennes did, that your novel was a prime candidate for the genre of “a misery memoir”. Castles, after all, are high maintenance, and as William will tell you, very cold in the winters. Still, his book, … Continue reading
Academics / Chefs / Researchers / Writers
Ananda S. Pilimatalavuva: Recipes from the Cookery Book of the Last Kandyan Dynasty
Ananda S. Pilimatalavuva lives a quiet life in the same town where his distant ancestors were once known as ‘King Makers’. Under the Naayakkar (Vaduga) Kings of Kandy, four Pilimatalavuvas were appointed Maha Adikarams. The third held sway for two decades, and served as a Chief Adigar or Chief Minister to two kings. The story … Continue reading
Hiranya Peiris: Is there a Multiverse?
The multiverse: it’s a mind boggling, jaw dropping, spine tingling idea. Despite the many physicists who considered them an intriguing possibility, for decades multiple universes were considered the stuff of science fiction – there was simply no way of proving they actually existed. Now, Sri Lankan-born cosmologist Dr. Hiranya Peiris and her colleagues at the … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 