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
C-H-A-M-M-I. Chandima Rajapatirana’s first word, painstakingly spelled out, letter by letter, was a revelation. He had had no means of communicating in the 17 years that led up to this moment. Few suspected he had anything worth saying. Raised by his Sri Lankan parents in the US, he was first diagnosed with autism at the … Continue reading
Among all the pens carried in to South Africa in the early 1980s was one that concealed a secret. Hidden in its casing was a microfilm, a mini-reproduction of an extraordinary book that would soon be printed and distributed widely through underground, anti-apartheid networks. Published originally by a Sri Lankan professor in distant Australia, it … 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
When Lal Medawattegedara asks me for a pen and paper, it isn’t to write. Instead, the winner of the Gratiaen Prize for 2012 intends to try his hand at drawing. Outlined on my pad is the MGK of his title, a mountain known as the Maha Geeni Kanda for how its silhouette resembles the shape … Continue reading
Author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera seems in equal parts amused and amazed that the first line in her debut novel has managed to generate so much fuss. The prologue opens on a couple, who’ve just finished making love. She’s still awake, he is asleep, her sister’s name on his lips. “I … Continue reading
The quiet click of an arrow being notched is followed by a muted thud as it embeds itself in a bolt of straw. The sounds carry over the gentle patter of rain drenching the quiet garden in Thalawathugoda where Keerthi and Lalani Wickramarathne run their dojo. Here, the couple teach the ancient martial art of … Continue reading
Maya Krishna Rao is pleased to find herself here, on the isle of Ravana. She’s been in pursuit of this elusive king for years and yet his essential nature continues to elude her. “It’s special to be here because in Sri Lanka, you’ve feted the man, and given him all the status that he actually … Continue reading
From a framed photograph on the wall, a benevolent Chitrasena looks on as his legacy is given new life. On either side mirrors reflect two lines of dancers clad in unrelieved black. Foremost among them is Chitrasena’s daughter Upeka, who in recent decades has been the company’s prized soloist. Just behind her, waiting in the … Continue reading
A single sentence on the back of Chandima Rajapatirana’s t-shirt reads ‘nothing is impossible’. As far as personal mottos go, this one suits its wearer to a tee. Diagnosed with autism and apraxia as a four- year- old, Chandima has defied the prediction of specialists. The man who they recommended should be institutionalised is today … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 