Ashok Bajaj likes to keep his Presidents close and their First Ladies even closer. Washington DC’s best known Indian restaurateur presides over an empire of seven successful establishments in America’s power capital. Michelle Obama was seen dining at Rasika – one of the most awarded of the set – in a prelude to President Obama … Continue reading
Radhika Philip was crying when she wrote the first page of Reyna’s Prophecy, and she cried again when she wrote the last. “And it’s a happy book!” she says now laughing. We are sitting down to Radhika’s very first interview about her debut novel. Published by Harper Collins, Reyna’s Prophecy is a work of fantasy … Continue reading
The hot, dry month of March is particularly sacred to the devotees who flock to the Kannaki Amman kovils in Sri Lanka’s Northern Peninsula. The auspicious days of Panguni Thingal or ‘Mondays in March’ will come to an end somewhere in Mid-April but for her people, this Amman will always have something to offer. … Continue reading
Standing at the junction in Pettah, I let my nose guide me forward. Past the hot fragrance of dried red chillies heaped in their gunny sacks, past the subtler, earthy scent from the stores where rice merchants weigh their produce and the shops of the spice sellers where the aroma of cinnamon, clove and pepper … Continue reading
30km South West of Colombo port, the S.S Worcestershire lies some 60m deep – one of an estimated 200 wrecks that garland the island of Sri Lanka. Fascinated by its history, eager to rise to the challenge of a technical dive, Dharshana Jayawardena would later recall his descent to the ship, writing: ‘As always, a … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 