The grass is alive. It’s after dark in Sigiriya and a full moon swims through a sea of stars above us. On my head I wear a headlamp masked by red tape (to protect the sensitive eyes of animals we encounter) and a pair of outsized wellington boots (to protect me from any irate reptiles … Continue reading
Archive of Memory, launched this month, is made up of voices from across seven decades of independence. In the introduction to the book – edited and curated by Malathi de Alwis and Hasini Haputhanthri, with the accompanying photographs by Sharni Jayawardena – the editors note that the publication is as representative of the diversity of … Continue reading
On Friday last week, just as the architect Channa Daswatte sat down for an interview with the Sunday Times, a ceiling was sliding into place at the Bentota Beach Hotel. Ena de Silva’s stunning batik design had been a key element in the building Geoffrey Bawa worked on between 1967 and 1969, and its restoration … Continue reading
The acceptance letter broke their hearts. Daniel Linsey had got into the university he had dreamed of studying at. Daniel had a learning disability, but it meant that he only worked harder. So at 17 he was volunteering in an Ethiopian orphanage and by 18, he was in Mongolia engaged as an English teacher … Continue reading
Zeynep Tufekci is no stranger to protests. The 90s found the Turkish social scientist in Chiapas, watching as the Zapatistas clashed with the Mexican state; in 2011, she was in Tahrir Square in time for the revolution; that same year found her in lower Manhattan for Occupy Wall Street, where the 99% gathered to demand … Continue reading
From the air, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium – built for the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 – resembles nothing so much as a leaf that has just fluttered to the ground. Designed by Kenzo Tange, its long elegant curves and ribs seem almost organic and yet its material is concrete. His first encounter with it, when … Continue reading
When Dr. Asha Abeyasekera spoke to a woman named Rojani in 2018, she heard that Rojani’s family had lived in 219 Watte since the 1950s. Rojani’s father had even been given a house-ownership card, issued by then President Premadasa’s government. “She had this whole file, though she was illiterate, she had kept these documents and … Continue reading
Marie Gnanaraj is 69 years old, and Marisa Gnanaraj is 38 years old. Officially, they’ve been collaborators for six years. Unofficially? It’s more like Marisa’s whole life. “Mum has been making fabric for the longest time, I have literally grown up with it,” says Marisa remembering the loom in their home, and how she and … Continue reading
All Amila de Mel had was one photograph and Sharmini de Saram’s memories to help her recreate a certain shade of pink. The complex colour, layered with rich undertones of mango yellow, dominates an external wall in the newly renovated De Saram House in Colombo 7. It was inspired by Druvi de Saram’s love … Continue reading
J.K. Methma Jayawardhana runs a business in which she might never meet her customer, even though her products are customised, intricate and deeply personal. The young entrepreneur is a graduate of the University of Moratuwa and founder of the brand Loha. “The main intention of ‘Loha’ is to reach passionate jewellery wearers through bespoke jewellery … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 