In his most recent reincarnation, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a green hero. The former governor of California was in India last week to attend the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), where he praised the Indian government for embracing the “solar revolution” and putting India on the path to increasing its solar energy capacity to 100 … Continue reading
“When I am narrating this story to you, I am thinking of how the Indian army [the IPKF] burned our house,” says Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, his voice strong as it comes over a phone call from Jaffna. “That itself was not the most painful thing – it was what was left behind. A cup, but the … Continue reading
You are stateless – you can lay claim to no nationality, and no nation claims you. You may have been born into anonymity as one of the persecuted Rohingya in Myanmar, your life encircled by fences of camps for the internally displaced, your only option to flee across the border to another refugee camp in … Continue reading
A new study is among the first of its kind in Sri Lanka – and its hearing from men that makes it so. ‘Broadening Gender: Why Masculinities Matter’ tackles the subject of gender-based violence, asking men, who are statistically many times more likely to be the perpetrators, questions about if and when they first committed … Continue reading
Two things are clear – Dr. Sarath Gunapala is a local celebrity and no one is more surprised than he to find this is so. Last week, an eager audience left only standing room in the small auditorium at the American Center, as they crowded in to hear a lecture by the Director of the … Continue reading
The library at the British Council has been left open after hours for a photo shoot. Actors cluster around tables near the entrance, debating their choice of costume and using a dark window as a makeshift mirror while they apply make-up. All the lights are on – illuminating the rows of bookshelves and the listening … Continue reading
The line of the equator runs through Mira Nair’s garden in Kampala, Uganda. The sprawling estate overlooks Lake Victoria; glittering blue under the warmth of an African sun, it stretches as far as the eye can see. At the heart of her garden, set with winding pathways and plants that have proved irresistible to the … Continue reading
Whether they agree with him or not, most scientists consider Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe a force to be reckoned with. His early career was marked by a string of honours – graduating in 1960 with a BSc First Class Honours in mathematics from the University of Ceylon, he went on to study at Trinity College and … Continue reading
Barbara Sansoni was 11 years old when she met Maria Montessori. Having fled to India after being exiled by Mussolini during WWII, Maria’s school in the Olcott Garden Bungalow already had a small complement of students. Now, here was this child in need of her guidance. Barbara, enrolled close by in a boarding school in … Continue reading
I never anticipated being quite so enthralled by the sight of a man vacuuming a spotless floor. It’s not just what he’s wearing – a white coverall with a hood – but the whole room around him. There’s nothing here in the way of interior décor – the worlds largest clean room is all function. … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 