Some of the most interesting moments in Aaron Burton’s film ‘My Mother’s Village,’ come when people sit watching themselves. There, captured on the screen, they are as they were over 30 years ago. The passing of time solidifies in that moment, etched in to the very lines of people’s faces. Chandrawathie’s face now, for instance, … Continue reading
For Part 1, look here. In Delhi, green tends to come in dustier shades, but there’s so much of it. The area adjoining Hauz Khas Village is a great example – the trees grow thick and a little wild but sadly the deer park appears bereft of deer. The village, swallowed whole by a ravenous, … Continue reading
Pic courtesy Dominic Sansoni–three blindmen photography Laki and his owls: he’s lost track of how many he’s sketched, sculpted and painted into life but the closest you’ll ever come to seeing them in the same place is in a book launched last week. ‘Laki’s Book of Owls’ delivers exactly what the title promises and catalogues … Continue reading
The biomedical in biomedical engineering ensures that Angelo Karunaratne’s raw materials are quite distinct from his counterparts who specialise in say, aeronautics. His playing field is the bridge that links medicine and engineering and he works not just with plastic and metal but with living tissue. With the completion of his PhD, the young Sri … Continue reading
By November 29, Dr.Nalin Samarasinha a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Houston, Arizona, felt like he had been on a rollercoaster. As Star gazers, professional and amateur alike, waited with bated breath to hear of ISON’s fate, reports began to pour in. A few hours before, the comet had attained perihelion, skimming … Continue reading
Rumours are popping up around comet C/2012 S1 faster than astrophysicists can squash them. No, there are no alien aircraft accompanying the comet known to the public as ISON; no, electric discharges didn’t link it and Mars when it flew by the red planet in October (the cameras of Rovers Opportunity and Curiosity didn’t even … 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
Howard Martenstyn was only 12 years old when his brother threw him overboard. Cedric and he were on a boat off the coast of Trincomalee and Howard didn’t know how to swim. Suffice to say, he learned quickly. He adored his older brother and from him he also learned to love the world’s wild places … Continue reading
As they enter the room, Russell ‘Teats’ Peters and Clayton ‘Toots’ Peters split up. Russell, one of the world’s most successful comedians, steps to the front where a long table is set up for the news conference. Watchful elder brother, Clayton sits right at the back. This is their fourth time on a major tour, … Continue reading
By the tender age of five, Mike Harridge was already an avid horticulturalist. He remembers his mother’s garden in their home in Havelock Town being crowded with fruit trees – jak, mango, guava and custard apple. For a little boy interested in the natural world, it was a paradise and he grew up on friendly … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 