In recent weeks, daily power-cuts have reminded Sri Lankans that a steady flow of electricity can be something of a luxury. However, in parts of rural Sri Lanka even interrupted power would be a welcome step-up from having to rely on kerosene. Now, researchers from the Kelaniya University’s Physics Department have hit on what could … Continue reading
Daisy has trouble with her table manners – she can’t seem to resist putting her feet into her food. Scolding her affectionately, Ayesha Perera urges the pregnant cow to step out of her feeding trough. Luckily, we’ve all been introduced already – Daisy, Molly, Elsa, Goldie and Preeti have just celebrated their second birthdays at … Continue reading
This is the question: How can he reconcile his love for jazz with a deep appreciation of Sri Lankan ritual music? For Dr. Sumudi Suraweera the answer was to literally fuse the two by building his own ‘hybrid’ drum kit. Paired with the sweet, clear notes of the piano and the heavy thrum of the … Continue reading
One imagines that somewhere on Prasad Pereira’s list of life’s essentials, you’d find ‘watching movies’ noted down just under ‘air,’ ‘water,’ and ‘food.’ “I’ve always been mad about cinema since I was really, really young and film making is very important to me,” he says, “it’s more than a career, it’s one of those things … Continue reading
Look out the plane window at the right moment and the sight of the Himalayas lining the distant horizon will take your breath away. Wreathed in clouds, peaks capped in snow and sunshine, they stand implacable against the elements. Landing in Kathmandu, you’re almost disappointed to find your view curtailed by Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and … Continue reading
Bowing before Saraswati for a few minutes at the start of every school term, Hindu schoolchildren in India pray for her blessing on their books and their efforts. Lankan writer Yasmine Gooneratne asks much the same of the goddess, though in her case, she is actually writing the books themselves. “There was a point in my … Continue reading
When Julia Child was dubbed ‘Our Lady of the Ladle’ in a Time Magazine cover story in 1966, she was already well on her way to becoming a towering figure (both literally and figuratively) in American public life. A one-woman cultural revolution, Julia penned well over a dozen cookbooks (starting with the now iconic ‘Mastering … Continue reading
It opens with a funeral. Hundreds of thousands of mourners dressed in black swirl around a solitary casket. Their voices raised in grief seem to fill skies, cloaking all of Buenos Aires in sorrow. They are heard loudest in the villas miserias and louder still in the elegant homes of the Argentinian elite. They cry … Continue reading
There are three naked children in the picture, but only one of them is malnourished. There’s nothing obvious to give it away – the boys look fairly healthy, the first even boasts a little paunch. When Nkosinathi Mbuya, senior nutrition specialist at the Human Development Unit of The World Bank, reveals that despite his round … Continue reading
Namita Gokhale chooses to give her speech sitting down but makes up for it by delivering an engaging and interesting talk. Considering there is a strike on, the small auditorium in the Colombo University building is surprisingly full. There are perhaps 40 people in the audience – about the number, Namita estimates, that attended some … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 