In 1996, Bijoy Jain and Geoffrey Bawa met twice in one day, the first time by chance, the second by design. Between those two meetings, Bijoy’s appearance changed dramatically – he had shaved his long hair off completely and was now bald. What Bawa made of the young architect (and his extreme haircut) we don’t … Continue reading
Asha De Vos and her watch have been all but inseparable for nearly 15 years. A gift from her father, well-known architect Ashley De Vos, the watch was an acknowledgement of what her family recognized as Asha’s “strong desire to be at least five minutes early to anything I attended or did.” Punctuality, however, isn’t … Continue reading
Dr. Michael Van der Poorten keeps his garden well stocked with poisonous plants. A few leaves from the patch of Kalanchoe growing in the shade are enough to make up a fatal dose while the slender vine of Tragia spp, a stinging nettle, lies close to the path, ready to inflict intense itching on anyone … Continue reading
Could we have already braved the worst case scenario? It’s small consolation, but new research suggests that something along the lines of the 2004 tsunami, which left such crippling devastation in its wake, is the direst Sri Lanka could face. Using computer modelling, Dr. Janaka Wijetunga, a senior lecturer at the Department of Civil Engineering, … Continue reading
91 days will teach you a lot about a country. Since they moved here in early February, Jürgen Horn and Michael Powell have found that the quickest way to gather a group of Sri Lankans is to get into a car wreck. They’ve become addicted to kottu and thambili, learnt that baby elephants sometimes like … Continue reading
Don’t call Jay Jay a magician – he’d rather be known as an illusionist. (He considers the latter designation the “more classy” of the two.) Whatever you dub him, it doesn’t make what Jay Jay accomplishes any less clever – employing suggestion and misdirection, artifice and guile he convinces you to believe, however briefly, in … Continue reading
She doesn’t like the words ‘bucket list’, considers allowing oneself negative thoughts a form of self-defeat and bristles at the implication that it’s time to retire ‘Let’s Get Physical’. “You think it stops now?” she asks my colleague, obviously enjoying putting a journalist on the spot. A few minutes later she says, “Someone told me … Continue reading
A dark sky filled with stars hangs above the city, but down at the Bayou Mansions the women in leopard print are still awake. They are singing, their scowling white faces filled with malice and disenchantment. One of those faces belonged to Suzanne Andrade and by the time I meet her I am used to … Continue reading
Prof. Narendra Nayak doesn’t believe in miracles. He’s manufactured too many of them himself to do so. So what if the mystic can light a lamp with water or a place a flaming ball of camphor on his tongue? It proves little if the priest can pull holy ash out of thin air or pour … Continue reading
You should know this: my decision to Snuba is a real act of courage. I once got seasick just watching a documentary about the ocean, my mediocre freestyle keeps me partial to the shallow end of any pool and I last owned a swimsuit in 2005. You might think that my borrowed swimsuit and I … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 