Josceline Dimbleby’s culinary lexicon has only expanded with her travels. In India, she fell in love with the delicacy of Gujarat’s Jain influenced vegetarian dishes and in Turkey it was Tavuk Gogsu, that famous, tender dessert made with milk and chicken’s breast; in Morocco, it was pigeon pie Bastilla that made her mouth water and … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Kumar ‘The Kumanator’ Pereira on the Masterchef Experience
They called him ‘The Kumanator’ – whether it was figuring out how to cook a giant ostrich egg or making a Lebanese baklava without a recipe, Kumar Pereira was your man. When the genial 62-year-old became the oldest competitor ever to make it into the top 12 of Masterchef, Australia, he did more than break … Continue reading
Suranga Ranawaka: Road from Elephant Pass
Trailing a shimmering shawl and dressed to kill, Suranga Ranawaka is a picture of glamour, something that is only emphasised by her surroundings – a newspaper office in the middle of a working week. In fact, you might be hard pressed to identify the perfectly turned out young woman as the same one who stood … Continue reading
Architects / Gardeners / Musicians / Painters / Sculptors
Laki Senanayake: At Home in Diyabubula
Laki Senanayake – painter, sculptor, architect, landscape designer, and inventor – is woken from deep sleep by someone tugging on his toe. There are strangers in his house and they have one question – can we see the garden? As he has so many times before, Laki says yes. Sri Lankans have long embraced Laki … Continue reading
Prof. Osmund Bopearachchi: Uncovering the True Face of Alexander The Great
Embossed on the gold coin is the arrogant profile of Alexander the Great. On it, the young conqueror’s features endure: his luxuriant curly hair and the crooked line of his broken nose; his elongated cheeks and large, unblinking eyes. Curiously though, his head is covered in the scalp of an elephant, its trunk curling triumphantly … Continue reading
Louis de Bernières: “I Don’t Want Readers Who Can’t Concentrate.”
Could he write a book that rivalled ‘War and Peace’? When Louis de Bernièrespublished ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ in 1994, he was 40, nearly the same as age as Leo Tolstoy was when the latter released his iconic novel in 1869. Though many tumultuous decades separated the two men, Louis’s ambition was to produce a novel … Continue reading
Ashan Pillai: Life with Sebastian
The day Sebastian came into his possession, viola maestro Ashan Pillai found himself watching a film about a twice martyred Christian. It is written that St. Sebastian first survived being shot through with arrows before succumbing to a brutal clubbing for daring to criticise the Emperor of Rome. (In later years, he would be called … Continue reading
Sumitra Peries: A Splice of Life
Over the course of a long career in cinema, Sumitra Peries estimates she may have edited anywhere between 10 to 15 movies. These include films such as the groundbreaking ‘Gamperaliya’ (1964) which was directed by her husband, the iconic filmmaker Lester James Peries and ‘Gehenu Lamai’ (1978), the film that marked her own directorial debut. On ‘Gehenu … Continue reading
Saskia Fernando: A Miniature Good Luck Charm
Saskia Fernando keeps her art gallery filled with exquisite things. However, her most prized possession has never been on display. Instead, the delicate miniature sculpture is kept nestled inside her jewellery box. The statue of a venerable teacher with his student is a netsuke, a form of miniature sculpture that was invented in Japan in … Continue reading
Dr. Sean Amarasekera: I Heart Darth Vader
Darth Vader’s name may have become synonymous with evil but Dr. Sean Amarasekera loves him anyway. So much so that a statue based upon the character, complete with a glowing red lightsabre and chest and belt panels which actually light up, is Sean’s most prized action figure. Sean is a collector of such memorabilia – … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 