When it comes to his choice of writing implements, architect Channa Daswatte is undeniably a romantic. Flowing from the nib of his fountain pen might come a single element of design or the key structures that will eventually make up an entire hotel; alternately, it might be a note to himself or simply a quick … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Sita Goonetilleke: A Baker Needs Her Ovens
At the centre of Sita Goonetilleke’s little empire are two sturdy ovens. In their warm, glowing hearts, the basic ingredients of her trade, the butter and eggs, the flour and sugar, are transformed into that most beloved dessert – cake. “It’s a neat science,” Sita says, “It’s all to do with weights, measures and temperatures. … Continue reading
Upekha: A Red Trademark
Consider Upeka’s pottu: it is self expression uncluttered by symbolism – where women traditionally wore it as a badge of matrimony, she began wearing it as a single woman. Where women were presumed to be Tamil if they wore one, this Sinhalese woman felt comfortable keeping hers firmly glued on. “The only time I was … Continue reading
Tissa Ranasinghe: Sri Lanka’s Master Sculptor
Tissa Ranasinghe keeps his sculptures on a long, low table in his living room, shrouded in a white bed sheet. Under there, you will find the most unlikely companions – a faceless man astride a flying Garuda; a pair of lovers, entwined; a bull in a Red Indian head dress; the virtuous Kannagi and the … Continue reading
Srilal Perera, Elmo Alles, Sujatha Meegama and Roland Silva: On The Old Road Again
It begins in Kotte and ends in Kanda Uda Rata. Along the way, it passes through Hanwella, Ruwanwella, Hettimula, Ganethenna and Balana. The ancient Colombo Kandy route is 13 miles longer than its modern counterpart but it is not the added miles that would have defeated modern motorists. The palanquins and elephants that moved along … Continue reading
Srinath Jinadasa: Surviving 9/11
A decade ago to this day, Srinath Jinadasa wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that a plane had crashed into the building he worked in. When the North Tower reeled under the impact of the collision, it seemed to stagger upon its very foundations, swaying up to 20 feet back and forth, groaning and convulsing in … Continue reading
Nomad: Berlin’s Street Artist is Always on the Run
It keeps recurring – this conviction that I’m trapped in a comic book with my interviewee, a German who goes by the moniker ‘Nomad’. Taken anecdote by anecdote, the life of this Berlin-based street artist could easily be shaped to fit some alternate superhero myth. Consider all that flitting about Berlin by night and the … Continue reading
Juliet Nicolson: The Great Silence that followed The Perfect Summer
Seated on a veranda in the heart of Galle Fort, Juliet Nicolson is feeling the heat. Despite the inevitable discomfort, the sweltering weather is actually ideally suited to a conversation about her first book. ‘The Perfect Summer,’ is a work of non-fiction, a retelling of the events of the summer of 1911 through the eyes … Continue reading
Thaji: Dancing into the Spotlight
From a framed photograph on the wall, a benevolent Chitrasena looks on as his legacy is given new life. On either side mirrors reflect two lines of dancers clad in unrelieved black. Foremost among them is Chitrasena’s daughter Upeka, who in recent decades has been the company’s prized soloist. Just behind her, waiting in the … Continue reading
Actors / Playwrights / Writers
Delon Weerasinghe: Death Defying Acts
“The last time I was on stage, I ended up in the emergency room,” Delon Weerasinghe tells me. Pointing to a puckered brown spot on his palm, he says, deadpan, “this hole in my hand – it’s not the sign of the stigmata.” The scar dates back to the staging of Delon’s first play, ‘Thicker … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 