We ring the bell and from behind the forbidding black gate a cacophony of barks rises to greet us. A smaller door swings open and Shyam Selvadurai pops out, all smiles. As we pass under the portico, I think that if Great Expectations had been set in Sri Lanka, Mrs. Havisham could have lived in … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Dr. Tilak Hewagama: Finding Methane on Mars
Looking up at the new moon, Leonardo da Vinci imagined something that no one before him had. The sight of the “old moon in the new moon’s arms” had long inspired poets even as it confounded scientists. Looking between the horns of the crescent moon, da Vinci hypothesised that the faint ashen glow that lit … Continue reading
Anuruddha Polonowita: Hitting a Perfect Pitch
It’s an open secret that Anuruddha Polonowita could help win your team the match. A spinner might ask him for a dry, dusty pitch that would allow the ball to careen in at an angle no batsmen could predict; a fast bowler would ask for a little moisture, a little grass, just enough to allow … Continue reading
Philip Hoare: A-whaling We Go
Philip Hoare is about to see his first blue whale. There, five miles out, the towering spout rises like a fountain in the middle of the undulating expanse. The height and width of this column of condensed breath (with traces of seawater and whale ‘snot’) is unique to this giant mammal. In a time when … Continue reading
Sasha Perera: Frontwoman of Jahcoozi
In spite of or perhaps because of the identical pale yellow plastic fork earrings dangling from each ear, Sasha Perera catches your eye and then keeps it. The child of a Sri Lankan Tamil father and a Sinhalese mother, Sasha was born in London, has lived in Singapore and Malaysia and is now based in … Continue reading
Dumith Kulasekera: Challenging Identity, Provoking Thought
When artist Dumith Kulasekera found himself staring for hours into the eyes of his mother, he discovered it wasn’t an entirely comfortable experience. “That was the first time we were doing that actually,” he says of his decision to ask her to pose for him. Titled ‘(The) M-Other,’ it was in part a meditation on … Continue reading
RJ Jay: Hooked on Radio
It’s 8 am, and Jay has already been up for three hours. In his one man studio in the Lite.Fm offices on fifth lane, he’s hard at work. The morning newspapers lie scattered around and Jay is flipping through them looking for something interesting to talk about. (He’s already spotted a piece on Sachin Tendulkar … Continue reading
William Fiennes: Once Upon a Time in a Castle…
If you grew up in a castle, and then had to write about it, you might find, as William Fiennes did, that your novel was a prime candidate for the genre of “a misery memoir”. Castles, after all, are high maintenance, and as William will tell you, very cold in the winters. Still, his book, … Continue reading
Marsh Dodanwela: The Monologue Man
A few minutes before his performance begins, Marsh Dodanwela has already begun to transform. He develops a marked limp to compensate for his missing toes; the white bandage wrapped around his four fingers does not conceal a slight tremor, beads of sweat and pain crystallise on his brow. When he speaks, his tone is self … Continue reading
Nimmi Harasagama and Heshani Sothiraj: The Auntie Netta Chat Show
Auntie Netta is trying to break free…and Nimmi Harasagama is going to let her. It is not a gradual transformation – her refined conversation slips into a screech, her chuckles take on a sinister edge as she begins to cackle and her gesticulations are so abrupt and enthusiastic you worry she will knock something over. … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 