It’s a story Robin Sharma loves to tell, especially as it so neatly elucidates his own thinking: “When I was growing up my father took out a piece of paper and he translated a Sanskrit poem onto that piece of paper that I have never forgotten. He took that piece of paper and he taped … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Haren Jayasinghe: Fists of Fury
There are 31 things you cannot do if you’re in the ring on a Colombo Fight Night (CFN). They cover the spectrum from No.2 (no eye gouging of any kind) to No. 29 (no timidity, i.e, you aren’t allowed to wimp out.) Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot – the space where pure … Continue reading
Michael Ondaatje: ‘The Cat’s Table’
‘He was eleven years old that night,’ reads the excerpt in The New Yorker, ‘green as he could be about the world, when he climbed aboard the first and only ship of his life.’ The lines from ‘The Cat’s Table’ appear right on time – going by his usual publishing schedule, Michael Ondaatje is just … Continue reading
Prof. Ramachandra Guha: A Student of Modern India
The New York Times dubbed Prof. Ramachandra Guha ‘perhaps the best among India’s non-fiction writers’; Time Magazine called him ‘Indian democracy’s pre-eminent chronicler’; In 2008, the Prospect (UK) and Foreign Policy (US) magazines listed him among the world’s 100 most influential intellectuals. But had it not been for an eccentric Englishman who died in 1964, … Continue reading
Upeksha Hager: on fashion design and story telling
In their vase on the table, the roses are in full bloom. Their colour is echoed in Upeksha Deegala-Hager’s vivid, red lipstick. We’re in her house, which also doubles as a design studio for her line of clothing U by Upeksha Hager. She is telling us that she designed the house with its blue wooden … Continue reading
Hiranya Peiris: Is there a Multiverse?
The multiverse: it’s a mind boggling, jaw dropping, spine tingling idea. Despite the many physicists who considered them an intriguing possibility, for decades multiple universes were considered the stuff of science fiction – there was simply no way of proving they actually existed. Now, Sri Lankan-born cosmologist Dr. Hiranya Peiris and her colleagues at the … Continue reading
Lahiru Jayatilaka: Creating a New Generation of Demining Experts
The robot in action at the Embilipitiya training camp in August 2009 The deminer robot loses its battle with the terrain after a mere 10 minutes – but for Lahiru Jayatilaka those ten minutes represent both an important achievement and a crucial lesson. That a machine designed and tested in the lab survived that long … Continue reading
Nethra Samarawickrama: Dowries, Dupattas and Doorsteps: Insiders and Outsiders of the Fort of Galle
Nethra Samarawickrama is most interested in the people whom history has neglected. Visitors to the UN World Heritage Site of Galle Fort find that the presence of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British is well documented. Inside the Fort’s upscale boutique hotels, colonial artefacts are lovingly preserved, colonial architecture painstakingly restored and tales of … Continue reading
Romila Thapar: The Myth of the Aryan Race
When a young Romila Thapar met Mahatma Gandhi, he charged her five rupees for an autograph (a donation to the cause) and admonished her for wearing silk instead of khadi. His advice made an impression. By the time I meet her, several decades have passed and one is still likely to find this famous historian … Continue reading
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
Dressed in bright red pants, a flowing white top and pretty sandals, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie lounges luxuriously on the cushions under the shade of a large tree in the GLF cafe. Despite her laid back air, it would be a mistake to underestimate Adichie – she’s tougher than she looks. In her first session, a … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 