Sri Lanka: Spice Island or Bland Nation?
Located strategically in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was a hub in the maritime silk and spice routes for millennia. It drew traders from the east and west for both business and…
Author: Nalaka Gunawardene
Memories of War, Dreams of Peace
The long and bloody Sri Lankan war is over, and not a moment too soon. I really want to believe it. The alternative is too depressing to consider. Of course, there is…
Imagine and innovate to honour Sir Arthur C Clarke!
Sir Arthur C Clarke on Hikkaduwa beach, photo by Rohan de Silva Sir Arthur’s 90th birthday reflections (effectively his public goodbye) is available online at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qLdeEjdbWE&feature=channel_page During his illustrious career spanning over 60…
Sir Arthur C Clarke: A life-long public intellectual
91st birth anniversary on 16 Dec 2008 Sir Arthur C Clarke, whose 91st birth anniversary falls on 16 December 2008, once opened an essay on science and society with this pun on…
The man who refused to be His Master’s Voice
Book review of: Palitha Perera Samaga Sajeeva Lesin (Live with Palitha Perera) Surasa Books, Colombo; 2008 ‘What does Palitha Perera know about culture? He’s just a cricket commentator!’ That’s how a senior…
Media ‘Sakvithis’ in the dock in Sri Lanka?
In the past week, the name ‘Sakvithi’ has been causing ripples in Sri Lankan society and creating numerous news headlines — for all the wrong reasons. Sakvithi Ranasinghe, a populist tutor of…
Remembering A J Gunawardana: A creative public intellectual
September 2008 marks 10 years since the sudden death of Dr Ariyasena Jayasekera (A J) Gunawardana, an outstanding university teacher, writer/journalist, cinema personality and art critic. When he failed to regain consciousness…
Beyond ‘Babu SAARC’: Liberating airwaves for South Asians
Watching the current SAARC jamboree unfold over television news, my young daughter asked why none of the officials were smiling. The SAARC Secretary General, Dr. Sheel Khant Sharma, was always scowling. Others…
Mobile Phones in Sri Lanka: Everyman’s new trousers?
One day a few years ago, I found my uncle in a really bad mood. Enjoying his retirement after long years as a senior civil servant, he was highly agitated about what…
Consumer protection in Sri Lanka: Seeing beyond rice, coconut and milkfood
Consumer protection! It’s of those widely desired, critically needed yet rarely found practices in Sri Lanka. When it does happen, even falteringly, the practice is largely confined to everyday consumer goods, mainly…
Endangered: Our right to ’shoot’ in public
: Earlier this week, a leading Sri Lankan photojournalist was detained, questioned and released by police for taking photographs near a well-known Colombo school. According to news reports, Associated Press (AP) photographer…