Sri Lankan gastronomy: In conversation with Koluu
Koluu is arguably Sri Lanka’s best known and most loved chef, and an actor to boot. We begin our conversation by going back to his childhood and looking at what prompted him…
Identity
Cultural Domination and Subordination among the Sinhalese: Colonialism, Resistance, Religion and Critical Discourse
Image from Rough Guides In my previous two articles I discussed Caste and Class domination and subordination. In this article, I am looking closely at cultural domination in the context of post-independent…
The invisible sexism in mainstream media
The ran this story today. Rather than critique it, we did a simple thing. We changed the gender of those mentioned in the story. If you think the following article is utterly…
“Strong Women”: A book review
In the post-war phase, discourse around women and their rights remains extremely weak. As such, attention must be paid to the day-to-day increase of violence against women and girls across the country.…
NO LABELS: International Women’s Day 2014
If there were no division, there would be no sides to be taken. We take stances as women’s organizations, LGBT collectives, racists, classists, as men as women. We call each other names…
In conversation with Lakshman Joseph de Saram
Lakshman Joseph de Saram is an internationally acclaimed Film Composer, classical musician & Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo. We begin our conversation by looking at Lakshman’s childhood –…
The ‘Post-colonial Grip’ and ‘Class Domination’: Sinhalese Upper and Middle Classes
At a time where there is much discussion on how the Western powers are dominating the world, in particular the global South including countries such as Sri Lanka, it is important to…
Reception of Buddhism in Lanka: An entanglement with worldly sovereignty?
Image courtesy [Constitutional amendments at Anuradhapura were signified by the erection of a new stupa; or as in the case of King Kasyapa, by moving the capital to another place. The ideological…
Sinhalese and their fear of freedom
Anagarika Dharmapala, A.E. Goonesinha and C.W.W. Kannangara, three of the radical champions of the early 20th century who were ‘managed’ by the conservative leaders who eventually negotiated ‘freedom’ from the British. With…
A failed test match and lost identity
Photo courtesy AFP/ISHARA S. KODIKARA At the post match conference after the third test against Pakistan, the captain of Sri Lanka said that his team lost; not because they were too negative…
Should a Muslim eat wedding cake? A note on interpellation and agency
A few days ago, at the wedding of two Sri Lankan Muslims, both of whose families hail from Mannar, families forcibly evicted from their homes by the LTTE in 1990, a married…
The niqab and the University of Moratuwa
Photograph courtesy The Agenda My name is Fathima Sahar, a first year student at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa. I am one of three students who are affected…
Nelson Mandela’s Legacy to the World: Some Less Celebrated Aspects
Photograph courtesy National Geographic Give me that man That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him In my heart’s core Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2 The death of the moral…
Diaspora Diaries: Reflections of the filmmaker
[Editors note: Also read the related post ] Kannan Arunasalam is a documentary filmmaker and narrative journalist. He was born in Jaffna, grew up in London, and returned to Sri Lanka in…
‘Diaspora Diaries’: Exploring Connections and Interactions with Sri Lanka
[Editors note: Also read related post ] In recent years, the prevailing image of the Sri Lankan diaspora in the media has been dominated by Tamil community activists’ human rights campaign, calling…
