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Groundviews

Culture

Year
Month
Colombo, Culture, Identity

Bridging the Cultural Divide Through Art

Sri Lanka is a pluralistic society where communities of different cultures and religions exist side by side. However, a 26 year civil war as well as attempts by political leaders to create…

Groundviews Groundviews on 05/21/202105/21/2021
Arts and Theatre, Colombo, Culture

Vajira – the Creator of Children’s Ballets

Histories of the tri-traditional dances of Sri Lanka – Kandyan, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa – generally highlight a handful of pioneering women, point out their significance as the first female dancers on…

Mirak Raheem Mirak Raheem on 03/28/202103/28/2021
Culture, Jaffna

The Gradual Renaissance of Arts and Crafts in the North

A destructive civil war, social upheaval, market forces and plastic have all played a part in the gradual erosion of Jaffna’s rich legacy of arts and crafts. A major dyeing and weaving…

Minoli de Soysa Minoli de Soysa on 03/12/202102/18/2022
Arts and Theatre, Colombo, Culture

“Eyes Only” Delves Into the Psyche of Sri Lankan Society

Artist Gayan Prageeth is exhibiting his latest collection, Eyes Only, at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. His work reflects a deep concern for the state of society and politics, delving into the psyche…

Groundviews Groundviews on 02/11/202102/12/2021
Colombo, Culture, Gender, Human Rights, Politics and Governance, Religion and faith

Eradicating the Barbaric Practice of Female Genital Mutilation

In a tribal region of Afghanistan, a sad 10 year old girl, heavily made up and veiled, sits silently at her wedding ceremony to a 70 year old man. In a rural…

Minoli de Soysa Minoli de Soysa on 02/06/202102/20/2021
Colombo, Culture, Gender, Human Rights, justice, Long Reads

A Tribute to Malathi de Alwis and Her Work

Malathi de Alwis, friend, mentor, teacher, feminist, anthropologist, birder, foodie and the most amazing cook, passed away on January 21. As we mourn this utterly devastating, untimely loss of one of the…

Chulani Kodikara Chulani Kodikara on 01/26/202101/26/2021
Colombo, Culture, Human Rights, Identity, Peace and Conflict, Remember the Riots

Watching Funny Boy in Sri Lanka: A Review

We watched the film, Funny Boy, directed by Deepa Mehta and adapted from Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 novel, twice. We were surrounded by the numerous debates  and controversies about the film. The first…

Sarala Emmanuel Sarala Emmanuel on 01/15/202101/15/2021
Colombo, Culture, Pandemic, Politics and Governance, Religion and faith

Equality, Difference, Religion and Ethnicity in South Asia

There is a tension between “equality” and “difference” in modern South Asia. The tension defines South Asia when it comes to religious and ethnic issues. It is manifest at the individual, community…

Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy on 01/07/202101/07/2021
Colombo, Culture, Religion and faith

The VIGED, the Vulnerable and the Wise: Thoughts on the Birth of Jesus for Our Times

At the outset In the 19th Century a French sociologist Emile Durkheim coined the acronym ‘anomie’ to describe the then growing absence of norms in society. Today, global trends of governance under…

Bishop Duleep de Chickera Bishop Duleep de Chickera on 12/27/2020
Colombo, Culture

Cancel Culture and What It Empowers

A brilliant friend of mine at university was upset one day because someone had vandalized her final exam results on the printout the University had pinned up on the board. She had…

Devika Brendon Devika Brendon on 12/09/202012/15/2020
Arts and Theatre, Cartoon, Colombo, Culture, Memorialisation, Pandemic, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Satire

Corona with the Big Brothers

It is increasingly evident that the lasting impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic will not be merely health related. In the early stages of government efforts to contain the virus and over the…

Vikalpa Vikalpa on 11/02/202011/02/2020
Culture, Identity, Jaffna

A Review: Arumuga Navalar and ‘Heritage History’ Deconstructed

Ratnajeevan Hoole, 2020, London: Thesam Publications, i-xxvii, 327 pages. Professor Ratnajeevan H. Hoole’s book on Jaffna Heritage Histories is a fascinating critique of several strands of invented recent histories of Sri Lanka’s…

Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda on 10/17/202010/17/2020
Badulla, Culture, Identity, Nuwara Eliya, Photos

Thé Kahata Exhibitions: Discovering the Creative Expression of Plantation Youth

Despite their contribution to the lucrative tea industry of Sri Lanka, the voices of plantation workers often go unheard and their potential  unrecognised.  is a series of photographic exhibitions organised by the…

Groundviews Groundviews on 09/11/202009/14/2020
Colombo, Culture, Long Reads, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance, Religion and faith

The Past and the Present in the (Re)Constitution of the State

By Asanga Welikala and Roshan de Silva-Wijeyeratne The election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019 marked the beginning of a new era of a Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ascendancy in Sri Lanka. The…

Asanga Welikala Asanga Welikala on 08/25/202008/26/2020
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Culture, Elections, Politics and Governance

The Coming Constitution of the Civilization-State

The governing party’s general election campaign is centred on obtaining a two-thirds majority in the next Parliament. It is expected that the governing party will fulfil its wish – if not directly,…

Asanga Welikala Asanga Welikala on 07/08/202007/09/2020

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