Sumitra: Last Emissary of a Bygone Era
My Lunches with Orson is the title of a collection of interviews that Henry Jaglom, a US avant-garde filmmaker, did with Orson Welles over a period of two years (1983-1985). It is…
Culture
Peace, Religion and Religions
Religion doesn’t exist in the singular in reality. In the real world it exists only in the plural – over 4,000 religions although some place the number as high as 10,000. With…
The Extinct Art of Diving for Pearls
Braving sharks, venomous snakes and their own human frailty, the pearl fishers of the Gulf of Mannar would plunge deep into the depths of the Indian Ocean to secure their prizes; pristine,…
Jungle and the Sea: A Tale of Courage, Hope and Survival
Following the runaway success of his first play, Counting and Cracking, writer and director S. Shakthidharan has produced a new play called Jungle and the Sea, which has received enthusiastic reviews since…
Brilliance and Resilience
There have been dark times in Sri Lanka in 2022. Economic anxiety and disruption of existing supply chains for the essential services of food, gasoline, petrol and electricity led to profound distress…
The Never Ending Saree
Recently an attempt to prompt Sri Lanka forward into the 21st century was stymied. On November 21 some female school teachers posted photographs of themselves on social media dressed in their interpretation…
Love for Saree or Fear of Change?
A statement made by a teachers trade union has opened up another social debate. This is about the female teachers’ school attire. The union points out that just like in any other…
Religious Freedom and Coexistence: Beyond the Aragalaya
Himal Southasian With the onset of the Aragalaya earlier this year, discussions about harmony, unity and coexistence took center stage and became popular topics among people. The Aragalaya, and especially GotaGoGama at…
GotaGoGama: A Learning Curve
GotaGoGama is gone. Gota has returned. Things have regressed in the past two months or so. The nucleus of Sri Lanka’s popular protests have ceased to exist. Its last days were a…
Performance Art and Political Protest
Performance art is an offshoot of visual arts where the artist uses his or her body as a medium of communication. Performance art has always been interconnected with society and politics. Artists…
Women in the Estate Sector Face Many Layers of Discrimination
Maatram Women played a significant part in the growth and stability of the plantation economy throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Women were brought along with men by the British…
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s New Exhibition: Ecce Homo
The moment we live in is dire. It is a moment that has propelled citizens to fearlessly come forward to fight for sustainable and transformative solutions to systemic socio-political ills that have…
Dissent Art Comes Into its Own
There is a lot of blood; faces grotesquely distorted, hands dripping red, bared fangs and dismembered body parts. Disgraceful alliances are mocked, leaders are lampooned and ridiculed and suffering and repression are…
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s Covert at Venice Biennale
Welcome to this conversation with one of Sri Lanka’s most renowned artists, Chandraguptha Thenuwara. I don’t think those who are listening need an introduction so I will go straight into ? It…