Thatti
I worked with Building Bridges on a four-month series of art and creative skills workshops at St. John’s College, Mattakkuliya. It is a co-educational school whose students come from diverse backgrounds in…
Culture
Killing Tuskers and Culling Hopes
“I just passed a polling place and it’s crowded. There’s no parking… There’s an electricity. It’s exciting.”[i] That was American activist Lecia Brooks (of the Southern Poverty Law Centre), referring to the…
In conversation with Tharanga Goonetilleke
Tharanga Goonetilleke is a Juilliard-trained Sri Lankan opera singer who has sung internationally, including with the New York City Opera, at Carnegie Hall and the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka while providing…
The Forgotten Brew: The Struggle for rights and representation in Sri Lanka’s low-country estates
It is easy to forget that Deniyaya is located in the Matara district. Many people travel here in order to trek through the Sinharaja rainforest. Few people stop to notice the sprawling…
Islamic principles of Justice and Human rights necessitate changes to the MMDA
AFP PHOTO / ISHARA S.KODIKARA, via Asia Times Reform of Muslim family law across the globe has taken onboard the need to establish women’s rightful position within the Islamic framework. The message…
Meetotamulla: A Symbol of Indifference and Injustice
Photograph courtesy SBS Australia The first omens of the Meetotamulla tragedy appeared in 2011, when several houses became compromised. In January 2013, part of the dump collapsed onto the Sri Rahula Primary…
What I Talk About When I Talk About Sri Lanka
When you tell people in Washington that you’re following Sri Lanka, you might get a strange look. You might get something worse than that. But you never really know. Please keep in…
The fabric of life
At the time of founding Selyn Handlooms in 1991, Sandra Wanduragala did not know much about the handloom industry, but this didn’t stop her. “I thrive on challenges,” she says, laughing. Despite having initial…
Laughing in the Dark
LONDON – As a former Soviet citizen, I can tell you: it’s never a good sign for a political system when artists start speaking out against it. And when their statements visibly…
MMDA: Personal Narratives – 4
This is the fourth in a series of video interviews conducted by sister publication highlighting the difficulties faced by women under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). Article 16 of the constitution states that existing written…
Beyond serendipity
I What do our new generation of parents, friends and neighbours, colleagues at work and future leaders think about cultural supremacy? 64% of Sri Lankans aged 15 to 29 believe their culture…
Dealing with Caste Prejudice and Inequalities in Sri Lanka
There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence of the wide prevalence of caste prejudice and occasional oppression spread across our island, particularly concentrated in some localities, notably in Jaffna, but focused research…
Leonard Cohen: The Stranger, the Master
The master of the modern love song, whose intricate and intense musical cartography of the relationships between men and women provided the soundtrack of our private lives, has come down like Moses…
A Podium to Spit Venom
Two days ago a video was posted on YouTube where a man named Abdul Razik belonging to an extremist sect that calls itself ‘Sri Lanka Tawheed Jamath’ (SLTJ) makes a speech in Sinhala in…
Chinese Whispering in Sri Lanka: On Gossip, Anxieties and Politics
Chinese whispering in Sri Lanka is suggestive of at least twofold meanings – literally and metaphorically. One has to do with the geo-political and international trade related issues, as many International Relations…
