Colombo Development: A Highway to… a Very Hot Place?
Photo by the author The causes of global climate change are myriad, and not all of them are within our control, but driving down the brand spanking new airport highway the other…
Development
Slums, shanties or stories?
Image courtesy Sharni Jayawardena and Tarika Wickremeratne, Walkabout: Slave Island An article titled A slum and shanties free Colombo by 2020 recently published on the infamous defence.lk site notes that, “Our effort…
Invisible architectures: Thoughts on Walking Path
Franz Kafka, ‘Beyond the Law’ Designed and directed by Jayampathi Guruge and scripted by Ruwanthie de Chickera, ‘Walking Path’, performed recently at the Lionel Wendt offered an interesting critique of Colombo’s post-war…
“Walking Path” – A play without words
A play without words is a risky proposition. Why would a theatrical production abandon one of the most powerful tools at its disposal? In a performative audio-visual medium like theatre words can…
From shanty to home : Myth vs reality of Colombo’s Urban Regeneration Project
Photo by Abdul-Halik Azeez, courtesy The Picture Press The ambitious Urban Regeneration Project (URP) launched by the Ministry of Defense and Urban Development aims to transform Colombo into a world-class destination for…
“Where are the Sri Lankan Female Scientists?” A Case of Democratizing Science
Photo by Reuters, courtesy International Business Times In recent decades, many researchers, education specialists and policy advocates have paid increasing attention to the issue of gender bias in science. While several successful…
Tiananmen Square, Egg Wash and Tank Man: Reflections after 25 years
AP Photo/Jeff Widener, courtesy ‘s terrific photo essay ‘Tiananmen Square, Then and Now‘ In 2009, Canadian author Denise Chong published a book called . The main subject of the book is a…
Engaging issues of caste – the forbidden subject
Image courtesy Wikipedia Caste is observed by the overwhelming majority of Sinhalese and Tamils but the subject remains virtually taboo in public discussions. If it is mentioned in public, it is often…
The Colombo Port City Development Project
Paving paradise to put up a parking lot with a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin’ hot spot? In the words of Nobel laureate and economist, Amartya Sen, freedom is the…
War, Peace, Pluralism and Prosperity
Image via Whole Planet Foundation “The victor belongs to the spoils” F. Scott Fitzgerald observed, and this is being played out in Sri Lanka as it tries to find its balance five…
Erasing Identities: Tracing Sri Lanka’s Post-war Journey through the Changing Realities of Trincomalee
Introduction When I went to Trincomalee last November with a few university friends I noticed a distinct unfriendliness in the air. While growing up, I often visited Trincomalee, because my cousins lived…
Keep Off the Grass
Photo courtesy Pri’s blog Colombo has been blossoming under the keen watch of Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who, in his self-appointed role as Godfather, presides over a grand plan of urban beautification…
Colombo’s changing cityscape
Introduction Since the end of the war in 2009, reconstruction and development in Sri Lanka has centred primarily on rapid economic development (Bopage, 2010; Goodhand, 2011). This can be seen in the…
Will the space between lagging development and devolution be occupied by ‘Prabahakaranism’?
Photo credit Amantha Perera, IPS The current dialogue between development and devolution is taking too much time, getting too drawn out. Very little information on the process is available for effective public dissemination. …
An economy that unites, reconciliation that divides in Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy There are some issues that divide Sri Lankans and there are some issues that unite Sri Lankans. While the cost of living, unemployment and education bring the opinions of the…
