A must-see, must-hear writer-lecturer-broadcaster is in town—Kenan Malik— the author of the book I am reading right now and one of the cleverest dudes of our times. Which town? If you glance to the what’s on listings on the top right column on the home page of iSrilankan you will see all three listed events in Galle, Colombo and Jaffna ...
By Lifeisnotabeach Dear Mr President, It is one year since I woke up to an ‘aha!’ moment in my life… A long awaited sense of freedom, not just freedom from terror, but also freedom of speech, freedom of living a life devoid of constant fear of being ‘watched and listened to’, a violation of basic human rights, stolen from us ...
“The setting sun flames up the sky. The sea is like molten lava. The people frolic in carefree abandon. It’s 2015 signing off.” Lilamani Benson Lilamani Benson is known for being herself: Lilamani. Yes, there aren’t many successful icons who will not be defined by being the CEO of a leading advertising agency but by being a lady who brings to her art, ...
I wouldn’t dare introduce Renu. She is a poet who doesn’t give a damn whether you read her poetry or not, a creator of food fusion that follows mood and emotion as one who is in a continuous sensual dance of life, which you may only sense by her writings, not imitate or follow. That is, until she decided to host a blog: Fenugreek from ...
Ok so with that corny header, here’s wishing all iSrilankans and friends of Sri Lankans who read this stuff, a YEAR OF STARBURSTS AND SPARKLERS, whatever lights up your sky! – twirling a few nilas with the kids, – hurling a few gundus (politicians eh? Navin Dissanayake already said on his Fb message to the world to expect a few surprises ;)) ...
No one trusts politicians and no one’s fooled by election promises really. Yet there’s been too many sad mornings after, after the riots, after the bomb, after the funeral, after the tsunamis, after the end of the war. Now the voters are voting and the band’s playing in August as it did in January. It’s amazing! It’s a reason to celebrate. It sets ...
THARINDU AMUNUGAMA Waves of sea, Break one upon the other, Rise again without a break. It opens the mind to Sansara,where birth is followed by death, In a continuous chain… May your mind in meditation, Seek to break this painful chain, Attaining Nibbana. Shanthini Amunugama Tharindu Amunugama captured this at panchakapa duwa,a monastery on a rocky islet off bentota river mouth. ...
GAYA’S INTRO: The author left his parents behind in Northern Jaffna to join up ten years ago, strangely coincidentally on May 19th 2005. He has much to remember… BY ARAVINTH RAJESH Ten years ago, this day this time… many things were in my head. Decided to leave home to bring many sleepless nights to an end. Leaving parents behind I made myself go forward to ...
BY DAVID BLACKER For those saying that Victory Day should be retained, and who use VE Day as an example, and also cite the reasoning that we need a day to remember the men who fell in the cause of national unity, let me point out a few things: VE Day is a celebration of one set of nations defeating another; ...
Ok, so it’s Mother’s Day. I’ve duly forwarded the poetic messages I received from my lovely friends to ten other mothers and acknowledged the hot pink roses and gift stickers on viber that another mum-friend sent me. My own mother passed away a week or so ago. However, when she did pass away, I had to do my duty to another lady ...
POPPY DAY? We didn’t have horses who died in battle. We didn’t have bagpipes. Poppies don’t really mean much to us in Sri Lanka. But the poppy campaign meant a great deal to the old war veterans when they came to Grants Advertising and asked for a creative poppy campaign, free of charge. Tikiri de Zoysa wrote an amazing ...
Dear friends, I am the most rubbish blogger or website writer or whoever. My motherhood and otherhood life is too busy and demanding to consistently write and respond on the digital media. I hardly have time to read. But this is different. At times like this, you are once again reminded of who you are and what hardship is borne ...
UDAN FERNANDO 20th August at 7 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Go get yourself and a friend a ticket. Details here ! Seeing Chamila Priyanka’s Meya Thuwakkuwak Nove left me with a flurry of thoughts, moved by the gust of politics created by the play. I still have not fully recovered. It was such a powerful play. I am ...
It’s Avurudu time. We live in Italy where there is no koha, alas. Other avurudu’s were sad and void of hope; in short, pretty hopeless. There was no end in sight. Kohas sounded hollow and Avurudu only meant that Southern Colombo people could leave the city for a long weekend confining themselves to safe cities outside the war zone. We ...
Gaya’s intro: The irony of this post below is that one year ago when the BBS were attempting to stir up anti-Muslim this was an iSrilankan Avurudu post 2013 echoing a campaign by non-Muslims to turn the current around: Buy Muslim without fail this Avurudu! UDAN FERNANDO Colombo and outskirts are having their usual ghost town character during the Avurdudu ...
GAYA FERNANDO Dear friends, diasporans, countrymen, Don’t lend your ears or your tongues to anyone these days, or who knows what will happen? That’s the general feeling today five years on from the end of war between the GoSL and the LTTE. Is this justified? When there is an arrest of a human rights activist, there is an immediate outcry ...
This is a copy of a Chapbook stamped by the Jaffna Library. This is where you can take a look at what’s in it. Gaya: What is a chapbook? Imaad: A chapbook is a publication that consists of less than 40 pages. They used to be sold by peddlers known as chapmen in the Early Modern period in England. The ...
