Text by Dilina Amaruwan Sri Lanka’s colonial history is not only written in books, but also in the country’s cityscapes. Among the many colonial legacies that we inherited, architecture is one to be particularly proud of. Especially in Colombo, the architecture styles of old are a welcome respite from cookie-cutter, glass-and-steel skyscrapers. The Galle Face Hotel – Arguably the most famous ...
Believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka, the Veddas play an important role in this country’s history. But today, the indigenous people’s numbers are diminishing, and their old lifestyles fading away. Only a few thousand Vedda people remain, and only a handful of them work to keep their heritage and customs alive. Globalisation, development, and constant change in ...
Colombo’s rapid growth has taken everyone by surprise. The once languid city that was content with its thé kades and terrible roads is now on the cusp of being a modern metropolis. Nowhere is this more visible than in Colombo’s fast-changing skyline. Where once growth was always along the ground, now, the veteran World Trade Center and Bank of Ceylon ...
Admit it – you get absurdly excited at the smallest mention of Sri Lanka in stories, books, or movies, don’t you? Don’t worry; we are all guilty of it – it’s one of the quirks of belonging to a small (and somewhat obscure) country. We do, however, tend to forget that this tiny island played a vital role in one ...
Note: This article contains a discussion on the topic of suicide. If you feel you are in crisis, or are concerned about someone likely to attempt suicide, talk to Sumithrayo (when dialling from within Sri Lanka, phone: 011 269 6666) or CCCLine (1333). Approximately 3,025 people committed suicide in Sri Lanka in 2016, with a death rate of 14.7 per ...
Ravana is a legendary figure who looms large in Sri Lankan and Indian folklore. It is said that the ten-headed monarch, also known as the demon king, ruled over the prehistoric kingdom of Lanka more than 4,000 years ago. While there is no archaeological evidence to show that King Ravana existed, several Puranic texts, including the Hindu epics, Ramayana and ...
From hungry schoolboys to drunken party-goers in the middle of the night, Pilawoos has entertained them all. This small restaurant sandwiched between the towering monoliths in Colpetty has an outsized reputation: its ice Milos and heavy, moist kottus are nothing short of legendary. The Original Hotel De Pilawoos The small restaurant in Colpetty is THE original Hotel de Pilawoos, famed ...
The Parsis of Sri Lanka are an intriguing community. They are very small; so small that you can count their families—the Billimorias, Captains, Choksys, Pestonjees, and Jillas—with your fingers. There are only around 40 Parsis in Sri Lanka at present. At no time during their residence here did their numbers exceed a couple of hundreds at most. Yet, the Parsi ...
Intrigued by the stories of Jaffna food, travel writer Sachin Bhandary makes a trip to the North in search of the true cuisine of the peninsula. It was close to nine at night when the old and tired Uttara Devi pulled into the shiny new Jaffna railway station. We were late at least by a couple of hours. As is ...
The Arabs of old were simply besotted with Sri Lanka, as is evident in the many names they bestowed upon our beautiful island, like Sailan, Sarandib and Jaziratul Yaqut or the ‘Island of Rubies’ ‒ which some say referred to our precious stones, and others, to our pretty women. Sri Lanka then, as now, was famed for many things like ...
Instinctively, everyone on earth starts their solid-food journey, fingers first. Utensils are introduced along the way, and in time, children are trained to master the art of elegantly poking, slicing, gathering, balancing and shoveling food into their mouths with them. In some cultures, however, such as our own, the use of one’s fingers in the process for eating remains primary, ...
With the final notes of Rag – The Musical still ringing in the alcoves of Colombo’s Wendt Theatre, the emotive subject of ragging has been bought once more into the public conscience. Deaths, suicides and serious abuse make up a long list of “major incidents” in this enduring black mark on university life in Sri Lanka. This year, there have ...
Sri Lanka’s ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Kandy form what most tourism brochures refer to as the Cultural Triangle. And rightfully so—five out of Sri Lanka’s six Cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites (and one of two Natural sites) are found within these three corners. Most visitors are drawn to these sites for the prospect of travelling back in time. ...
What is avurudu without lots and lots of food? A Sri Lankan New Year’s breakfast involves platters full of kavili ‒ round succulent kavum, crispy kokis, hot kiri bath, and spicy lunu miris. But not all the fun is in the eating. It can be just as fun to cook these special treats too. While it may seem daunting to ...
When we think of the Veddas, we often think of them as hunters, chasing after anything they can make a meal of. However, little do we realise that they had, and still have, something of a culinary tradition of their own, including some unique meaty delicacies only a forest dweller could come up with. This was especially so in the ...
We continue our survey of Old Colpetty with this sequel on More Colpetty Places and their Stories to take our readers on another trip down memory lane. The Colpetty of the roaring sixties and seventies was simply wonderful to be in. Life then was so easy and carefree. Those were the days when a group of playful lads known as ...
In one Sinhalese folk tale, a man scolded his wife who, furious, decided go to the jungle to get some poison berries to commit suicide. Coming upon some red berries, she mistook them for a poisonous variety. Finding them too bitter to eat, she took them home and roasted them. Again finding them too bitter, she ground them into powder ...
Sri Lanka has a lot of potential for cultivating fruits for both the domestic market and for export, thanks to its ideal tropical climate and the fact that agriculture is an important sector of our economy. However, many of our local fruits are confined to home gardens in rural areas and it is difficult to purchase them in the market. ...
Editor’s Note: This photo essay is part of our series on communities around Sri Lanka. Click here for more photographs on the Vedda community in the Gal Oya National Park. The Veddas are Sri Lanka’s indigenous people. Or as they call themselves, the Wanniya-laeto or the Forest Dwellers. Once a proud and independent people, they are now often reduced to ...
The Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF) is one of the most anticipated annual events in Sri Lanka. Organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, there are approximately 200-300 local and international stalls at the venue, ranging from books, stationary, and learning aids. It’s a definite crowd-puller, where you’d find senior citizens, school children, clergy, and many more people packed ...
