Three years ago, I had just moved to London to complete my studies. My lectures had not commenced yet as I had left Sri Lanka a few weeks earlier than expected, in order to get accustomed to the ways and means of London. I had no close friends or relatives there at the time. So... More »
The Bodu Bala Sena has fired its second shot, this time targeting the good old burqa. They demand that the burqa be banned in Sri Lanka mainly on grounds that it is a threat to the national security, among other things. Surprisingly there are a fair number of people who are in sync with the... More »
The Bodu Bala Sena has fired its second shot, this time targeting the good old burqa. They demand that the burqa be banned in Sri Lanka mainly on grounds that it is a threat to the national security, among other things. Surprisingly there are a fair number of people who are in sync with the... More »
The time has come for all of us to stand together as a nation and make great progress to achieve what we couldn’t for decades thanks to a bloody war. But the unity in our country is under threat thanks to a few religious bigots who fuel racial hatred in Sri Lanka. I raised concerns... More »
They often say the children are like flowers that grow more beautiful the more you care for them. Dr. Haim Ginott, who was a child psychologist and a parent educator, once said “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression”. That is because they haven’t experienced the world yet, and even... More »
Sri Lanka is predominantly Sinhalese, of which the large majority are Buddhists. Their actions – even if only few are responsible – represent them as a whole whether we like it or not, especially when the news gets out of the island. We still cringe at the stupidity and shortsightedness of some Sinhalese during the... More »
The time has come for all right thinking Sri Lankans to join hands to build a Sri Lankan identity free of racial / religious extremism. But unfortunately we in Sri Lanka feel that greedy & gullible false “patriots” (if you can call them so) here, are being stealthily manipulated by interested parties from outside the... More »
Like many of my countrymen, I am proud to be Sri Lankan. Not only because of our proud history, ancient monuments testament to a great civilization and the warm-hearted hospitality of our people, but because of our enviable human development record. Sri Lanka has a human development index (HDI) that ranks in the high human... More »
Somewhere The state of our homeland Becomes a conversation piece (Have you heard the latest on the Geneva Report?) For people to deplore And pity And we frown Why can’t they also cherish and celebrate We ask, With the smell of the sea And the taste of thambili (not iced please) With the sound of... More »
Six years ago, in April 2007, I almost bid adieu to the world due to a car crash in Sri Lanka if not for the actions of two human beings: One, a Tamil good samaritan, Mr. Joseph, who cared enough to stop the vehicle to take me to the hospital despite any external wounds, before... More »
There is a Facebook group which is rather offensively named ‘No b—-, I ain’t Indian. I’m Sri Lankan’. As the name suggests, the group origins from the annoyance of Sri Lankans, mainly who live outside of the country, at being consistently identified as Indians. It has a long list of things like small idiosyncrasies and... More »
We’ve barely worked our way out of one ethnic conflict – and already trouble makers of Sri Lanka are starting up the next one. Anti-Muslim this and that – a small minority to be sure, but a frighteningly vocal one. They insist that we must protect ‘Sri Lanka’ and that they are ‘Sri Lankan’. To... More »
As time erodes the mind and a hundred thousand days run together in our thoughts, only the remarkable memories remain to us, clear, fresh and vibrant. With luck, we most easily recall the happy moments – the smiles, the laughs, and the loves. Often, though, the good times are overshadowed by the worst. For those like me, who were born ...
Often we are outraged by actions of some Sri Lankan citizens who do enormous harm to inter-communal harmony in our little island. However, we spend more time bashing them and their actions than thinking of ways to prevent such way of thinking. To me, the root of all things racist and prejudice in Sri Lanka can be traced down to ...
A question that keeps surfacing to the top regarding the BBS fiasco is what the pure “Buddhist view” is, regarding racism and/or discrimination or the idea of someone being better than the other. The idea that Sri Lanka is a “Sinhala Buddhist” country, and how by being a Buddhist in Sri Lanka that it somehow elevates you above others, is ...
They came from the north with their dotted heads , and they gave breath to your unborn sons with all their pain I know what I am and this is who I am, a beacon for your pillaging, and a tear drop under the sun Like Kandula knew his masters eyes, I’ll always know your true spirit lies deep within ...
Four years ago, Sri Lanka ended a cold-blooded war that had haunted the island for more than 25 years. The reconciliation process was going to be the next step, at least that’s what many people thought. Unfortunately, it seems like a dream when one considers the events that have unfolded over the past year or so. We have gone backwards ...
It was fifteen years ago, when I was still in school. My father, back then, was a teacher at my own school (oh the horror!) and he was to travel to India for a short tour with our under 15 cricket team the next day. So he had gone to the Kandy town to exchange some money into dollars, both ...
It is not for us to decide the times that we live in, but it is for us to decide what we do with them and that which we will do – or not do, for that matter – shall shape the future for those countless generations to come after us. Should we choose the right path – which inevitably ...
