Last week, I wrote in my Ravaya column (in Sinhala) about Lankan writer Deeman Ananda (1933-2007), who wrote over 1,000 books of crime fiction, detective fiction and other thrillers in Sinhala from 1960s well into the 1980s. I had lots of reader responses – many of them thanking me for the info and insights on […]
This week in my Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I pay tribute to Lankan writer Deeman Ananda (1933-2007), who wrote over 1,000 books of crime fiction, detective fiction and other thrillers in Sinhala from 1960s well into the 1980s. Deeman’s books provided light entertainment and were highly popular among a whole generation of young readers, many […]
This week in my Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I discuss the role o literary translations in connecting cultures – both within Sri Lanka (across different linguistic groups) and linking Lanka with the rest of the world. Inspiration for this column came in part from the Colombo International Book Fair 2014 (Sep 10-16), and the launch […]
Indian social and environmental activist Dr Vandana Shiva visited Sri Lanka in June 2014, and delivered a well attended public lecture in Colombo. She also joined the launch of a Sinhala translation of her book ‘Stolen Harvest’, written in 2000. The translator, Sydney Marcus Dias, sent me a copy recently and I have quoted from […]
Read Sinhala version of this note: තරු අතරට ගිය දරුවා: ආතර් සී. ක්ලාක්ගේ ළමා කාලය පොතක් ලෙසින් A new Sinhala language book, being released this week, traces the formative years of Sir Arthur C Clarke (1917 – 2008), author, undersea explorer and futurist. Titled ‘Tharu Atharata Giya Daruwa: Childhood of Arthur C Clarke’, the book […] ...
Promo note for my latest Sinhala language book, being released this week at Colombo International Book Fair to be held from 10 – 17 September 2014. Award winning science writer Nalaka Gunawardene’s latest Sinhala book, Kaala Bomba One Kara Thibe (‘කාල බෝම්බ ඕනෑ කර තිබේ!’ = Wanted: Time Bombs of the Mind!), will be released […]
Originally posted on When Worlds Collide, by Nalaka Gunawardene:Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today newspaper on 5 September 2014 Small island nations are in focus this week, as well as throughout this year. The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was held from 1 to 4…
Although it has been discussed for centuries, there is no universally accepted definition of basic human needs. During the 1970s, basic needs emerged as a key topic in development debates. Various studies – catalysed by UN agencies and the Club of Rome – tried to define it. In 1976, the International Labour Organization (ILO) prepared […]
Originally posted on When Worlds Collide, by Nalaka Gunawardene:Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today newspaper on 29 August 2014 Diesel fuel sulphur status – June 2012, Map by UNEP Progress is slow and incremental. Those who take all-or-nothing positions often end up with…nothing. So let’s hail Sri Lanka’s leading…
If there’s one thing (many) South Asian nations have in abundance, it’s people. Now, countries of this populous region are competing to hold the world record in an unusual phenomenon called the human national flag. On 23 August 2014, more than 35,000 Nepalese came together in Kathmandu’s city centre to form the world’s largest “human […]
Originally posted on When Worlds Collide, by Nalaka Gunawardene:Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today newspaper on 22 August 2014 Hethuwaadi Lipi (Rationalist Essays) edited by Ajith Thilakasena, Sarasavi Publishers, 2014 “Sri Lanka has many persons claiming to practise astrology with its professed powers of predicting the future. However, not…
The Sinhala children’s weekly newspaper Mihira just completed 50 years of publication. The paper, launched by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL, or Lake House) on 27 July 1964, holds nostalgic memories for those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s with limited access to reading material. In this week’s Ravaya column […]
Both China and India are keen to enhance links with smaller Asian countries in using satellites as part of their ‘space diplomacy’ strategies. Last week in my Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I wrote about space technology capabilities of South Asian countries. This week’s column probes whether or not Sri Lanka needs its own satellite. 10 […]
Originally posted on When Worlds Collide, by Nalaka Gunawardene:Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today newspaper on 15 August 2014 Image courtesy Good Market website, http://www.goodmarket.lk It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong, cautioned the French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet (1694 – 1778), better known…