In this week’s Ravaya column, I pay another tribute to Dr Cyril Ponnamperuma, Lankan biochemist who was one of the best known and most accomplished scientists produced by Sri Lanka.This explores the time he spent in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s, working as Presidential Science Adviser and Director of the Institute of Fundamental Studies […]
Article published in Ceylon Today newspaper on 17 Oct 2013: Send Your Name to the Stars! By Nalaka Gunawardene Would you like to send your name to the stars – as part of a message from humanity to alien beings out there? It could be as easy as signing an online petition, addressed to the […]
Dr Buddhadasa Bodhinayake, who died on 4 March 2015 in the UK, was a trail-blazing science and health communicator in Sri Lanka in the 1960s and 1970s. While still a schoolboy, he wrote the first Sinhala language book on space travel in 1961, which he co-authored with Arthur C Clarke. In the early 1970s, he […]
In this unusual Ravaya column, published on 24 September 2017, I salute my father W D Kasturiratne Gunawardene who passed away on September 13 aged 84. His was a very ordinary life, mostly dedicated to education. But it was punctuated at various points by key events of his country and people. Tracing his life thus […]
News feature published in Ceylon Today broadsheet newspaper, 23 January 2014 South Asian Coasts Reeling Under Pressure By Nalaka Gunawardene in Pondicherry, India As economic development gathers pace in South Asia, its coastal regions are coming under pressure as never before. More ports, power plants and tourist resorts are jostling with fishermen and farmers. Balancing […]
Vidusara, Sri Lanka’s only science and technology weekly magazine, has interviewed me in their issue dated 5 November 2014, which marks their 27th anniversary. They talked to me about the role of science journalists and other science communications in promoting science and technology for national economic development. Here’s my Q&A with the newspaper’s editor, Rajendra […] ...
In this week’s Ravaya column, I feature Indian agricultural scientist and activist Dr Anupam Paul, who is committed to organic farming and preserving traditional varieties of rice (folk rice). He was in Colombo in December 2013 when I had an interesting interview on the uphill struggle to sustain in-situ conservation efforts working with a handful […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I discuss the role of mainstream and social media in the immediate aftermath of serious communal riots in Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town in Sri Lanka on 15 June 2014. For over 48 hours, there was little coverage of the incidents in newspapers, or on radio and TV. […]
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 […]
The Annasi & Kadalagotu Literary Festival (‘A&K Lit Fest’), held on 25 April 2015, brought together literary enthusiasts from across the country. It was a collaborative platform where those who share a passion for literature can come together, explore the way we write, the way we read and learn about the ways of Sri Lanka […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I write about public perception of risk in Japan and Sri Lanka — and how alarmist exaggerations distort society’s reactions and affect policy responses. I quote from the writing and presentations of Japanese science journalist Hajime Hikino, who has long studied this phenomenon in Japan. To this, I […]
19 March 2015 marks seven years since Sir Arthur C Clarke passed away. In the weeks and months following Sir Arthur’s death, many asked me what kind of monument was being planned in his memory. As far as the Arthur C Clarke Estate is concerned, there is none –- and that seems to surprise many. […]
Feature published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper, 30 March 2014 To Go Where No Lankan Movie has Gone Before… By Nalaka Gunawardene Photos courtesy Dreams & Magic Entertainment A young Lankan computer animation specialist and film professional is to direct an ambitious new feature film which is all about space travel. Thilanka Perera is teaming […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I look back at the world’s first President of the Television Age – John F Kennedy. How did he ride the airwaves to the hearts and minds of American voters? What combination of wits, looks and charisma made him an ideal icon for the Television Age in its […]
In this week’s Ravaya column, (in Sinhala, appearing in issue of 19 July 2015), I salute the Dalai Lama who turned 80 on July 6. One of the world’s best known and admired public figures, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader has earned the respect of many non-Buddhists because of his wisdom, tolerance and pragmatism. I […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala, appearing in issue dated 8 March 2015), I revisit a public health emergency that I also commented on in August/Sept 2012: Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown/uncertain etiology (abbreviated as CKDu). CKDu was first reported in the early 1990s from a single Province in Sri Lanka’s heartland of rice […]
Text of my column written for Echelon monthly business magazine, Sri Lanka, March 2015 issue. Published online at: http://www.echelon.lk/home/beyond-rti-towards-open-government/ Beyond RTI: Towards Open Government By Nalaka Gunawardene After many years of advocacy by civil society, Sri Lanka is set to adopt a law that guarantees citizens’ Right to Information (RTI). With that, we will at […] ...
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I explore the nexus between public perceptions and public health – a topic I discussed in a recent talk to the College of Community Physicians Sri Lanka held in Colombo on 23 – 24 September 2013. See also: Taming 21st Century Demons for Universal Health Access in Sri Lanka […]