Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage won the State Literary Award for the Best Poetry Collection at the State Literary Award Ceremony held recently, for his debut poetry collection Hate Watte Magdalena“Not in my wildest dreams did I think that I would win an award for Hate Watte Magdalena,” Saumya Sandarauwan Liyanage, the State Literary Award winner of this year for the Best ...
The 25th death anniversary of journalist, lyrics composer, critic and media man Premakeerthi de Alwis fell on July 31. In the history of Sinhala songs, we come across a little girl called Surangi. She is sad and starts to shed tears. A drop of a tear runs to the river and flows to the sea. This teardrop finds its ...
Interview with the author of ‘A known story’ Lakshaman PiyasenaSri Lanka was in the wrong track long before the Portuguese invasion and India’s impact on the country was present since the Maha Parinirvana of Buddha, says the latest book written by veteran journalist Lakshman Piyasena. The author launching his book, Danna Kathawak (A Known Story) attempts to discuss the ...
Isuru Chamara Somaweera is a young writer who speaks openly about homosexuality and related social concerns through his literary work. Malak Katha Karai (A flower speaks), his debut short story collection,won the Godage National Literature Award for the Best Short Story collection this year. Sri Lanka is not a society that is tolerant of homosexuality. Intolerance, however, cannot and ...
From a distance, these images may look like black and white photographs and only a very close look will reveal that these are not photographs, but portraits neatly sketched using pencil. Using no colors, Shamen Walker’s steady hands are capable of preserving the liveliness of the portrait depicting the facial emotions giving priority to the finest details. Shamen, speaking to ...
Renowned storyteller and artist Sybil Wettasinghe believes that art is the best method of communication “Next month I will be eighty seven years old. I prefer to be alone. My children are worried that I live upstairs alone. But quietness is something amazing. I admire it and it helps me live in my own world. I’m not worried to be ...
Journalist turned publisher Prem Dissanayaka talks about emerging business trends, the mindset of buyers and the future of literature in Sri LankaPic by Ravindra Dharmathilake For a book lover Maradana Road is a road to heaven. The number of bookshops and discount stores are fascinating and it would take more than an entire day if one is to check out ...
Recently, Visharad Wasantha Madurangani successfully staged her folk music concert at Viharamahadevi Open Theater celebrating 25 years in the field of music“Now I can die in peace. I have the feeling that I have done something for my country. That’s the most important achievement of Sanda Saawi Maa - Folk Song Concert,” Visharad Wasantha Madurangani said. She is a student ...
Artiste Neela Wickramasinhe of ‘Master Sir’ fame talks about her 47-year-career in the music industry It’s not only her songs that are remembered when the name Visharad Neela Wickramasinghe is heard. As much as her flexible voice is widely admired, social services she has rendered are also remembered and valued. Among all, Sri Lanka will not forget her service in ...
Pic by Sakuna Gamage Though they fly from flower to flower, they are not butterflies. Though they suck the nectar from the flowers they are not bees. They are just poor human beings who make a living by beating the coconut flower, trying to feed their starving kids, overwhelmed by immense hardships that life entails. While on a train ...
We usually recognize people by their outer appearances and not by their voices. It is indeed very rare for an entire country to recognize and remember a person’s voice. A veteran journalist, writer, lyricist as well as a well-known speaker Saman Athaudahetti is gifted with such a voice. His voice is still remembered and recognized as Gulliver of Gulliverge ...
Award winning playwright and director Ruwanthie de Chickera believes that there is no gender inequality in the contemporary Sri Lankan arts field and that the field is very open to women today. “Yet, however, other pressures of society – like judgment of women artistes, pressures of family life, prejudices and double standards of society pull women artistes down more than ...
Artist and aesthetic scholar Champanie Devika Devaraja talks to Fine on how her paintings have developed over the years and also of her experiences in China as a student Champanie Devika Devaraja, the artist and poetess is familiar to The Nation readers due to her contributions. Her paintings of light colors and human-like figures with no facial features accompanied ...
Dinesh Sandaruwan is an amateur dramatist who is about to stage his debut drama direction, ‘Blood Wedding’.Pix by Ravindra DharmathilakeFew months ago, when Gayan Randeera, Director of Johnge Sattuwatta, spoke to The Nation,he said that he found the ideal person for the character of John. Johnge Sattuwatta is a Sinhala adaptation of The Zoo Story which was originally titled Peter ...
“I believe what I sing through a song should be solely for the betterment of society” Pics by Chandana WijesingheOnly very few people can boast of having fulfilled their dreams. When Sunil Edirisinghe was young he too had a dream of becoming a singer one day. He had the talent, support, commitment as well as people to show him ...
During the three decades when the armed conflict existed, people – Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Catholics-suffered, especially those who resided in war-torn areas. It’s no surprise that they need larger statues of Gods or big temples or kovils to frequent, to tell the Gods what they had endured. Some have complaints, big ones, and some are extremely thankful now that ...
The sculptor from Jaffna believes that art is not limited to one religion and that anyone can attempt to show their spirituality through a form of artPic by Sakuna M Gamage Selecting the suitable wood for a sculpture is one of the most important steps in creating wood sculpture with a good finish. Sometimes this takes a reasonable amount of ...
Jaffna based journalist, Thulasi Muttulingam, uses social media and guides visitors to a once war-torn area which she says hasn’t lost its beauty Beauty of Northern parts of Sri Lanka is something the rest of fellow Sri Lankans missed out on for a few decades. Now that the Northern Province welcomes the world to experience its beauty, most of the ...
What is the responsibility of a woman in a political arena? Is it to serve tea during the discussions? Is it to satisfy the desires of the male activists? Have we identified the potential of a woman in politics? Surekha Samarasena publishing her debut novel Me Kathawa (This story) questions the role of a woman in the political arena, and ...
Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation Graphic and Animation Unit head Shirani Nanayakkara talks about her creative skills and passion for drawing cartoons “Happiness expressed in a person’s face when they observe something gives me complete satisfaction of being an artist,” says Shirani Nanayakkara who is organizing her debut solo art exhibition Dhyana. Shirani is currently working as the Sri Lanka Rupavahini ...
