Like Star-Lord dancing to the tune of “Come and Get Your Love”, Asus Lanka Comic Con sauntered into the weekend of August 26-27 putting a smile on many a geek culture aficionado’s face. Organised by the Geek Club of Sri Lanka, this is the third time Lanka Comic Con happened. The Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Center played host to ...
Weddings in Sri Lanka often take place with much pomp and ceremony and are the height of many social calendars, with relatives and friends of the marrying couple eagerly awaiting the big day of celebration. But they are also more than mere social events; a lot of thought goes into observing and performing the traditions which occupy significant roles in ...
In the 18 months since Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala returned from Mount Everest, she has completed close to 50 interviews at home and abroad. Not wanting to join the ranks as just another number, Roar Media promised Jayanthi a conversation only about the future, without a single mention of Everest. Well, maybe just one… What has surprised you most about your return ...
Sri Lankans are not really known for their stature—the average local male is 5 feet 4½ inches, or 163.6 cm tall. But tens of thousands of years ago, a group of people existed on this island who, if they were to stand side by side next to an average Lankan family today, would tower over them (more or less). Known ...
“An investigation of truth is each one’s responsibility.”- Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í faith. An undated photograph of Bahá’í community members. Image Courtesy of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sri Lanka. In 1949, one year after Sri Lanka gained independence, a Persian doctor established his clinic in a little corner of Slave Island. Known as Dr. Luqmani, the ...
At the southern edge of Sri Lanka’s hill country, nestled in dense forests and farms, lies Ella. This popular backpacking destination is known for its trekking trails, waterfalls, and spice gardens. Most travellers, however, are unaware of the mythological significance of this hill destination. Ella truly is a part of Sri Lanka, a land that is steeped in myths and ...
Vesak, the festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Lord Buddha, is celebrated with great fervour by the country’s majority Buddhist populace. This year Sri Lanka will be hosting the United Nations’ International Day of Vesak for 2017. While Buddhist nations have celebrated this festival for generations, the United Nations only adopted it in 1999 on the initiative of ...
The Burghers are, and have always been, a vibrant part of Sri Lanka’s ethnic fabric. Despite being a minority, their contributions have played an important part in shaping our culture of food, music, fashion, and literature. Here, we take a look at a few of Sri Lanka’s most popular, and award-winning, Burgher authors. From contributing to the education sector through ...
Discussing one’s mental health has always been a sensitive topic. Reactions range from being dismissed by parents and peers, to being made fun of, or outright ignored. Stigmatization is bad enough in Sri Lanka to the extent of affecting treatment: getting professional treatment for mental health issues is often looked down upon. According to a research paper published by the ...
“Okay, from here, the road is a little bad. But it gets good… and then it gets very bad. But you’re here for an adventure, right?” This is how we were greeted by our host as he met us in the town of Godakawela. We were on our way to Sinharaja and had found his estate in Rakwana listed on ...
The saree is one of the oldest forms of women’s clothing, which is believed to date back to 5,000 years ago, when cotton was first cultivated and used to produce cloth. It is also one of the most common and most popular forms of women’s attire in the South Asian region, with different styles in various regions of the Indian ...
For centuries, the Trincomalee harbour has been significant to the political and socio-economic spheres of Sri Lanka. Because of its favourable geographic position, it is one of the most famous natural harbours in the world. The Portuguese, the Dutch and the British—as well as the ancient Sri Lankans—, recognised its value, as a harbour which could be used for significant ...
You would be hard pressed to find anyone disputing the allure of Ella — a misty, windswept, and picturesque region of caves and waterfalls, approximately eight hours away from Colombo. Ella is also home to an intriguing set of ‘secret’ waterfalls, caves, and underwater ponds that are off the tourist trail and also difficult to access. Most of the pools ...
Despite being an oasis of tropical tranquility, Sri Lanka is no stranger to strife. The country’s past has been plagued through the ages with more conflict than can be counted, the most recent being the civil war that spanned nearly three decades. The island has also been battered constantly and mercilessly by natural elements, from the 2004 tsunami to the ...
For an island, we have a surprising number of islands. Pigeon Island. Slave Island. Taprobane Island. And also, Crow Island. Except, Crow Island isn’t really an island. It is connected to the mainland and is now arguably South Asia’s biggest coastal park spread over 7.8 hectares. Crow Island is located in Modara, Colombo 15—roughly 7 kilometres north of Colombo’s CBD ...
When you finally give the Von Bloss family the slip, after 210 pages, you have developed new eyes and new responses to life – at the very least, you’ve acquired the leer and the snicker of the juvenile delinquent. Everything in your field of vision transforms, consolingly, into analogues of genitalia. The Von Bloss sensibility is a more latent development, ...
“Women,” award-winning author Carl Muller once remarked, “have become the standard bearers of Sri Lankan writing in English in the past 50 years”. That this statement rang true, and continues to ring true, is evident in the profusion of quality English writing put forth by Sri Lankan women prior to, and after, its being made. After Rosalind Mendis made history ...
“When I applied to join the Navy, I was twenty years old and had no thought or intention of dying for my country.” – A Long Watch, Page 4 “The best hope I would have for a book like this – and not just mine, anyone’s – is that it spurs people to tell more. And that gradually, over the ...
I have a confession to make. I have brown skin. So maybe it’s not the most earth-shattering confession ever. Apparently, this is quite a normal affliction. According to scientists, doctors, and academics with more letters after their name than Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Everything, melanin is a pigment produced in the skin in response to UV radiation. It’s also responsible ...
Taking progressive steps to conserve seabeds and aquatic lives, bottom trawling was banned in Sri Lanka as of 06 July 2017. The practice is an industrial mode of fishing which uses weighed-down nets to sweep across the seabed and catch everything in their way, thereby causing irreparable damage to coral and plant life. According to the amendment made to the ...
