The Toyota Corolla, Toyota’s most successful vehicle, celebrated its 50th birthday in 2016. For Toyota, the last half a century witnessed 11 generations of Toyota Corolla. Here’s a look back at its evolution, and the factors that made the Corolla one of the best vehicles available in the market. The Birth Of The Corolla After the creation of the Toyota ...
As we drifted into the second half of 2017 on the tail end of the monsoon, secondary school students all over Sri Lanka were propelled into a different kind of whirlwind—one involving back-to-back tuition classes and frantic preparations for the most important exams of their school lives. Application deadlines for GCE Ordinary and Advanced level (O/L and A/L) exams were ...
Since the end of the civil conflict, Sri Lanka has experienced a steady economic growth of 6.4% between 2010 and 2015. However, the country’s economy isn’t faring so well right now. Getting walloped like a ton of bricks by one natural disaster after another in the recent years has not only depleted resources, but also destroyed existing infrastructure. Economic growth ...
A celebration of women and girls. This is what Judith (better known as Jude) Kelly, the dynamic Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, London, set out to do back in 2011 through the groundbreaking Women of the World (WOW) festival. Since then, the festival has spread across 53 countries, bringing together inspiring, high-achieving women who have shared their stories of ...
Walking along the cobbled streets of the Galle Fort, one will come across several stores that display an array of gems and jewellery. Colombo already has it’s fair share of recognised gem and jewellery stores, so the Fort may not even cross our minds when it comes to jewellery shopping. Since the restoration of the Galle Fort and its growing ...
Stories of weda mahaththayas and their unusual herbal remedies that claim to cure multiple ailments and sicknesses are not uncommon in Sri Lanka. Nowadays, Ayurveda is an established medical practice in its own right. There are many qualified Ayurvedic doctors who have been trained in recognised institutions such as the National Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital in Colombo, the Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda ...
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Sri Lanka. Around 55,200 people die of cardiovascular diseases every year, with more men than women falling prey to them. The prevalence of these diseases has been gradually rising over the years, a phenomenon that is believed to be related to an increase in sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. What Are ...
Brought to you by HSBC The coastal town of Unawatuna is well known for its beaches, restaurants, and vibrant nightlife. It is one of the few destinations in Sri Lanka that draw in both locals and tourists throughout the year, who flock here to relax and enjoy the many attractions of the area. And while Unawatuna offers plenty in terms ...
When we Sri Lankans think of crabs, we invariably think of the edible kind from our seas and lagoons that make such a scrumptious meal. A whole culinary culture based on crab has taken root in the country, as is evident in the number of restaurants around Colombo alone that specialise in meals featuring these crustaceans. There’s the Ministry of ...
Sri Lanka is home to 21 million people, 19 ethnicities, and four officially recognized religions. For the longest time, however, there were no official records of most of the island’s ethno-religious minorities. The ones we know about are the Sinhalese, Tamils, and Moors, given that they are taught in school. Everyone else—who make up two percent of the population—is categorised ...
The cardboard box is not an object we often marvel at or wonder about, as we pour our favourite cereal out of one, or pile many of them in a storeroom with our belongings. But the fact that it has become essential to our everyday living—with its ability to be adapted for many purposes with little to no inconvenience—is what ...
It has been three and a half centuries since the Portuguese colonisers left Sri Lanka, but the language they spoke while here still lingers in the eastern coast of the country. Although few are aware of the existence of this language, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole (SLPC) is spoken by the Portuguese Burghers, descendants of the early mestiços or the people ...
Brought to you by HSBC The appreciation of motor vehicles is very much part of the culture in this transport-dependent modern world. Everyone wants to own one, but at the end of the day, very few are aware of the care and maintenance that a vehicle requires. After purchasing a motor vehicle, it is prone to wear and tear and ...
Kanthale, Trincomalee, 2012: A woman by the name of Christina Hamine is sewing fabrics outside her home during a powercut when two men approach her doorstep. Claiming to be from a local microfinance company in town, they offer to loan her 30,000 rupees to grow her business. Christina is a single mother with two sons. Her husband died 11 years ...
There was a time when being labelled a ‘nerd’ meant you were the laughing stock at your school or your workplace. But the term has taken on a new meaning in recent times, and is often used in relation to pop culture and ‘geekism’ in the modern era—and being a ‘nerd’ (or a ‘geek’) is now celebrated worldwide. Sri Lanka ...
Brought to you by CFA Though revered internationally, particularly in developed countries like the United States of America, the Chartered Finance Analyst Program, abbreviated as CFA, has yet to truly take off in Sri Lanka. CFA Sri Lanka Advertising and Branding Chair, Rahul Hundlani, explains that this could be for a number of reasons. While CFA is considered the highest ...
It needs to be said at the outset that Premaya Nam (Dirty, Yellow, Darkness) is a very brave film. It is also an important film. While it’s not without its [occasionally glaring] flaws ‒ and let’s face it; what modern Sri Lankan production is? ‒ Kalpana Ariyawansha’s and his brother Vindana’s directorial debut is the closest thing to a work ...
While we locals know how great Sri Lanka can be, on a global scale our pearl of the Indian Ocean is a miniscule insignificant dot dwarfed by giants. so it comes as no surprise that no one really knows about us. What they do know has made the island seem like this otherworldly exotic location, which is made all the ...
Education is the cornerstone of civilization. Formal schools have been around since the Classical Era, but the system of education has changed significantly through the ages. In past centuries, acquiring knowledge was a luxury that the poor and lower social classes could not afford to expend time or money on. What began as an elite privilege has given way to ...
