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Best insurance against the loud and repeated lie
Edward Snowden, traitor to some and hero to others, a whistle-blower who blew the lid off the National Security Agency of the USA in 2013, had an interesting observation of ‘system’ or ‘THE system’...
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Landscapes of gone-time and going-time
A Jak tree close enough to distinguish the older, somber, dark green leaves from the light-green hopefuls. Jak trees too far away for shade distinction and yet have leaf-signature but will, soon...
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A poetic enclave in the Republic of Literature
I first heard of Faiz Ahmed Faiz when Arjuna Parakrama gifted my mother, his English literature teacher at school, a copy of ‘Rebel’s Silhouette,’ a collection of his poems translated into English by...
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Some stories are written on the covers themselves
We have always been told not to judge a book by its cover, and yet it’s the ‘cover’ that is most often purchased. After all, even if you’ve read all the reviews written on the particular book, you...
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Sujith Rathnayake and incarcerations imposed and embraced
‘Crisis & Struggle’ is the title of an art exhibition that was recently held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. Sujith Rathnayake, the artist, calls it a visual art attack. Nice line. It is presented...
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Figures and disfigurement, rocks and roses
I may have seen pictures but I’ve not reflected too much about the sculptors of Bruno Catalano. I don’t know about sculptures, sculpting and sculptors. I don’t know about art. I only saw a picture of...
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Mowgli, the Greatest Archaeologist
'Mowgli' (front row, with a red scarf)It was the 15th of September, 1989. The first day of school for a lot of kids. The school was in Obârșia de Câmp, a commune (the lowest administrative subdivision...
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Rohana Kalyanaratne, an unforgettable 'Loku Aiya'
It was not an atypical campus moment. There are times when factions clash, sometimes with words and unfortunately most times with fists and worse. This was not about firsts. Or words. It was something...
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The circuitous logic of Tony Muller
Anton Joseph Cyril Muller was fondly referred to by his friend the late (Rtd) Brigadier Eustace Fonseka as ‘Malahathilawwa.’ To us, his friend’s children, he was simply ‘Tony Maama.’ Uncle Eustace,...
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'Sentinelity’
There are trees that tower over the surrounding landscapes. There are mountains that rise above the clouds. A single cloud in a cloudless sky. The star that is first to be visible. The one that...
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The New Abnormal
Post Independence Sri Lanka. That’s a period of 75 years. Long enough for a decent mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. And the downright scandalous. Now in this long period of time, we’ve had...
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The world is made of waves
The song that's best known from Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ album (1979) is ‘Another brick in the wall.’ ‘The dark side of the moon (1973)’ and ‘Wish you were here )1975)’ are considered to be the better...
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And intangible republics will save the day (as they always have)
There are countries in this world. There are geographies that are marked by boundaries containing populations with commonalities and differences but nevertheless governed by specific sets of laws...
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රනිල් ටියුෂන් ගන්නේ කාගෙන්ද?
වෘත්තීය සමිති කියන විදිහට රට පාලනය කරන්න බැරි බව ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පහුගියදා පැවසුවා. රනිල් හරි. ජනාධිපති බැඳිලා නැහැ වෘත්තීය සමිති කියන විදිහට කිසිම දෙයක් කරන්න. ඒත් රනිල්...
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Moments without tenses
When Benjamin Sisko, the Commander of the space station ‘Deep Space Nine’ in the Star Trek series by that name first encounters the ‘prophets’ in what the Bajorans believe to be the ‘Celestial Temple’...
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On separating the missing from the disappeared
'Even the darkest night must end and when the dawn pushes aside the heavy curtains of sorrow all equations will be altered beyond recognition.'This line or versions of it I have often used to console...
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I am at Jaga Food, where are you?
I hadn’t heard of Jaga until a few years ago. And even on that day I met him, I didn’t have any idea who he was. My friend Tharindu Amunugama who has made it almost a life-mission of introducing me to...
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Minds and hearts: loquacious and taciturn
One morning, as I was driving from Polonnaruwa towards Maduru Oya, I noticed a sign next to a dirt road on my right. It was one of those signs put up by the Department of Archaeology, indicating the...
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Completing unfinished texts
There’s a novel that floored me with poetry, the sociological explication and an ending that was tragic. 'Swarnavanniye Valliammalaaaa' by Simon Navagaththegama. Even now, so many years after reading...
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Some play music, others listen
Back in the day, there was an interesting musical event held the first Saturday night of every month in Peradeniya. It was called ‘Saraswati Mandapaya,’ homage of sorts to SaraswatI, the Hindu goddess...
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