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Mathematically challenged priests and other tidbits
That empty glassWhen a glass that can contain 50 ml of water contains 25 ml, you can say it's half full or half empty. That's the difference between negative and positive. But what if there's say 60...
View ArticleSeeds of treason
There are all kinds of security issues. In the last three decades the word ‘security’ was associated with protection from terrorist attacks. Today territorial integrity is not threated by terrorists....
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When will Obama volunteer to be cavity-searched?
India’s deputy consul general in New York Devyani Khobragade was arrested in New York. She had apparently lied on a visa application and tried to circumvent law designed to protect domestic employees...
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Recollections of the ‘Battle of Kings’
‘Battle of the Kings’ is the annual inter-school chess championship organized by the Royal College Chess Club. It will be held for the 18thsuccessive year at Royal College on January 24-26, 2014It is...
View ArticleSuneetha teaches us how to ‘Worship the East’
Buddhist children would know the story of Sigala, the young man who rising early morning was wont to worship the six quarters, the East, South, West, North, Nadir and Zenith. He was merely following...
View ArticleLie is followed by truth and hopefully by embrace*
There was one factor which worked for the LTTE. For decades. Propaganda. This, more than anything else, was what tripped the Sri Lankan security forces. The LTTE, as a unit, was the Grandmaster of the...
View ArticleHas Cameron heard of the RAB?
[The grimace referred to here materialized on Peter Hayes' face a little more than three years ago. The article was published 'Sunday Lakbima News' on December 26, 2010. Back then, I hadn't known what...
View ArticleEver heard of ‘in-sourcing’, Mr. Ki-Moon?
[Ban Ki-Moon is not in the news these days. There are other entities that skirt the news, so to speak. Like 'in-sourcing'. Heard about it? This was written a little over three years ago and...
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That's Entertainment!
That's entertainment!It's official. The distinction between politicians and actors (and of course actresses) has been erased. Politicians have been play-acting for such a long time that professional...
View ArticleThe Indian Consul General in Jaffna furnishes subtext
[In a parallel universe, of course...]Not many people know me. I am V. Mahalingam. I have over 20 years of experience in the field of diplomacy. I am the first Consul General of India in Jaffna since...
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Sekera is a song and a fragrance
Pic Courtesy www.mahagamasekera.orgOne day in the early 1990s a group of young boys got into a bus in Ampara. They were going to Kandy. They were returning after visiting a friend in Kumarigama. They...
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Mervin’s ‘love’
The media loves Mervin Silva (Doctor). The controversial minister (‘maverick’ to some) can always be counted on for a juicy quote even when he’s not doing his best to conjure up a juicy story for the...
View ArticleThe dimensioning of giant and dwarf in art and literature
The Colombo Telegraph and Rajpal Abeynayake clearly don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. There's been a lot of invective flying both ways and in my opinion CT hasn't exactly covered itself in...
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The truth came all the way from Padukka to Colombo
When I went past Lipton Circus around 2.55 pm on Tuesday January 28, 2014, I noticed a few pockets of protestors. There were some near the entrance to the old Accident Ward. There were some near the...
View ArticleRoyal vs St John’s, Jaffna: A note from 34 years ago, belatedly
Royal College, Colombo beat St John’s College, Jaffna by an innings and 131 runs recently in a match played in Jaffna. It was one-sided, yes. That’s the least important thing here. What will be...
View ArticleThe reconciliation game and its discontents
It’s that time of year again when political discourse is reduced to a three syllable name. Geneva. That’s another name for the UN Human Rights Commission. It is time to talk about roads walked and...
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The importance of dot balls
Sunil Gavaskar scored 36 off 174 balls with a single boundary and bat thorough 60 overs against England in the very first match of world cup 1975. His strike rate was 20.69%! That's a lot of dot-balls....
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A ‘briefing note’ for Nisha Biswal
One can get away with murder (as the USA has) when one is judge, jury and court reporter. Assistant Secretary of USA for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal, currently visiting Sri Lanka, has...
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Ranil's sense of sacrifice and other tidbits
Ranil’s sense of sacrificeIn a condolence message on the demise of Justice Sri Skandarajah, Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke of sacrifice. ‘Democracy is a process of sacrifices,’ he said and observed, ‘we...
View ArticleObama’s ‘State of the Union Address’
As we all know, it is rarely that politicians do the off-the-cuff thing. Some are articulate but even they write drafts and get political aides to take a look before delivering. The really smart...
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