ECHO

27/09/2022

With a degree from the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Bhash*th has mastered the art of assemblage sculpture.

“Most of the things that we have created have been made by the substances extracted and excerpted from nature, following the shapes and forms of nature. Therefore, I see ‘nature’ in everything. As an assemblage artist or a sculptor, I assemble various parts of those objects to re-create nature...

27/09/2022

The Wailing but the strong and gripping plot doesn’t let you classify this as anything other than a great horror movie.

Horror is a genre that is much-explored by the cinema industries all over the world, especially in Hollywood. The popularity of the genre which generates a healthy amount of fan base as well as the relative ease in making one in terms of the budget of the movie have propelled many directors to have....

26/09/2022

Situated in the ancient Nagadeepa, Mallakam’s history and importance link to the visit of Buddha to Nagadeepa.

Mallakam ruins (Mallawagama) Mallakam is a little town in Jaffna that has great historic importance. Situated in the ancient Nagadeepa, Mallakam’s history and importance link to the visit of Buddha to Nagadeepa. According to the history and folklore of the area, Mallakam was originally known as Ma...

26/09/2022

Explore the origin of the names many famous locations in Sri Lanka with Ceylon Today.

As a sequel to my article, ‘What’s in a name? – Place names in the precincts of Wattala’ which appeared as part 1 and 2 in Ceylon Today on 31 October and 7 November 2022, after further research, I found some more place names which would be of interest to our readers. Mabole The name […]

26/09/2022

Many often forget that Martin Wickramasinghe was an expert who contributed to a Sri Lankan approach in anthropology.

“Martin Wickramasinghe is a prominent symbol who contributed to various academic spheres in Sri Lanka. Many who define Martin Wickramasinghe only as a creative writer disregards the fact that he was an expert who contributed to a Sri Lankan approach in anthropology.” — Prof. Praneeth Abhayasun...

23/09/2022

Drift racing and drift culture is slowly seeping into Sri Lanka.

What once was a technique used by Japanese street racers while racing in twisty mountain roads has now become a global phenomenon. Today, drift competitions and events are some of the hottest and most sought-after events around the world. Sri Lanka is also starting to see the birth of a drift cultur...

22/09/2022

“When we talk about the indigenous people in Sri Lanka, we have a limited community of them. It is only the Vedda community oh Sri Lanka, that can be identified as indigenous people. The Kinnara, and Rodi communities, which tend to be mistaken for indigenous people, in fact are not recognised as such. This has to be understood with an anthropological sense,”

Anthropological Gleanings continue for the fifth week with this article, focusing on getting an insight into three sub-disciplines of anthropology; political anthropology, economic anthropology, and indigenous studies. Senior Professor at Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities and Social....

22/09/2022

Goodbye Ma, it was indeed a great innings.

Usually on every 8 January I trek to the Borella cemetery in the morning to participate in remembrance of a friend of mine, Lasantha. However, this year I didn’t go as I was by the side of my mother as she was slowly, surely and peacefully moving to the ‘great unknown’. My mother, Placida Fern...

22/09/2022

Honoured as Queensland’s coveted Australian of the Year in 2021, the Lankan born Dr. Palipana was featured by Ceylon Today a couple of times in appreciation and honour of his unbelievable journey of courage. Now, his story is out in the form of an incredible book.

“How losing everything set me free,” states the strap line for his incredible autobiography. Titled Stronger, the book is the only way we can even attempt at understanding his incredible quest for survival. However, it is one thing to survive and merely exist but quite another thing to thrive. S...

21/09/2022

"Not all is what it seems"

For centuries, we have been analysing great paintings, trying to understand the stories they narrate and the secrets they conceal. Understanding these great masterpieces is enlightening. They open a new perspective on life and society, and broaden our understanding of art, science, maths, religion,....

21/09/2022

50 per cent of households with women of menstruating age do not report spending any amount of money on sanitary napkins.

Menstruation is a natural biological process that happens to every women and girls. It can be consider as an involuntary biological monthly occurrence. Menstrual period is part of the menstruation cycle and it is linked to the reproductive health. The term ‘menstruation’ is stigmatised around th...

21/09/2022

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed,” said G. K. Chesterton. Jungian interpretation is that fairy tales teach children how to deal with basic human conflicts, desires, and relationships...

21/09/2022

Kadurugoda: The Rajayathana Chethiya of Nagadeepa?

As the Most Ven. Purawidya Paryeshanashuri, Purawidya Chakrawarthi Ellawala Medhananda Thera explains, ‘Kaduru’ is a synonym for the Pali word ‘Kandara’. In Pali, Kandara means a wetland or a stream. The word Kadurugoda means a temple located on land in a vicinity of a wetland or a stream. T...

17/09/2022

Dear Sri Lanka,
If you try to take me out, you are bound to get tangled and strangled – best is, you make peace with me, and I for you.

https://ceylontoday.lk/2022/09/17/dear-sri-lanka-9/

17/09/2022

Bhasuru held his first snake when he was about 12 years old

Snakes are not the enemy of humans, even though our fear of serpents could tell us otherwise, but who are you going to call when a venomous snake is in your home and you have no idea what to do? Bhasuru Prabashwara Dissanayake is giving a solution to that very problem. Handling snakes, even venomous...

17/09/2022

This movie is a pleasant movie with not many earth-shattering plot twists. Although it is a feel-good movie and in the end all’s well sort of ends well, it doesn’t sway completely away from the ground reality of the working class and sticks to a rather realistic and yet a relatively happy ending.

Anthony Fabian is a talented director mainly known for his commercials and TV documentaries. However, very little feature films he has done in the past have received positive critical acclaim. His recent cinematic work Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is also a pleasant, feel-good, light-hearted, comedy/dr...

17/09/2022

Professor Emeritus C.M. Madduma Bandara, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) honorary degree at the 83rd Annual General Convocation – 2022 of the University of Peradeniya.

Professor Emeritus C.M. Madduma Bandara, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) honorary degree at the 83rd Annual General Convocation – 2022 of the University of Peradeniya, which was held on the 30and 31 August at the Universi...

17/09/2022

“No words are ever spoken …again.”

Nisansala Dharmasena Bertholameuze’s My Womb, A Barren Land is an intriguing collection of poetry that resonated in my heart as a woman as well as a fellow human being. I find the book to be quite unique as the poet has made an attempt to illustrate key moments of her poetry pictographically as we...

16/09/2022

"The discipline of studying primates is known as primatology nowadays and in fact, it is relatively new discipline of study,"

We are continuing to the fourth article of series of articles on anthropology, ‘Anthropological Gleanings’ this week, with main focus on the sub discipline of physical anthropology, primatology. Primatology can be simply defined as the scientific study of primates. In fact, it is a diverse disci...

16/09/2022

"I know where the elephant corridor is, it is much further away from my chena. They started going through my chena only recently,"

The human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a topic that has been discussed, debated, and analysed countless times over the course of last few decades. Numerous solutions in terms of elephant deterrents as well as changes in administrative decision-making have been suggested but we always find ourselves at...

16/09/2022

Given the crippling state of affairs in the country, the Minister of Everything along with his Party has launched the ‘SLPP Academy for Political Excellence’!

16/09/2022

The story of Manimekhala is popular in Southeast Asian countries, more than it is in Sri Lanka or in South India today

Goddess Manimekhala is also known as a guardian goddess of the sea. She also appears in Buddhist Jataka stories as a lifesaver of sailors. The ancient Kiri Palu tree at Nagadeepa was also known to be associated with sailors. Her name Mani-Mekhala, the old name of the islet Mani-Pallavam, Mani-Nak Di...

10/09/2022

After 39 years of silence, a Sinhala movie is competing in the most sophisticated 44th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) 2022.

After 39 years of silence, a Sinhala movie is competing in the most sophisticated 44th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) 2022. Maariya, the movie, apart from representing the international film festival, is adding newer facet to the local cinema, starring Mahendra Perera, Priyantha Sirikumar...

10/09/2022

“The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes.”

—C. Joy Bell C.

“The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes.” —C. Joy Bell C. Women, in the journey of […]

10/09/2022

Medical anthropology is a sub field of study that comes under the main subject of cultural anthropology and studies the socio-cultural aspects related to diseases, illnesses and the medical as well as non-medical treatment systems.

As we progress with the ‘Anthropological gleanings’ series, this week’s article focuses on the medical anthropology; it’s study area, historical background and the practical approaches. As discussed in the previous articles also, anthropological studies are done under two main study areas as...

10/09/2022

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak happened to catch my eye while I was browsing Amazon rather lazily looking for books to buy. When I came across Zusak’s masterpiece, at first it didn’t tick the usual checkboxes I look in a book such as mystery, thriller, crime, fantasy, horror and so on but purely going by the good reviews it had garnered, I decided to put the book in by cart and boy am I glad I did so.

Reading a book is quite an immersive experience. You form emotional connections with the characters, you learn to relate, to love, to hate, to understand characters, and as the story progresses you form the story into a movie in your mind’s cinema with either you playing one of the characters or j...

10/09/2022

“The good things of this country have been hijacked by different people to support their own far-from -lean agendas. Be it something manipulative about Ravana or the other, we come up with some figure. Our culture and history have tremendous scope but of late, what have we used them for?”

Sri Lanka stands at a crushing stage of disappointment. What looked like bright rays of a revolution which brought some form of change, have disappeared. In typical Sri Lankan style, the blame-game has started. Despite solid, tested-but-failed records, in the name of change we have embraced worse bu...

09/09/2022

In the third article of the series, ‘Anthropological Gleanings’, we are trying to touch the depths of another very interesting sub discipline of anthropology, forensic anthropology.

In the third article of the series, ‘Anthropological Gleanings’, we are trying to touch the depths of another very interesting sub discipline of anthropology, forensic anthropology. This field of study was distinguished as a separate scientific discipline in the early years of 20th century, fund...

09/09/2022

Prof. Paranavitana, in the seventh volume (1961) of the Royal Asiatic Society (Sri Lanka), clearly proves and confirms that an independent Tamil kingdom did not exist in Jaffna prior to the 13th century CE.

In the account of Nagadeepa, the chronicles mention a Rajayathana Chethiya. This is the Rajayathana tree that was brought from India to Sri Lanka when Buddha visited Nagadeepa. The chronicles say that this tree was planted in Nagadeepa and was venerated as the Rajayathana Chethiya. Identifying this....

09/09/2022

“Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. Something cannot emerge from nothing.”
—Frank Herbert, Dune

“Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. Something cannot emerge from nothing.” —Frank Herbert, Dune The little silver stupa is shining bright under the scorching sun. The vast blue sea, glittering like a bright diamond, spreads endlessly. The little jetty is alw...