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The plight of the malaiyagam (Hill country people) |
The future of the people of Badulla
working in the tea estates are to be changed by a group of young youths who have the vision and the determination
to improve the lives of the young children of Badulla and thereby helping to shape the future generation of the
people in Badulla.
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From the village where the waves washed the train away |
It is 95km from Colombo, along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Just ask where the train accident occurred. It is Peraliya, a fishing village
of around 3000 inhabitants. The “Samudradevi” (Queen of the Sea)
engine no.591 Manitoba and it's eight carriages were toppled over by the Giant
Tsunami waves, on 26th December, in Peraliya, claiming more than 2000 lives.
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Giving the Orphan Boys a Home - Chandra Illam, Badulla
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Murugesu Armugam was born in Demodara, Sri Lanka. The only boy in his family, Murugesu has
two elder sisters. Murugesu's father (after whom he was named) passed away while Murugesu
was very young and this death plunged the family into tremendous financial difficulty.
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Massive Collection from a Little Village
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A remarkable effort has been taken by the residents of the world's first garden
city to help the victims of the Tsunami disaster. The landmark Buddhist
Community Centre in Letchworth Garden City, which is known to be the first and
only Buddhist Community Centre in the whole of North Hertfordshire, has been the
pioneer in facilitating this great effort.
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Latest Craze in Lanka- Applying for a UK Working Holidaymaker Visa
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British High commission has recently included Sri Lanka in the list of countries
that is eligible to apply for a UK Working Holidaymaker visa. There have been a
large number of people queuing up outside the British high Commision in Kollupitiya daily.
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Visiting North & East Netball Team Dominate BTA Sports Festival
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The Norman Park, in Bromley, Kent was packed with Srilankan Tamils for the 8th Tamil Sports Festival.
The event organised by the British Tamil's Association was sponsored by NatWest for the second time,
and was held on the 27th of July 2003.
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Reel Peace Project Sri Lanka 2002-2003
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If a picture can say a thousand words, how much more powerful is the moving image?
Film has the power to express emotion, to challenge, to question and to heal by bringing
people together. It has an immediacy and impact that no other medium has.
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The Road to Peace - Peace by Federation
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A concerted effort is being made by all three parties to the Ceasefire
Agreement to find a federal solution to the Sri Lankan conflict. None of
them has any first hand experience of federal government and the GOSL has to
contend with a visceral antipathy to the federal form as a possible precursor to separation.
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The Festival of Cricket 2003 |
The Festival of Cricket (FOC) 2003 organised by the Srilankan schools old boys associations in UK
opened its arms to the Srilankan public on the 29th of June at Shenley Cricket Centre.
It was a sunny Sunday easily comparable to Srilankan weather but thousands of miles away from
Srilanka.
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Indian Arranged Marriages Hits and Mrs!
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Last Friday I was requested by my father-in law to come to Rajkot (Saurashtra, Gujarat, India) as a prospective groom,
Bhavin Kotak, was coming to "see" my sister-in-law, Kavita, for matrimonial purposes
(We live in Jamnagar, Gujarat, two hours from Rajkot)
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Valvai Blues the TRO Challange Cup Champions
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TRO football 2003 was held on the sunny Sunday at Prince George's Playing Field
in Merton. This event is been held for the past twelve years and generated a lot
of money for the good causes and is been super day out for the whole family. The
last Sunday event was its thirteenth year and was even more spectacular.
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Bollywood & Beyond- A Dance and Fashion Explosion
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Kingston Asian Arts Forum -developing cultural Diversity for all Nations
have put on an entertaining night. The idea of combining all different ethnic
societies in one evening was truly a brilliant opportunity and a great show case
for all the performers.
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A Tour of Home - the Surbitons Visit Sri Lanka
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It is Sunday the 22nd of December, at around a quarter to seven in the evening.
I am standing just behind the pavilion of the Sugathadasa Stadium.
A van drives in through the gate and stops at the car park.
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It's Christmas time in the City!
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Christmas is around the corner and the city of Colombo is once again bustling with
activity. The one question people seem to be asking each other is,
"Have you done you Christmas shopping?". There is an endless supply of good cheer.
No one seems to be able to escape the Christmas spirit, and even non-Christians are
caught up in some of the traditions of Christmas, even if it is just sending
Christmas cards to friends. Christmas is definitely big in Colombo.
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Get with it: What it Means to be Fashionable in Sri Lanka
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Sri Lankans are now trendier than ever. Gone are the days when people would wear anything that was convenient.
The present is an era of fashion. Everyone wants to look good.
So Sri Lankans are paying much closer attention to how they dress.
As far as global trends go, Sri Lankans are most definitely with it.
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Why You Must Seriously Consider Investing in Sri Lanka
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People invest in a business or industry in a third world country,
not merely because they are expatriates of that country and may have
emotional attachments to that country, but only if the risk in investing
is minimal and the returns for their investment are good.
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It's a Matter of Degree: the Pros and Cons of the University System in Sri Lanka
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In a world that places tremendous emphasis on academic qualifications,
tertiary education in Sri Lanka, especially the universities across the
island are continuously in the limelight. The authorities (be it the government,
Ministry of Education, University Grants Commission and even the Faculty Boards of the respective universities)
are constantly reviewing the "system" and introducing new policies and reforms to make this system as effective
and efficient as possible.
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BATTICALOA - The Idyllic Tourist Resort of Sri Lanka
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Peace has come to Batticaloa with the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement between
the LTTE and the Government, and there is no doubt in this historic outpost on
the north eastern coast of Sri Lanka, that the men, women and children are
attempting to make full use of this opportunity for peace. Against a backdrop of
riveting natural beauty and forgotten charm, Batticaloa seems to be pleasantly
unreal.
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Two Leaves and a Bud - A Short Story
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The biting cold wind hissed and howled as it swept past the hillock on which
Sarath stood, silhouetted against the orange hued clouds that signified the
break of dawn. As the wind beat hard against the strong and sturdy frame of
Sarath, he couldn't help but adjust the woolen muffler he had worn round his
neck, to cover his ears to prevent the rushing of the wind from biting into his
eardrums.
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Cricket is Life for Sri Lankans!
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My family and I are seated at the lounge of the airport waiting till boarding time.
The television was tuned to one of the preliminary round matches of the ICC Champions Trophy between India and South Africa.
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It's Great to be Young
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"During my time we were brought up with fear. It was a strained relationship
with my parents. We couldn't speak until our father asked us something. If we
wanted to go out permission was given only after hundreds of questions had been
asked. I led a very sheltered life and didn't know anything about the world. I
didn't even have the chance to choose the man I wanted to marry."
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Prospects for peace in Sri Lanka
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The evolution of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict could be
compared to a snowball rolling down a mountain of snow. At the beginning it is
small, but as time passes, it develops a momentum of its own, becomes larger and
more complex, accumulates other elements thereby making it more difficult to
react to. Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict has evolved from one based on questions of
representation, grievances based on discrimination and language to a demand for
decentralization to autonomy via devolution, and even separation.
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The Bridge - A Short Story
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The placid waters of the Mahaweli River, the longest river in the beautiful
island Sri Lanka, flowed relentlessly under a bridge south of Trincomalee, where
the river empties to the Indian Ocean.
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Trincomalee reawakens to attract both local and foreign tourists
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Sri Lanka offers you endless miles of perfect golden sand fringed by swaying
coconut palms. One such tourist resort is Trincomalee, known in ancient times as
Gokanna, the sleepy town and port of Sri Lanka on the island's northeastern
coast, which has awakened from its slumber of twenty years with the recent
Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka.
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