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Worship once and cleanse yourself-by Mahil Wijesinghe   Image Source:Sundayobserver Source:Sundayobserver The high regard for Kelaniya among the Buddhists is demonstrated by a popular anecdote which we have heard as children. Sung as a verse, it reads: Upan da sita karapu pavu netha – Varak vendoth Kelaniye. Though it claims that one’s sins will be washed away once the person worships at Kelaniya, it is a highly exaggerated statement intended to get devotees to go at least once and worship there. The Kelaniya temple is one of the most important places of worship for Buddhists in and around the capital. It nestles in spiritual surroundings on a higher terrace on the banks of the Kelani Ganga outside the highly urbanised Kelaniya city, ten kilometres Northeast of Colombo Fort, a short detour off the Kandy road. I got a chance to visit this temple one sunny day last week, prior to ...

Jan 22, 2024 Posted by In Articles Tagged , , ,
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Mastermind of the publishing revolution-BY PRAMOD DE SILVA Source:Sundayobserver Every day, when I step into Lake House, I take a moment to bow before the portrait of its founder D.R. Wijewardene, who almost single handedly created a publishing revolution in Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then known. There is another portrait of him right near my desk in the Sunday Observer, the famous picture taken by none other than Lionel Wendt. Indeed, only a few people have influenced the course of Sri Lanka’s history in the manner that the late D.R. Wijewardene, founder of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), has done. As we commemorate the 137th Birth Anniversary of this noble son of Sri Lanka next week, it is time to re-evaluate his yeoman service to the Nation and to journalism. The ANCL itself will turn 100 in 2026, although many of the newspapers it publishes are much ...

Feb 21, 2023 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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D.R. Wijewardene, Lionel Wendt and Studio Chitra foto-by Mahil Wijesinghe   Source:Sundayobserver As we celebrate the 137th birth anniversary of D.R. Wijewardene, founder of the Associated Newspapers Ceylon Limited (ANCL) or Lake House, we peep into his world of creative photography during his days at Studio Chitrafoto at Lake House. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ as the saying goes, and millions of shutterbugs make their commitment to the craft of photography around the world. There were the Black and White days when colour photography was virtually unknown. In Sri Lanka, photography has come a long way from pre-independence to the post-independence era transforming from analogue to highly-sophisticated digital formats in the field of visual journalism and creative studio art forms. When I stepped in to the Sunday Observer Editorial office at Lake House for the first time as a graphic artist in 1991, I was impressed by the ...

Feb 21, 2023 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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Colonial gems of Ratnapura-BY MAHIL WIJESINGHE The colonial period Rest House on a hillock Source:Sundayobserver Ratnapura, known as Minipura or the City of Gems is my adopted hometown. After the lapse of a year, I am back in Ratnapura to explore the city and get a glimpse of the culture, history and life of the people in the region. Long ago, Sinbad, the sailor, reached the island of Serendib and travelled inland to a town through an archway studded with dazzling emeralds, topaz and sapphires. It was a fabulous city where beautiful women were adorned in the most expensive jewellery, studded with rubies and cat’s eye. It was Minipura or the City of Gems, nestling on the banks of the Kalu Ganga. Sri Lanka’s gems are said to be the best in the world. This is why King Solomon is supposed to have searched the island for jewels that would ...

Feb 5, 2023 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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SIR PONNAMBALAM ARUNACHALAM (1853-1924) Source:island.lk On the 98th Death Anniversary which falls on January 9, 2022 Compiled by Sega Nagendra and Suresh Murugaser, great grandchildren of Sir P. Arunachalam FAMILY Ponnambalam Arunachalam was the youngest Son of Gate Mudaliyar A. Ponnambalam. He was born on September 14, 1853, to a highly respected and a well-educated professional family originally from Manipay, Jaffna. Gate Mudaliyar Arumuganathapillai Coomaraswamy, his maternal grandfather, was the Tamil representative of the first Legislative Council established in 1834, following the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron report of 1832. Colebrooke, coming from England, which was agitating for reform of the electoral system, was surprised at the autocratic powers exercised by the Governor of Ceylon since 1802. He effected a reduction of those powers by setting up an Executive and Legislative Council. Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, who was Arunachalam’s mother’s brother, had been a friend of Lord Houghton, Palmerston and Disraeli, in ...

Jan 10, 2022 Posted by In Articles Tagged , , , , , , , ,
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