Author Archive
August 19, 2010 at 5:20 pm · Categories: Colombo, Development | by Nalaka Gunawardene
The late Ray Wijewardene in conversation with Nalaka Gunawardene
Sri Lanka 2048 panel on Living with Climate Change – Ray Wijewardene is second from right
[Authors note: Dr Philip Revatha (Ray) Wijewardene, who passed away on August 18 aged 86, spent a lifetime being unpigeonholeable – which won him many admirers and a few detractors. Despite being an accomplished engineer, aviator, inventor and Olympian, he chose to introduce himself as a farmer and mechanic ‘who still got his hands dirty’. Unpretentious and always enthusiastic, he was one man who somehow managed to have his head (literally) in the clouds and his feet firmly on the ground.
Ray’s multi-faceted career blended many disciplines and pursuits. At Cambridge University, he studied …
July 11, 2010 at 1:00 pm · Categories: Colombo, Sport | by Nalaka Gunawardene
If you’re an alien planning to invade the Earth, choose July 11. Chances are that our planet will offer little or no resistance.
Today, most members of the Earth’s dominant species – the nearly 7 billion humans – will be preoccupied with 22 able-bodied men chasing a little hollow sphere. It’s only a game, really, but what a game: the whole world holds its breath as the ‘titans of kick’ clash in the FIFA World Cup Final.
Played across 10 venues in South Africa, this was much more than a sporting tournament. It’s the ultimate celebration of the world’s most popular sport, held once every four years. More popular than the Olympics, it demonstrates the sheer power of sports and …
June 16, 2010 at 6:30 am · Categories: Colombo, Economy, Science and Technology | by Nalaka Gunawardene
It happened 20 years ago, but I still remember the incident. In early 1990, as a young science journalist working for the Asia Technology magazine of Hong Kong, I was being shown around the Pakistani space agency SUPARCO premises in Karachi. At the time, they were readying the country’s first digital communications satellite, Badr 1 (Urdu for ‘New Moon-1’). There was great excitement about its impending launch (which took place a few weeks later on a Chinese Long March 2 rocket).
Being younger, eager and more idealistic, I asked the Pakistani space chiefs if the ‘New Moon’ would also usher in a new era of information disclosure for the hitherto secretive space programme. Pakistan had recently returned to civilian rule …
April 8, 2010 at 6:30 am · Categories: Colombo, Elections, Politics and Governance | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Today, over 14 million Lankan voters get to elect a new government. They can also pick from among 7,620 candidates vying for 225 seats in the national legislature.
The election campaigns for the past many weeks have seen the usual glut of rhetoric and promises. Our endlessly bickering political parties rarely agree on anything, so it’s refreshing to see a broad consensus on what this election is fundamentally about: future prosperity.
That’s no coincidence. This is the first time we elect our law makers since the long drawn and brutal civil war ended in May 2009. We have been looking back – or nervously looking around — for much of the past three decades. It’s about time we finally looked forward.
How we …
March 9, 2010 at 2:24 am · Categories: Colombo, Environment | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Piyal Parakrama on Sri Lanka 2048 TV show
Piyal Parakrama’s smile was regular and genuine, but it could be also be a bit misleading. Those who engaged him found that there was a keen mind, passionate heart and a sharp (yet always courteous) tongue behind that disarming smile. Opponents dismissed him lightly at their peril.
In public and media debates, Piyal could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. That flutter and buzz are now abruptly silenced with his sudden death on March 3 at age 49. Another public spirited player has left the stage all …
February 27, 2010 at 8:24 pm · Categories: Colombo, Identity, Religion and faith | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Two years ago, in a moment of panic, I rushed my young daughter to Colombo’s only children’s hospital. To be honest, I don’t normally turn to our overcrowded government hospitals for healthcare. But a doctor friend had recommended the Lady Ridgeway Hospital as the best place for administering the anti-rabies vaccine.
As with all government hospitals, they first wanted to record the patient’s basic bio data. Fair enough. I provided the child’s name, age and street address. For some reason, the form also asked for the patient’s religion. Before I could say anything, the nurse in charge wrote ‘Buddhist’.
Now, this was both incorrect and highly presumptuous. But when I objected, it sparked off an argument. The formidable woman insisted that …
January 22, 2010 at 2:35 pm · Categories: Colombo, Elections, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Reconciliation | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Colombo, 22 January 2010: Today marks exactly 250 days since Sri Lanka’s civil war officially ended on 18 May 2009.
On that momentous day, all Lankans shared at least one sentiment: a huge sense of relief. Many among us were euphoric, while some of us chose to be cautiously optimistic. It certainly was a defining moment, just like the tsunami had been four and a half years earlier.
In an emotionally charged essay written within 24 hours, I said: “I hope we can once again resume our long suspended dreams for a better today and tomorrow.” I later found that I had spoken for many.
We all knew the hard-won peace had to be nurtured and consolidated. We also realised just …
December 31, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Disaster Management, Media and Communications, Politics and Governance | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Five years ago, in the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, amateur radio helped revive emergency communications with some of the worst affected locations.
The decades old practice was hailed as the ‘low tech’ miracle that literally helped save lives. Where electricity and telephone services — both fixed and mobile — had been knocked down, amateur radio enthusiasts (or ‘radio hams’) restored the first communication links.
They were at the forefront of relief efforts, for example, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India, and in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.
[caption id="attachment_2343" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="When all else fails, shortwave persists…"]
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Within hours …
December 26, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Disaster Management, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
On 26 December 2009, we mark the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the biggest and deadliest disasters in history. It left a trail of destruction across South and Southeast Asia, killing over 225,000 and shattering the lives of millions more.
For many of us in the media and communication sectors, this was the biggest story of our lives. Because the killer waves hit numerous coastal locations in several countries, this disaster’s ‘Ground Zero’ was scattered far and wide. Not even the largest news organisations could see, hear and capture everything. Everyone had to choose.
And not just geographically, but thematically too, the tsunami’s impact was felt across sectors, issues and concerns. That provided both ample scope and many …
December 20, 2009 at 7:08 am · Categories: Colombo, Education, Media and Communications, Science and Technology | by Nalaka Gunawardene
On 20 December 2009, we mark the 15th death anniversary of Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma, one of the best known scientists produced by Sri Lanka during the Twentieth Century.
He was both an internationally recognised researcher on the origins of life on Earth, and an early promoter of science and technology for development. His interests and involvements transcended his own discipline and homeland. He worked closely with the Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam to promote science and infrastructural facilities in developing countries.
Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, director of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India (and now chair of the UN climate panel, IPCC), said upon Ponnamperuma death: “I don’t know of another single Third World scientist who has done …
November 21, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
My daughter Dhara, 13, finds it incredible that I had never seen a working television until I had reached her current age — that’s when broadcast television was finally introduced in Sri Lanka, in April 1979. It is also totally inconceivable to her that my entire pre-teen media experience was limited to newspapers and a single, state-owned radio station.
And she simply doesn’t believe me when I say — in all honesty and humility — that I was already 20 when I first used a personal computer, 29 when I bought my first mobile phone, and 30 when I finally got wired. In fact, my first home Internet connectivity — using a 33kbps dial-up modem — and our daughter arrived …
October 23, 2009 at 5:45 pm · Categories: Disaster Management, Environment, Human Rights | by Nalaka Gunawardene
The President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives in an exclusive interview with Nalaka Gunawardene
[caption id="attachment_1821" align="alignnone" width="425" caption="Nalaka Gunawardene (left) and President Mohamed Nasheed in Male, Aug 2009"]
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The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives is the smallest country in Asia – it packs 325,000 people into a land area just under 300 square kilometres. With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (5 feet) above sea level, it is also the lowest country on the planet, and now on the frontline of climate change impact. As the polar ice …
July 18, 2009 at 8:30 am · Categories: Colombo, Foreign Relations | by Nalaka Gunawardene
When Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon 40 years ago this month, they were more than just Americans taking that historic first step on to another celestial body.
They did plant the American flag there, acknowledging the nation whose tax payers had financed the massive operation. To allay any fears that one nation was claiming the Moon — which was explicitly ruled out by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 — they also left a plaque which read: “Here men from the Planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” It was signed by the three astronauts –- Neil Armstrong, …
July 3, 2009 at 10:19 am · Categories: Colombo, Foreign Relations, Human Rights, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Located strategically in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was a hub in the maritime silk and spice routes for millennia. It drew traders from the east and west for both business and pleasure. Notable among the attractions were spices, whose many aromas and flavours formed an integral part of the tropical paradise experience.
The traditional Lankan curry contained up to 13 spices and herbs. Most plants were not native – cardamom came from South India, cloves from Indonesia and chilli all the way from the Americas. Cinnamon was Sri Lanka’s unique contribution to this delightful mix. The origins didn’t really matter: the islanders knew just how to mix the native and the foreign to achieve legendary results.
As Sri Lanka embarks on …
May 19, 2009 at 8:38 am · Categories: Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Trincomalee, Vavuniya | by Nalaka Gunawardene
The long and bloody Sri Lankan war is over, and not a moment too soon. I really want to believe it. The alternative is too depressing to consider.
Of course, there is no independent verification – it has been a war without witnesses for the past many months, with no journalists or humanitarian workers allowed access. We know that history is written by victors, not losers. I am willing to take a leap of faith if that’s what we need to usher in the long-elusive peace.
As we stand on the threshold of peace, I am overwhelmed with memories of our collective tragedy. I hope we can once again resume our long suspended dreams for a better today and tomorrow.
I …
March 19, 2009 at 6:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Uncategorized | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Sir Arthur C Clarke on Hikkaduwa beach, photo by Rohan de Silva
Sir Arthur Clarke’s first death anniversary falls on 19 March 2009
Sir Arthur’s 90th birthday reflections (effectively his public goodbye) is available online at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qLdeEjdbWE&feature=channel_page
During his illustrious career spanning over 60 years, Sir Arthur C Clarke received a large number of honours, awards and accolades from scientific, academic and literary bodies worldwide. At one time or another, he won all the top science fiction literary awards. He received honorary doctorates from universities in the east and west. In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his ‘services to literature’.
In his adopted homeland of …
December 16, 2008 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
91st birth anniversary on 16 Dec 2008
“For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert.”
Sir Arthur C Clarke, whose 91st birth anniversary falls on 16 December 2008, once opened an essay on science and society with this pun on Newton’s Third Law of motion. He was empathising with politicians and the public who get confused when scientific opinion becomes divided or polarised.
Sir Arthur Clarke – photo by Shahidul Alam
Clarke was a rare expert who always tried to reconcile rational analysis with the real world’s limits of the possible. His forte was not only in extrapolating about humanity’s technological future, which he did exceedingly well in his writing and television appearances, but also in exploring …
November 21, 2008 at 11:12 am · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict | by Nalaka Gunawardene
Book review of:
Palitha Perera Samaga Sajeeva Lesin
(Live with Palitha Perera)
Surasa Books, Colombo; 2008
‘What does Palitha Perera know about culture? He’s just a cricket commentator!’
That’s how a senior banker reacted when veteran broadcaster and journalist Palitha Perera’s name was proposed as script writer and narrator for a TV documentary series on Buddhist temple murals in Sri Lanka. When Palitha heard this, he realised how, in the minds of many Sri Lankans, he was pigeon-holed into a single niche. This prompted him to write his first book, capturing highlights of a long and illustrious career of over 45 years during which he has straddled multiple spheres of radio and TV broadcasting, cricket commentating, sports journalism, arts and culture. …
September 27, 2008 at 4:00 pm · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
In the past week, the name ‘Sakvithi’ has been causing ripples in Sri Lankan society and creating numerous news headlines — for all the wrong reasons.
Sakvithi Ranasinghe, a populist tutor of English turned millionaire businessman, has fled the country after duping thousands of unsuspecting people to deposit their life’s savings in his investment firm. Media reports have variously placed the number of victims between 1,500 and 4,000 — and some estimates place the total worth of his loot to be a whopping Rs. Nine billion (over USD 83.5 million).
Since it broke around September 21, the scandal has consumed a good deal of newspaper space and broadcast time. Editorialists and TV pundits have been having a field day, some simply …
September 19, 2008 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications | by Nalaka Gunawardene
AJ Gunawardana and Lester James Peiris
September 2008 marks 10 years since the sudden death of Dr Ariyasena Jayasekera (A J) Gunawardana, an outstanding university teacher, writer/journalist, cinema personality and art critic. When he failed to regain consciousness from open heart surgery, at the relatively young age of 65, we lost a rare intellectual who had his feet firmly on the ground, and constantly built bridges linking media, culture and society.
AJ’s academic and professional accomplishments are well known and remembered. Having started as a journalist with Daily News, where he was a noted arts and culture correspondent in the 1960s, he went on to obtain a doctorate …
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