By Anura Gunasekera In the latter part of 1971, whilst I was on Eskdale Estate, Kandapola, I received a letter from the estate agents, George Steuart & Co, transferring me to Chapelton Division of Kotiyagala, Bogawantalawa. I and my wife Malini were delighted at this unexpected directive as, at that…

Roger Federer, the most celebrated Tennis player in history, after an illustrious two-decade career, departs the arena he graced with such virtuosity. Over an improbably long period he dominated in the most star-studded period of professional Tennis, unarguably that which showcased the greatest depth of talent of any era. Federer…

By Anura Gunasekera

Before it is too late By Anura Gunasekera To the farming community, historically, the forest has been a barrier to crop expansion, and also, a potential source of animal incursion into food crops. Hence, the denudation of natural forest cover has marched, hand-in-hand, with the expansion of mono-crops. Deforestation is an unfortunate symbol of human…

Recently, the Kegalle High Court Trial at Bar, on conclusion of the December 2018 Mawanella Buddha statue damaging case, conducted under the Prevention of Terrorism( Temporary Provisions) Act, has passed sentences of varying severity, on the accused who have admitted culpability. …

By Anura Gunasekera All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common; it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership- J.K. Galbraith.Dr. M.M., through an inexplicable thought process, has seen…

July 20, 2022, will go down in Sri Lanka’s history as a day of a political miracle, possible only in Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the man who lost in his own constituency in the 2020 General Election, securing less than 3% of the ballot, was levered into Parliament in June…

by Anura Gunasekera “I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused.” Graham Greene in the Quiet American. Surveying the wreckage of the nation in the moment of the departure of its President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the above simple sentence is seen as a fitting…

Globally, there is a direct link between poverty and environmental degradation. Amongst the more prominent examples are the sub-Saharan countries, such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, and Namibia, to name just a few, although the actual list from Africa is much longer. In a kind of circular…