Dance in a Triangle

RIP Whitney

2012-02-12T12:27:00.001+05:30

We grew up with her music. What an amazing voice. It's a sad day.

Recipe: Apple Sharlotka

2012-02-05T20:09:00.000+05:30

Readers, I have for you the easiest cake you will ever make. It's moist, dense and largely guilt free because the main ingredient is apples. Also, no butter! Check it. Apple Sharlotka: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes Serves 8 6 large apples (Granny Smith or similar) 1 tspn cinnamon 1/4 tspn nutmeg 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup flour

30 in 12

2012-01-18T00:58:00.000+05:30

I have a confession to make. For the last few years I've struggled to read more than, possibly, 5 new books a year. Saying that out loud causes me great shame. I don't even know what to blame it on, except that I found re-reading old favourites more enticing than the mystery and allure found in the pages of a new book. Those were dark times. But huzzah. Look at this. 30 books in a year!

For the Melomanics

2012-01-04T14:29:00.000+05:30

Acoustic music, at last! The Melomanic Sessions is happening this Sunday, 8th at the Warehouse Project. Gehan my super sexy boyfr, of the headless videos fame will be performing, along with the blogosphere's favourite illustrator, Asela of twitter fame, CC and assorted others. The last time they had the Sessions, somewhere in November?, I really enjoyed myself. It started inexcusably late

I resolve..

2012-01-03T14:30:00.000+05:30

Unawatuna, new year's eve 2011 The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of New Year resolutions. That time when you dig up the last post of last year and balefully look at the good intentions as yet unfulfilled. In fact, I just did that and could find no such post, though I vaguely remember resolving to eat less butter.. My waistline knows how that went.. I did come across this post

For #16days campaign- what do you think GBV means?

2011-12-04T16:53:00.001+05:30

The 16 days of activism campaign got me thinking and trying to define Gender Based Violence to myself. Violence based on, or because of your gender didn't seem to quite cut it. Violence denotes aggression and aggressive behaviour, physical force, injuries, blood; but so often violence, and abuse, is not just about those things. What about the wife who has no access to the bank accounts, no money

Review: Cutting for Stone

2011-12-01T15:50:00.001+05:30

If you read only one book this year, let it be this one. Beautifully written, Verghese takes you on a journey spanning continents and generations. From a mission hospital in Ethiopia, to the war terrain in Eritrea, to the tough streets of the Bronx, the story moves the reader through a dizzying array of themes and story lines, all wrapped in a cocoon of medical drama that is neither

10 things I love

2011-11-02T14:19:00.000+05:30

Current obsessions: 1. Pinterest: been pinning like a fiend ever since I got on it. Plus, it's a great time waster at work! 2. Party planning: The Duckling and I just got done hosting an epic Halloween party (more on that later). Next up, possibly a farewell party and then her majesty's own 25th really young age birthday party. 3. The weather. Who doesn't love the thunder and lightning

Recipe: Chilli con carne

2011-10-27T12:48:00.002+05:30

I tried out a recipe for chilli last night that was such a success that I felt I must share. I must warn you that the quantities below are all what I think "just about looks right" (I have trouble following recipes). Pictured below is what it looked like about half way through the meal, when I felt the need to blog about it. Chilli con carne: Adapted from BBCgoodfood Prep time: aprox.

day 20

2011-10-26T14:31:00.001+05:30

More from Suheir Hammad, because I love her. Not Your Exotic don't wanna be your exotic like some dark, fragile colourful bird imprisoned, caged, in a land foreign to the stretch of her wings don't wanna be your exotic women everywhere look just like me some taller, darker, nicer than me but like me just the same women everywhere carry my nose on their faces my name on their spirits don't

Day 19

2011-10-20T15:53:00.002+05:30

Now that I am in Marid I can think - Frank O'Hara I think of you and the continents brilliant and arid and the slender heart you are sharing my share of with the American air as the lungs I have felt sonorously subside slowly greet each morning and your brown lashes flutter revealing two perfect dawns colored by New

I ♥ NY

2011-10-07T11:55:00.002+05:30

I miss New York. I really do. Even though the last few months I was there all I could think about was coming home, now that I am home, I miss it. I regret not making the most of it while I was there. I regret not taking more time to explore, regret not breaking the rules a little more, regret not letting it in. I regret not going downtown more often, not visiting the East

the 411

2011-10-06T15:22:00.001+05:30

Time for an update! I bet you all are as excited as I am, which is to say, not much. I've had a busy week months? The days are starting to blur together. I often don't know which day of the week it is and wear my Thursday jeans on a Tuesday, that kind of thing. So I went to Islamabad for a conference, which was informative and inspiring and all those things civil society conferences are

Book Fair

2011-09-20T23:29:00.001+05:30

If you haven't checked out the Colombo International Book Fair already, you should. I can't remember the last time I went so the sheer size of it was totally overwhelming. Get someone to drop you off because the parking looks a nightmare. They have, if I remember right, halls A through H, brimming with books. The Lakehouse, Makeen's and Sarasavi bookshops had the widest selections of the ones I

Off the top of my head

2011-09-15T00:40:00.000+05:30

I have just returned from a very rewarding, albeit tiring, field trip to Hambantota. As part of a new project we are working on, we did a series of interviews and photo shoots, and we did and saw things that I may or may not reflect on later, time permitting, but I wanted to put down some initial thoughts while they're still fresh in my mind. A few things struck me quite strongly during the

10 things I love

2011-09-06T14:43:00.001+05:30

It's September! One of my favourite months; as I was telling O, 3 years ago we'd be unpacking in our room in college. Sadly, that is no more, and yet my virtual mood board is all autumn colours and pumpkin pie right now. So without further ado, the ten things I love this month: 1. Babies. I jest. But I am expecting a very special brand new nephew to make his appearance in a few weeks, and then

day 18

2011-09-06T09:51:00.001+05:30

Ravish your lover while you still love her - Tanya Davis (this poem is) to my lovers who were once the suns in my skies: i am sorry that i never ravished you enough and that there is nothing to be done about the passing of time remember your lovers but, especially, don't forget them, while they are in your bedroom with their hair disheveled and their clothes strewn make sure you notice them

going veg

2011-09-05T14:45:00.002+05:30

Yes, I am as astounded as you are. Never did I think those words would emerge from my keyboard. But as someone reminded me recently, being environmentally conscious isn't a part time job; it's a way of life. Which means if I am to take myself seriously, I need to practice what I preach. What has given rise to this epiphany? Well, I guess over the years it's become harder to ignore facts

Lazy Atheism and other Religious Reflections

2011-08-30T14:00:00.000+05:30

I struggle with religion. I was born a Buddhist, raised in Science and then kind of.. set free. I think it was around A/Ls and my first few years of college that I had strong atheistic leanings; the latter part of college I was enthralled by Taoism and the Bhagavad Gita (note to self: get my textbooks back). Now, after many discussions with my very religious boyfriend, I've settled into

day 17

2011-08-26T11:02:00.001+05:30

A Life by Sylvia PlathTouch it: it won't shrink like an eyeball, This egg-shaped bailiwick, clear as a tear. Here's yesterday, last year --- Palm-spear and lily distinct as flora in the vast Windless threadwork of a tapestry. Flick the glass with your fingernail: It will ping like a Chinese chime in the slightest air stir Though nobody in there looks up or bothers to answer. The inhabitants are

day 16

2011-08-21T21:01:00.000+05:30

For Rumi, Across a Thousand Years, Kathleen McLeod (for 11/21) Oh lover, trace me like biro, blue veined and pure. The way your words move in me, like a sea to flood the heart: calling the masses out of the mosque and into the square. See there, my hand is fair I will scribe the discomfort, the longing - The ache for your art. Prayers falling on white marble, This is the Passover. Drink from

day 15

2011-08-18T09:25:00.000+05:30

Love in the Cathedral, Miller Williams “…except you ravish me.” In the beginning I couldn’t speak to you. Not because the words wouldn’t come; it was because they might. Not words like love, blooming where they fall; words like come here. When once you turned to look straight at me out of a crowd, I thought I must have let the sounds inside my head come out, like “let us all go home.” I wouldn’

Beauty is as beauty does

2011-08-14T14:05:00.000+05:30

Yesterday morning I was horrified, as many of you were, to hear of the (de)construction on Independence Ave. where the decades old willow trees that proudly lined the avenue are now being cut down, to be replaced by Na trees, the country's national tree. As noted here by Groundviews and here by the Sunday Times, the military headed operation is a part of the Colombo beautification process. Were

day 14

2011-08-13T14:14:00.000+05:30

The poet sees the thing you cannot name - Allison Chopin Her language mimics yours, but it isn’t the same. Sounds are softer, longer, rhythmic. You carry the world around in pieces and snapshots, She sees it all at once in blurs, and that is enough. Those strange scenes you dream? Visions of unsolved mysteries, The dancing bliss, the envy that you’re too frightened to speak, She knows them and

Protest thoughts

2011-08-09T23:52:00.002+05:30

Twitter is a marvelous thing. I've been watching the coverage of the London riots with great interest, and my timeline is full of nothing but updates on it. Then this article written by Laurie Penny began doing the rounds on facebook. It is a powerful piece on recognising and addressing root causes, something which I hold in very high esteem. I read it and my mind began drawing wild parallels