ravings of a strange woman

Some extra honesty about ‘Sri Lankaness’ and ‘Sri Lankan identity’

2012-01-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

Published in my column in The Nation ‘The Painted Goose’ on January 29, 2012 By Darshanie Ratnawalli Sometimes, certain sentences lodge in my head until I have to exorcise them by an act of writing. The following are from an essay titled ‘Back to Basics: The Need for an Honest Conversation About ‘Sri Lankanness’ and ‘Sri Lankan identity’ by Achcharya published in Groundviews last year. “But

…THOUGH NOW I WAS DATING NOT ONLY AJITH BUT AJAY TOO.

2012-01-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

(Actually I was not dating Ajith then, but can’t a girl dream?) Published in my column in The Nation ‘The Painted Goose’ on January 22, 2012 By Darshanie Ratnawalli In the afternoon of 10 October 1987, sound of shelling was once more heard in Jaffna barely three months after India enforced peace in Sri Lanka with the Indo-Lanka Accord. Most Jaffnese (records UTHR) couldn’t believe that it was

Are you saying the LTTE weren’t a Sri Lankan Force?

2012-01-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

Published in my column in The Nation ‘The Painted Goose’ on January 8, 2012 By Darshanie RatnawalliThe LTTE were technically Sri Lankan Forces too. They are on record in non- Sri Lankan sources as having had amputations performed on people to stop them from leaving no-fire zones. A book, which announces that Sri Lankan forces amputated people’s limbs to stop them from leaving no fire zones will

The Amazing Bulls In Our Bullring

2012-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Published in my column in The Nation ‘The Painted Goose’ on January 1, 2012 By Darshanie RatnawalliErnest Hemingway was passionate about bullfighting and wrote two books revolving around it. When I was in school or just after, I read one, ‘The Dangerous Summer’ it must have been not ‘The Sun Also Rises’ or I would remember the plot. What I remember is Hemingway being disdainful and scathing about

D.B.S.JEYARAJ finds some fatal slips in Niromi De Soyza’s narrative

2011-12-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

And treats them like pustules in a delicate anatomical region (quietly ignores them hoping they will just go away)(Also published in The Nation 18 December 2011 and The Sunday Leader 18 December 2011 and in LankaWeb)Darshanie Ratnawalli MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011From 2009 to 2011 consistently, faithfully and in a variety of digital media which can be easily retrieved Niromi de Soyza has been

Why do we have to rely on Portuguese, Dutch or English writings with their limited knowledge and misunderstandings of the native people?

2011-08-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

This post is in reply to the following comment By Ruwan on EMBARRASSING BITS IN PROFESSOR NALIN DE SILVA’S PUBLIC PROCLAMATIONS on 7/19/11"Every time I read literature that deals with attempts to understand this island's past, the following question keeps coming up in my mind. If Tamil is one of the oldest languages in human civilization (Wikipedia) and Sinhalese civilization has a 2500 year

THE DAY I FELT ACUTE DISTASTE FOR DR.DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

2011-05-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

BY DARSHANIE RATNAWALLIAlso published in Sri Lanka Guardian (only the first part) and LankaWeb (entirely)The unease I have long felt about Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka crystallized into distaste on Sunday 13 June 2010 when I came across his interview in that day’s Lakbima. It provided a startling glimpse into the dimension of reality Dr. DJ either inhabits for real or wants to sell to the unwashed

THE DAY I FELT ACUTE DISTASTE FOR DR.DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

2011-04-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

BY DARSHANIE RATNAWALLIThe unease I have long felt about Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka crystallized into distaste on Sunday 13 June 2010 when I came across his interview in that day’s Lakbima. It provided a startling glimpse into the dimension of reality Dr. DJ either inhabits for real or wants to sell to the unwashed masses. The way he tells it, there are lessons to be learnt from the whole Dutugemunu

shit happens ma…move on hon… what else is there to do

2011-01-26T21:12:00.000-08:00