Laksiri Warnakula  The Head of the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka Malcolm Cardinal Ranjiths’ proposal to keep the shops closed that sell the spirits of cheer (supposedly) during Christmas has met with stiff criticism coming from many members of the public Well on its own, it is always a sensible thing to do: to keep […]

Laksiri Warnakula  I was going through the ‘editorial’ of the ‘Island’ (29-09-21) titled ‘When heroes cower’ and as usual the ‘Editor’ stung again, where it hurts and matters most.  And suddenly my mind veered off the rails and there they are, right in front of me: Garlic, sugar and rice. And then there were others […]

Laksiri Warnakula  Before going any further, I should thank the editor for his editorial titled ‘Shortages, half-truths and mistruths (07/09)’, which gave me the idea of looking at ‘moles and mountains’ slightly differently,  and then with a dash of slight humour too, here and there.    Now please allow me to share my own two […]

LAKSIRI WARNAKULA Courtesy The Island I was shocked when I saw the pictures the other day. How could they come up with such an idea? And it is an act of sacrilege, too, causing harm to an object that should be protected, and even venerated, to my mind. It is a majestic symbol showing our […]

Laksiri Warnakula  The Island editorial on 17/08/21 titled ‘Puzzling reshuffle’ amused me no ends as I was going through it. I somehow managed to look at it from another perspective, even with the gloom that is brought on by a ‘Viral cloud’ hanging above us the governed, and perhaps not the governors to the same […]

Laksiri Warnakula The Island editorial of 29-07-21 with the title ‘It’s MPs’ Code of Conduct, stupid!’ prompted me to write this short letter on the matter discussed in it. For starters, let me pose the same question that the editor and quite a few others too, including the Chief Opposition Whip have asked: What were […]

Laksiri Warnakula  You must be wondering: What has the first got to do with the other; I mean the two words that appear in the title. Vultures have no moral values and as such they are not qualities that you can associate, even in your wildest of dreams, with those rapacious, avian desert-dwellers. Well, this […]

Laksiri Warnakula   Quite a few writers, even doctors among them, have expressed their  concerns with regard to the spread of the virus. The large numbers of people gathered around shops and places of worship during the ‘Avurudhu’ period, casting caution to the wind, was a recipe for disaster. And I fear that what is turning out […]

Laksiri Warnakula  She has been there for many years, living peacefully in the forest. And one day the earth beneath and around her began to shake and tremble, making her very nervous. Then she saw: the man and his machine, the harbingers of her ruin. And there she stood helplessly immersed in thoughts that were […]

Laksiri Warnakula  The news about the Presidents’ surprise visit a few days ago, to the Narahenpita Office of the ‘National Housing Development Authority’ made me pen this short article.  He is said to be following a complaint by a customer, who was told by the officers that they were short of staff. And the President […]

Laksiri Warnakula  It is not that religeous fanatics always walk around with a few kilos of explosives tied to their bodies, looking for a good spot to push the button. There can be others, who are as explosive, destructive and vicious as those suicide-bombers”   It has been nearly one and half years now, since […]

Laksiri Warnakula The other day I was having a nice snooze in my reclining chair, my mind wandering around in a no man’s land, now and then crossing over to my childhood-past, which lay on one side and then to the other, my adulthood-present. It was a balmy afternoon, and I found it hard not […]

Laksiri Warnakula I penned these few humorous (hope so) verses in the hope that they would take your mind away, at least for a few moments, from ‘the maddening, never-ending chronicles of conspiracy and corruption’ in present-day Sri Lanka.  Once upon a time in hell,There was this devil,Who being a unique model,Liked to play it […]

Laksiri Warnakula The election is over and the country’s helm is now in the hands of a new skipper. Therefore isn’t it time to forget the polling booths and look beyond them to see what else could be happening in this ‘Land like no other’? By the way anyone looking at the above title might […]

Laksiri Warnakula Rev. MP (I opted for the initials to keep anonymity) was feared by even the tough fisherfolk. He was short and stocky with a complexion, which was quite fair by any standard and made his roundish chubby face turn red when he was angry. My uncles said that he was a Monsignor and […]

Laksiri Warnakula The other day, I was aimlessly browsing through the ‘YouTube’ going from one movie trailer to another and suddenly, there he was; Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean. I am a big fan of him and I thought at the time that I had seen all of his presentations that had come so far […]

Laksiri Warnakula I make it a point to read the ‘The Island’ (on-line edition) every day. The times I get to do that depends on my daily work-schedule that involves shift work too. But suffice it to say that I never miss the ritual, which it has been for so many years now. I start […]

Laksiri Warnakula The letter by ‘JAYMAN’ in the opinion column of the ‘Island’ of 20-08-19 titled ‘Ban export of slave labour to West Asia’ once again reminds us of the misery and the suffering the daughters of Mother Lanka go through, while working as domestic aides in the ME. The majority of these unfortunate women […]

Laksiri Warnakula He was clad in the national dress, an immaculate white that contrasted well with somewhat dark and enclosed surroundings. He was stocky, yet lean enough. He was not tall, yet not short either. He was standing on the podium addressing a distinguished gathering of foreign and local dignitaries. With confidence and composure, he […]

Laksiri Warnakula I saw a picture on Facebook on (27-07-19) that made me silently cry. It was the garbage-strewn river mouth of the Kelani Ganga. It is literally a giant carpet of garbage, the thickness of which could be anyone’s guess. Then came the containers. The ghostly shapes stuffed with garbage sitting somewhere, on this […]

Laksiri Warnakula …….Everybody knew that it was a carrot, for it was orange with a green top” – Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean in one of his stage presentations Another season of carrots has dawned. And the above regarding carrots came to my mind, of Rev. Bean reading a passage from his gospel to his […]

Laksiri Warnakula Introduction I am exhausted. It’s not just physical. It stems from my incapability to take in and digest all of what is written on paper and spoken about, almost everywhere. The incessant barrage of peoples’ howling and protesting, talking and reporting colourfully (pun intended) and ruefully on moronic deals, deeds and a plethora […]

Laksiri Warnakula What would you expect from an unfortunate ship that has lost its helm and the helmsman, owing to bearing-malfunctioning, of the helm and the head of the helmsman, as well? Inevitably, it will become uncontrollable and lose all sense of direction resulting in becoming incapable of sailing safely and soundly along mapped-out lanes […]

Laksiri Warnakula When hoisted with their own petards, May the pot-bellied lot at Dhiyawanna, Fall flat on their faces in convoy, Kissing the dirt with great affection, And gay abandon,  Which will surely warm the cockles my heart.

Laksiri Warnakula Attempts to conquer heights, be it a mountain or any other carry their own perils and risks. Generally, glory and peril walk side by side in such endeavors, until the former or the latter wins, in the end”. Already eleven or twelve climbers have perished on the slopes of the Mount Everest, in […]

Laksiri Warnakula   The article in the opinion column of the Island on 25th Saturday by Prof. A. N. U. Ekanayaka is very thought-provoking and it delivers a resounding blow to all those, who espouse the identity of Sri Lanka as a ‘Sinhala Buddhist Nation’ with callous disregard to its broader implications and meaning and to […]