One Day In Sri Lanka

A group of friends were out on the lawn at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo enjoying the setting sun when a storm seemed to blow up from nowhere! Luckily we got under the veranda before the heavy rains hit…

A video of the action:

I changed my camera to capture video at 640 pixels rather than the 160 it came set at – I’m not too sure I’ll keep it there though, the files are just too huge – I’m thinking for what I’m using the video for, its not really worth the extra downloading time!

Yesterday I went to an Art Show. It was an exquisite display by the Colombo Centre for Special Education. This centre works with “intellectually impaired” people (their label) – it provides a half day programme where the students learn about living skills, get access to occupational and speech therapy and participate in dancing, sports and of course, art. I like their mission statement: “To provide a haven for those who are otherwise able, to prepare them with skills that engender self reliance and independance”.

The show was at the Lionel Wendt Gallery, a famous art gallery in the city. As I was walking around and checking out the many paintings and wall hangings, there was no shortage of sharp-dressed students coming up to point out their masterpieces. There was such pride in the artists as they showed me their work.

The Art Show is a fund-raiser for the centre which operates only on donations. Not only was there a collection at the door but also many of the art pieces had a nominal price tag attached. Once a piece was purchased a little green tag would go on it indicating it was sold. Once I realized the system, I noticed that most of the pieces had been sold and the show had only been open for two hours!

Mark and I are now the proud owners of two pieces of Sri Lankan art – “Bright Eyes” by George and another by Joshua. I’m not sure they will fit in the suitcases to come home but at least we’ll be able to enjoy them while we’re here… a little colour for our stark white walls! Here is Joshua with our painting “Chirpy-Chirpy-Cheep”:

I just like the tones, shapes and subdued colours in this photo.

In the gallery we visited a few weeks back, I was attracted to this odd shaped oil lamp with a wick hanging out its spout – It was hiding in a dark corner, flickering attention my way.  I took several photos of my subject…settling on the layout of the image above (with a little help from cropping).  This is what the lamp actually looks like:

Last weekend, Mark and I had the omnipresent list in our hand and struck out to get some provisions.  As usual we deviated from the list but with worthwhile results!  We were surprised to find one of many “Fashion Bugs” (a store that has amazing low prices on clothing – but not as low as the House of Fashion) on a street we often travel, Duplication Road.  I bought a blouse and Mark discovered good quality short-sleeved shirts at an excellent price ~8.00 Canadian.  Perhaps I’ll grab a shot of him in one!

After shopping we went scavenging for food and ended up at the Cricket Club which sounds a bit pretentious but neither the price nor the setting was that way…it was more like an english pub – quaint and sports-oriented.  On the day we visited, many families surrounded the tables with very few empty chairs in the entire multi-roomed place.

With something in our bellies, a sign, kitty-corner to the cricket club caught our eye… “The Gallery Cafe” – We felt a little odd going from one eatery to another but the word “Gallery” got the better of me…and hey, you know it must have been unique since Mark was even anxious to check it out!  There were playful abstract oil paintings by one artist throughout the open-air gallery shown below -but I’m a bit embarassed to say that I spent more time in the gift shop than the Gallery though!  We purchased banana-date chutney, a sandle-wood candle and of all things, boxer-shorts!! No, the boxer shorts did not have the “Gallery Cafe” branded all over them…they were just regular ones at a good price!

In the entrance way of the Cafe these floating “shivering flowers” wanted their picture taken….

On the weekend, Anand, took us to a delightful Sri Lankan Restaurant in the Ceylinco Head Office on Galle St. – He said we would normally eat in the main floor restaurant (where there was a life-size (all be it small) real-looking mechanized elephant with wonderful moving ears and eyes!) however there was a buddhist wedding there that night. So up to the rooftop eatery we went. We had a great view of the city and a meal worth dying for!

You can’t come to the island without trying hoppers… There are many kinds served – the morning buffet at our hotel often has string hoppers available which look like mounds of spaghettini to me… Here the roof-top chef is preparing an egg hopper – It’s somewhat akin to a bowl-like crepe with an egg in the middle… Great for eating straight or dipping in the many curries of the meal!

Last week I went to a presentation by Lawrence Lessig, “Mr. Creative Commons”. I honestly thought my chance of seeing Dr. Lessig present in person was slim to nil but then, there he was in Colombo…speaking at the ‘grand opening’ of the Sri Lankan Creative Commons site. Although Lessig’s talk was superb and his use of powerpoint inspiring, I enjoyed the after-show of Sri Lankan artists very much as well.

Here is a pic of a Drum Fusion band – I’m hoping to see them play again as I had never seen or heard anything like this before!

You can visit my youtube site to hear/view a short clip of them.