This evening, see Chalith Kalupahana’s surrealism at the Wendt. Kolam Jaffna’s exhibition also opens today at Barefoot.
On Saturday, take your kids for storytelling at the British Council. Then contort yourself into a pretzel at a Germanically serious oonce-oonce techno party, courtesy not so Secret Events.
Sunday brings chess by the sea at the Galle Face, our answer to Havana’s malecón. And a history walk for children at Victoria Park.
Tuesday has a talk on the sea-bed at the Kadirgamar Institute. Dissect customs digitisation on Thursday at the Ceylon Chamber. At night, go for the opening night of Feroze Kamardeen’s comedy Freddy at the Wendt.
Next week, we also have kickboxing at Cinnamon Life, a backyard acoustic session at the 80 Club, thread cartography at the Bawa Trust and a stock market quiz.
PS the Bawa Trust’s design shop also opens its doors for the first time on Saturday.
What to read
Andrew Fidel makes the case for why “there's never quite been a player like Chamari Athapaththu for Sri Lanka.” The venerable American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies just published a guide to Sri Lanka’s digital libraries. Rooted Magazine interviews Lankan seed warriors and Jayawardenapura University researchers discover that Mannar microplastics are at moderate contamination levels. The President’s Japan visit joint-statement sadly didn’t bring tidings of a LRT restart.
Budget season is upon us. The Ceylon Chamber’s wish list is comprehensive and thoughtful. You can also read their comments on the draft public-private partnership bill here. An IMF report, at page nineteen, shows just how fancifully over-optimistic Treasury estimates have been in the past. The US State Department’s investment climate report complains that our “regulatory environment suffers from unpredictability, outdated rules, and excessive bureaucratic discretion.” Shiran Illanperuma quotes a recent study estimating 1,489 doctors emigrated between 2022 and 2024. The Central Bank’s condo market analysis is out: only a fifth of condos are purchased with loans. The rest are bought with cash.
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