Hambantota Harbor Opening - New Era Begins in Sri Lanka

15th Aug, 2010 is a historical day for Sri Lanka. The water-filling ceremony of Hambantota Harbor was held in the morning of this historical day.

The constructions started based on an idea of president Mahinda Rajapakshe, in January 2008. This is the second largest harbor in Sri Lanka. The fact that made this idea a brilliant one is, the economical importance of the location. Hambantota is very closed to a key international shipping route which connects Asia and Europe. The main intention of building this harbor to provide services and resources for ships which use this international shipping route. As estimations show the number of ships that use this shipping line is about 36000 annually. So it is apparent that this would be a great source of income for Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapakshe poured the first drop of sea water into the tank  on the auspicious moment, with the Buddhist religious blessing.   I used to live in Hambantota for sometime when I was a kid. My father, Jayasiri Ruwanpathirana worked as the divisional secretariat of Hambantota. So it is a great pleasure to see the area is being developed. I still remember the calm little harbor which was near the district secretariat office. I wonder how it'll look like when I get back to SL. I just can't wait :)

Anyhow it seems like a new era begins with a revolution in development. It is a certain fact that there will be an economic revolution after a war in a country. I wish it should be the same for my country too. In Sri Lankan history, great kings are defined as the kings who protect and develop the country. Both of these tasks should be accomplished by a king to be a great king. I believe this is the our president's second phase of the path of being a great king, after completing first phase by defeating Tamil tiger terrorists. No matter what he has done in the past or who he used to be, his name is already included in great kings list. Everyone has black and white spots...so is a president, but does anybody question how many black spots were there in King Dutugemunu's character?  Who cares...so no doubt the future generations will consider president Mahinda Rajapakshe as a "great king".

Trip to Chicago

This trip was organized in a rush, in last spring (2010).  Covered Shedd aquarium, Willis tower, Fields museum and Adler planetarium. Anyway this trip was kind of ruined by the mist.

Here is the link for Trip to Chicago in my travel blog.

Cure for Dengue - Papaya Leaves

Good news on Dengue cure.

This is for Sinhala readers only - Dengue cure.

Working Parallely with KFS and IFRI

I was working on IFRI as a summer employee when I get a permanent position in Kuali Financial Systems(KFS).

IFRI(International Forestry Resources and Institutions) is a research group which focuses on how institutions and governance arrangements shape forest use and management outcomes. I was assigned to solve problems in their huge database and data entry application, by Professor Beth Plale. While working there, I got the rare chance of working with a noble price winner: Elinor Ostrom.

However I was still working on IFRI when I get the full time job. Therefore I couldn't leave IFRI at once to join with Kuali. Anyhow I was able to negotiate with both parties and to get permission to work half time for both till the summer ends.

Now I am working for Kuali in the morning and for IFRI in the afternoon. It's a bit different experience but interesting.

Trip to Tennessee

It was our first trip in US. I thought to start a separate travel blog for US trips rather than including those here. This is the link for Trip to Tennessee.

Missing Sinhala Newyear for the First Time

Sinhala new year is the favorite festival of most Sri Lankans and I am one of them. According to the traditional calendar, April(Bak in Sinhala) is the first month of the year. The auspicious time is defined when the Sun moves from house of Pisces (Meena raashiya) to house of Aries (Mesha raashiya). Spring begins....Paddies make harvest.....Koha starts singing....buds become flowers.....Simply, the nature's heart is blooming.

So this is the first time we (Saliya and me) are missing it. We both celebrated the last new year with our own families.  We used to play Panchi in many newyear times. It was a one hell of a fun time. Everyone (male, female, old, young no matter what) was participating. No words to say how much I miss it. I miss my beloved Aththamma who always volunteers to resolve disputes in a way that makes everyone (in her team) happy :)).  I miss our Loku nenda and Maama, who quarrel like kids as they were always separated into two teams :). I miss my mother, father who join us mainly to catch cheaters, so my father never gets caught ;). I miss my brothers, cousin brothers and sisters who make the game a funny mess. They must be having the fun without me this time. Hmm no......they can't do the same without their pebble moving genius :D

Think my brothers are enjoying the sweets and fire crackers alone this time (the cracker thief is missing). Cleaning the oil lamp, grating coconut for kiribath and organizing the Aurudu table are the tasks which should be accomplished by someone else this time. Anyone is welcome to light up the vacant slot of the oil lamp too. I imagine my father, announcing the time second by second to amma, who is preparing for the auspicious time near the fire place. It is the time all five of us get together to observe the milk pot till it overflows. Finally, I really miss our funny little Aurudu trip with cousins.

After all this is the first new year we (me and my husband) spend together. Isn't that great? We will celebrate it at our best though we are not in our home country. We wish a happy and prosperous Sinhala new year to every Sri Lankan.

My Sinhala Poems

I thought to make an online archive of my Sinhala Poems. Those were written sometime back and now it is hard to find many of those as they were kept here and there.  So I thought it is worth keeping atleast the remainings in an accessible place :)

This idea came to me after seeing Tharindu's blog, in which he has kept his creations. Thanks to him I am having an online archive of my poems now. Also, thanks to Saminda I am typing Sinhala well now:). He has implemented a Sinhalaadd-on for firefox too.