Best Rocket Propelled Grenade Man we ever had

"The guy would take out bunkers with one shot" we were told. From the rest of the recollections you could practically see him taking aim, rock steady in the hell of jungle firefights. When we meet him, the calmness is still there. A fit man, on the way towards his late twenties. He is confidently …

Controversial colonel’s return creates another political crisis in Sri Lanka

Rarely does the return of a famous son plunge a land into such a slow motion crisis. On the face of it the crisis appears to centre on emotional arguments about historical trivia. Yet it's divisiveness has frightening implications about the future post war stability of the island. To understand its significance, it is essential …

High security section of Bauddhaloka Mawatha open to public

The tree lined stretch of Bauddhaloka Mawatha between thunmulla and Prof. Stanley Wijesundara Mawatha is now open to public traffic! During the war years this stretch of road was part of a barricaded high security zone. It is still where top tiers of the Sri Lankan defence establishment have their official residences. Its a thrill …

Sri Lankan army wife’s story: ends and begins

Nearly 2 years ago I wrote about a Sri Lankan army wife's perspective of the war. It seems fitting to wrap that story line as the year ends and another begins. As with most things, an end of something is also a beginning of another year/life/era/story. A time to wrap up loose ends, take a …

Sri Lanka Air Force museum aircraft identified from Google Earth

Aviation photographer Suresh A. Atapattu generously identified the SLAF museum's out door aircraft exhibits seen in the Google Earth screen grab below. He also went through the trouble of re-numbering the aircraft in the image. His numbers in yellow correspond to the table below. This image was originally used in my post about the Sri …