Every Sri Lankan, and almost every visitor to Sri Lanka, carries a longing for the place in some small form - hiraeth, the Welsh call it - wherever they go and whatever their background. It binds them however much the war and politics might try to divide them.
Romesh Gunesekera
Related I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES In this crucial hour, we must transcend all differences and work for an undivided Sri Lanka as a uni... CHANDRIKA KUMARATUNGA An economically peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka is the dream of youth of the nation. My message fo... A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM Jon Lewis and Stuart Broad have both shown fine early-season form for their counties and I'm sure th... DAVID GRAVENEY I think that an Australian side without Adam Gilchrist is not nearly as strong as with him in the te... ARJUNA RANATUNGA His contribution (to Sri Lanka) was immense. BERNARD GOONETILLEKE I think they've just slightly had the edge over Sri Lanka and I think Sri Lanka probably rely on too... RICKY PONTING On a personal level, I think the political situation in Sri Lanka is very much on the mind of Sri La... SHYAM SELVADURAI This looks more and more like a constitutional coup here in Sri Lanka. KASRA NAJI A few countries like Sri Lanka and Honduras have led the way in slashing maternal mortality. NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF It is not easy to ignore a bid when India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh decide to come togethe... SHARAD PAWAR I don't think leading Sri Lanka is that much of a pressure. We've got some really talented youngster... MAHELA JAYAWARDENE We haven't been pushed to three games for many years and Sri Lanka are a credit to themselves. ANDREW SYMONDS Sri Lanka is a part of my background: it's not where I live, but it's what I want to explore... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Pakistan reaffirmed its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and for t... TASNEEM AHMED I almost always do things that I like, in some form or fashion. Every once in awhile that means that... BILLY CAMPBELL This experience will be to his and the West Indies youth team's benefit for next month's Youth World... JOEY CAREW I am satisfied after my performance in India-Sri Lanka series and expecting to repeat same in Pakist... HARBHAJAN SINGH The ratings on Sri Lanka are vulnerable due to the country's high government debt and ongoing large ... AGOST BENARD My writing has been shaped by the three countries - Sri Lanka, the Philippines and England - I have ... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I was delighted that they were selected. It was a unanimous selection of the dinner committee. I thi... MIKE HEALY I am trying to get into shape for the season. I hope to be fit for the Sri Lanka series. SOURAV GANGULY War crimes, you say? No matter how many policies you put on paper, in reality, there are ... THISURI WANNIARACHCHI The most appealing side-effect of Sri Lankan cricket from where I stand, shuffling words, has been l... ROMESH GUNESEKERA It'll be a milestone if Sri Lanka can do an international bond. DESMOND SOON Every tour leading up to the World Cup is important as we want to win everything so that the confide... SALEEM ALTAF It is fantastic news. We need him back, and it will be good to have him facing the first ball (in th... KEVIN PIETERSEN The United States stands firmly in support of a solution that offers justice and human rights for al... JOE LOCKHART Suicidal violence is not the exclusive property of the Muslim world. Suicide bombings were a tactic ... JAMES BUCHAN I will make a decision on how many matches I should play for Essex after the Sri Lanka tour. DANISH KANERIA I probably felt most out of place as a young kid growing up in Sri Lanka. My mental world was somewh... ROMESH GUNESEKERA That's Anil's path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fa... MICHAEL ONDAATJE We ... believe that a military solution to Sri Lanka is not possible ... We are supportive of the No... THOMAS PICKERING The UK is the largest European investor in Sri Lanka and I especially look forward to meeting with U... IAN PEARSON This had a tremendous impact on the aviation and tourism related sectors, bearing in mind that Europ... BARRY BROWN We will stick to our plan and play an aggressive game, the way we played recently against Sri Lanka ... HARBHAJAN SINGH I was shot at for being a Tamil in Sri Lanka, and then, everyone was calling me a Paki in London, an... M.I.A. The balance of payments crisis sounds rather dry but it really would have a devastating impact on th... BRIAN AITKEN My giving birth was nothing when I think about all the people in Sri Lanka that have to give birth i... M.I.A. Many instances of persecution and killing have occurred in countries with atrocious human rights rec... DAVID SUZUKI He was always in the scheme of things and we had only been trying others against Sri Lanka, which is... KIRAN MORE He might have failed against Sri Lanka but we still believe that he has the potential to serve the c... FARUQUE AHMED The main frustration we had with Sri Lanka was although they weren't imposing customs duties on good... CHRIS WEEKS One hundred percent of the donations are applied to the reconstruction. No administrative costs and ... MIKE COSTELLO I'm a doer, and whether it was the tsunami in Sri Lanka or the earthquake in Indonesia, I was al... PAUL WALKER Sri Lanka is an island that everyone loves at some level inside themselves. A very special island th... ROMESH GUNESEKERA The purpose of the visit is to brief India about what Norway had been doing. We will assist both Ind... ERIK SOLHEIM We have tears in our eyes As we wave our goodbyes, We so loved being with you, we three. ROALD DAHL Be careful about Burma. Most people cannot remember whether it was Siam and has become Thailand, or ... ALEXANDER COCKBURN Almost every place they grow them. BILL KIPPER He was the unsung hero in the one-day series against South Africa and Sri Lanka (in India late last ... RAHUL DRAVID In both the finals in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe we got into positions from where we should have won but... GREG CHAPPELL The product is aimed at benefiting over 1.5 billion non-English speaking people in South Asia, inclu... AJAY GUPTA “Every time you try to conform to other people’s expectations you are unhappy. When you are who ... DHAMMIKA DHARMAWARDHANE Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the... A.A. MILNE Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the... WINNIE THE POOH For starters, that’s a rather simple principle of Time Travel right there – and according to the... CHRISTINA ENGELA In London, I discovered a peculiar building by Holland Park where the globe was shrunk to fit a Brit... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Sri Lankans of every kind, overwhelmingly the poorest, have been bombed by one side or the other for... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I'm a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I'm a member of both... MICHAEL ONDAATJE War will disappear only when men shall take no part whatever in violence and shall be ready to suffe... ANATOLE FRANCE It's clear that the combination of competitive performance, screening, and advocacy on behalf of the... ALISA GRAVITZ It was nice to see him perform during home series against Sri Lanka. But he was struggling since Ken... FARUQUE AHMED To have the cognitive abilities to do research and development is vital to a forever expanding world... GARY F EVANS... I really appreciate the sport background because the structure and the discipline that that gives a ... ESTELLA WARREN When I first came to India from Sri Lanka, people were surprised to see my toned arms. I had come ri... JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ He is still experiencing pain in his right shin and with the Test series against Sri Lanka due to st... PETER GREGORY When a visitor comes in, we'll ask them where they're going and who they are visiting. We'll then as... JEFF LEITNER I am not a religious person myself, but I did look for nature. I had spent my first sabbatical in Ne... STEFAN SAGMEISTER I love to travel with my family or my two best friends because I completely trust them. I forced my ... JULIA SAWALHA When I was in grad school, I had to admit I hadn't read Toni Morrison. My teacher, the novelist ... SUNIL YAPA I remember so clearly from when I was five years old, my mom and dad arguing over - not over whether... SUNIL YAPA Use your heart. Understand. Learn to see things in the now, not as they were or will be, or as ... E.J. PATTEN Someone tell this man that there are 660,000 refugees (displaced persons) in Sri Lanka. Some displac... BAILAMAN If you don't chance your arm, you'll never break your neck. DOROTHY MAY SNOERWANG-DOYLE 1927-2011 I think I was quite clever about it. I could have still carried on fielding against Sri Lanka, but I... HERSCHELLE GIBBS Hold onto one thought: You're not important. You're not anything. Some day the load we're carrying w... RAY BRADBURY Whether we live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia or India, the U.K. or the U.S., we face similar issues of u... ROMESH GUNESEKERA They taught me different was wrong. ANI DIFRANCO [Sri Lanka and Little Rock] are definitely different, but the climate is not that different, the pro... CHRIS WEEKS Quakers almost as good as colored. They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time. HARRIET TUBMAN Quakers almost as good as colored.... They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time... HARRIET TUBMAN Your eyes are the light of your heart and do not make your soul dark”. Ravi Satha... RAVI SATHAIVAM / SRI LANKA The fact that it is set in a phantasmagorical island somewhere in ancient Sri Lanka throws up immens... FRANCIS WACZIARG Everything has it's own time and place,
Transformation becomes effortless when we go with the flow. SHELLI THOMPSON When I was growing up, I don't think I knew any other child who had been out of Sri Lanka. ROMESH GUNESEKERA We're in a period of huge transition. Wal-Mart has the might if they put their minds to it. And beca... GARY BORMAN Every actor has a different language. Every actor has their strengths and their challenges, and I tr... LONNY PRICE In almost every country there are elements of opinion which would welcome such a conclusion because ... ARTHUR HENDERSON Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than you do it perfe... T. E. LAWRENCE That's why we seize the moment try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it. EMINEM I feel so honored to be able to say "What I do is for my son" without that being an excuse to do stu... C. JOYBELL C. So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take... QURAN Alas, human vices, however horrible one might imagine them to be, contain the proof (were it only in... CHARLES BAUDELAIRE This is their dream so maybe they go one less place or maybe do one less thing they are still going ... MATT HOWARD Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might giv... CARSON MCCULLERS They're very versatile swimmers and they're pretty much my utility girls. They can compete in almost... CHRISTINA COLLINS It shows the best student work on offer in Wales, offers workshops and talks to Welsh students and a... JAMES NEE You have scout teams that don't play a lot and he makes it a point every day to go over to them and ... BILL POWELL We try to make our customers aware of the issue. And it is their responsibility. However, we do work... JANE HOWARD
More Romesh Gunesekera
Sri Lankans of every kind, overwhelmingly the poorest, have been bombed by one side or the other for... ROMESH GUNESEKERA The old idea that you grow wiser as you get older, and you learn from your elders, is actually compl... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Sri Lanka is an island that everyone loves at some level inside themselves. A very special island th... ROMESH GUNESEKERA The nationalist movement supported Sinhala by suppressing Tamil; there were competing nationalisms. ... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Two of the first plays I saw after I arrived in Britain were 'King Lear' in Liverpool, and &... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I've met writers who wanted to be writers from the age of six, but I certainly had no feelings l... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I find anonymous music frees me best. Chinese pop can be perfect. I can't decipher anything on t... ROMESH GUNESEKERA To come to England in the 1970s was to return to this strange other-world of half-known history. I f... ROMESH GUNESEKERA A passenger on a road journey is in the hands of a driver; a reader embarking on a book is in the ha... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Cricket fans all over the world probably have more in common with each other than with their fellow ... ROMESH GUNESEKERA In London, I discovered a peculiar building by Holland Park where the globe was shrunk to fit a Brit... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Sure, cricket on a beach on the isle of Jura is different from a Test match in a stadium in Galle, 6... ROMESH GUNESEKERA My writing has been shaped by the three countries - Sri Lanka, the Philippines and England - I have ... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I probably felt most out of place as a young kid growing up in Sri Lanka. My mental world was somewh... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Sri Lanka is a part of my background: it's not where I live, but it's what I want to explore... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Whether we live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia or India, the U.K. or the U.S., we face similar issues of u... ROMESH GUNESEKERA When I was growing up, I don't think I knew any other child who had been out of Sri Lanka. ROMESH GUNESEKERA In writing, I try to find the right balance between momentum and infinity, truth and beauty. ROMESH GUNESEKERA In the sense that writing is to retrieve the past and stop the passing of time, all writing is about... ROMESH GUNESEKERA At 16, I started reading trashy stuff, anything slightly naughty and risque. ROMESH GUNESEKERA My parents knew a wider range of people than most, and so we had actors, journalists, politicians, p... ROMESH GUNESEKERA The most appealing side-effect of Sri Lankan cricket from where I stand, shuffling words, has been l... ROMESH GUNESEKERA I grew up in Colombo but was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the countryside as well. Althoug... ROMESH GUNESEKERA Bioscience and biotech offer many opportunities. The U.S. focuses on the rich man; India has rich ma... ROMESH WADHWANI Having got the best of education myself, I firmly believe it is my personal obligation to give back ... ROMESH WADHWANI No one is an island. All these entities that drive economic development are interconnected in one se... ROMESH WADHWANI