Features

An Imaginary Museum or a Museum Without Walls:

Published

3 years ago

2022/10/13

Asura Nikaya, an underworld (detail) Gothabhaya Rajamahaviharaya, Bothale Early 1930s Image Credits: The Rock and wall paintings of Sri Lanka. Lake House Publishers, Colombo

David Paynter and L.T.P. Manjusri

(Part one of this article appeared in Midweek Review yesterday.)

by Laleen Jayamanne

Eclecticism and Abstraction

It would appear that a book or two might be written about the lesser known history of 20th Century Lankan modern art and visual culture, which seems to be much wider than the art historical accounts of 43 Group Modernism. There must be many others as well. For example, one comes across the name of H.A. Karunaratne as an abstract painter influenced by Euro-American abstraction as having held a solo exhibition in 1956 at the USISC. What response did this exhibition receive in that momentous year of the triumph of Sinhala-Buddhist Nationalist exceptionalism after Sir John Kothalawala’s pro-American government was defeated. Then there is the Ian Goonatilake collection bequeathed to the University of Peradeniya and now languishing in the basement of the library, stored under poor conditions, awaiting a dedicated gallery. While it is well known that his collection consists of a large number of George Keyt drawings because of his wide taste and sympathies his collection might hold potential for considering a somewhat decentred (less linear), art historical narratives of the twentieth century. The blatantly self-interested, thin accounts that pass as recent art history can thereby be displaced by more careful art historical research with rigorous conceptual frameworks. The history of the use of colour in the move from the Buddhist temple paintings to the easel and then from easel to Christian church walls and back as in the case of Paynter would be fascinating to explore within a theoretical framework. Such a framework might explore the generative philosophico-aesthetic discourses on the links between colour, affect and thought, for example. There, colour is considered to be the most immaterial manifestation of matter, haunted by spirit. Colour within such an optic is a force of metamorphosis.

Christian Themes

Christian themed art also would have to be explicitly taken into account in the narrative of Lankan modern art when studying Paynter’s work. What links might there be, say, between Richard Gabriel and Paynter who composed Christian religious scenes in murals in chapels, too. It is certainly noteworthy that in the large murals he created in the Trinity College chapel in the ‘30s, Paynter’s Jesus and disciples are presented with brown skin tones. This fact alone is the decision of an original artist because it was decades prior to the radical Vatican 2 reforms of the ’60s, which lead to adopting vernacular forms and realities in Catholic Church ritual. The vegetation and light in the landscapes of some biblical scenes are those of Lanka of the East coast, I am told. Chandrajeewa, too, has done a large scale series of 46 bronze murals on the history of Christianity in Lanka around the Basilica on a hill top at Thewatta (surrounded by rubber trees, as I remember from my school visits there for church feasts) near Ragama though he himself does not subscribe to any religious faith. Barbara Sansoni’s Christian murals would be of interest in such a context. A national collection can create digital installations of site-specific religious work such as these to educate Lankans about the religious diversity of our art and culture as well. Inter-faith dialogue would certainly be enhanced by such educational ‘tools’ made available to school-children especially, but also to the more ethnocentric and parochial Lankans. It could then also be a point of entry to understanding something about our long colonial history and religious violence of the Portuguese who converted Lankans at gunpoint. Both my parents and grandparents came from the thin strip of coastal fishing villages (just a stones throw from the Colombo harbour), starting from Uswatakeiyawa, Kapungoda and Pamunugama, all mostly Roman Catholic, during my childhood. The largest buildings in each of these villagers were the local churches built on Italian models with large statues of white saints, mother Mary and Jesus. There were a few French parish priests who also spoke fluent Sinhala.

A Queer Aesthetic: Exploring the +

Evolution 1973 L.T.P. Manjusri (1902-1982)
Water colour on Paper 36.5 X 31 cm
Image Credits : http://www.artsrilanka.org/retrospective/manjushri/19731.html

Is there an embryonic queer sensibility, and a radical aesthetic, in Paynter’s ‘Offering’ (1926), of an ethereal youth, standing naked in a dreamy, somewhat Pre-Raphaelit landscape, with raised arms, delicate hand gesture, holding a white flower, for instance? Perhaps, there are ‘elective affinities’ to be drawn between Wendt’s homo erotic photography of young men and some of Paynter’s work. Or, are their differences more productive for exploring the diversity of queer aesthetics well before such a term was invented to address social reality of LGBTQI rights? Paynter’s ‘Apres Midi’ (‘Afternoon’, 1935) is an astonishing work full of surprises, even now. The inclusion of the title in French immediately evokes the 1911 ballet ‘Afternoon of a Faun’ choreographed and performed by Nijinsky in his lover Diaghilev’s company, Ballet Russes, in Paris, with Debussy’s music. Apart from that notable allusion to a highly sexualised performance that shocked the traditional ballet audience, the two Lankan figures, one facing us, and the other, appears to be his double, a mirror image, though all we do see is his back view. There is an essay to be written about this doubling and elegant most subtle ‘performance of narcissism,’ in the sense of an exploration of a queer subjectivity, the very formation of a sense of ‘self’ based on similarity rather than sexual difference. The facial expression of the slim tall figure (so unlike Nijinsky’s muscular compact short body), is thoughtful, as he looks at ‘the other’ and his features suggest that he might be a Lankan of Malay descent perhaps. As with ‘Offering’, here too the male figure holds a red flower, reminiscent of the distilled eroticism seen in Moghul miniatures. In Paynter’s tropical ‘Afternoon’ there is a more every-day feel as well because of the towels and informal postures – are ‘they’ about to swim in the river behind them? The blue green bamboo grove creates a lush tropical heaven for ‘the couple’. Might we think of it as a queer self-portrait perhaps? If so it’s quite different from his earlier, personal ‘Self-Portrait’ (1927), where the ‘self’ is decentred, seen in a mirror image, while a vase of overflowing pink lotus blossoms occupies the centre. As early as that, he is painting the iconic flower in Buddhist iconography, rather than the readily available English roses of Nuwara-Eliya which is where the Paynter Home was located.

Then there is the painting of a group of fishermen and male onlookers after a catch. While some onlookers are fully clothed, the two fishermen in the foreground are conspicuous not because they wear only loin cloths (which is realistic) but because of the way their anatomy is modelled.

The anatomy of the two prominent fishermen are modelled in such a way that their biceps, pectoral and abdominal muscles are beautifully articulated. Lankan men who do heavy manual work have wiry limbs, sinewy muscles, a function of diet and genetics, they are certainly not moulded and fashioned quite like those on these two fishermen. Though these conspicuous muscular details are not realistic, the scene nevertheless has a powerful ethnographic vitality. The choreography of each gaze has an intensity, a realism, as each figure looks intently in slightly different directions. Their features evoke a specific Lankan era. I remember the men who looked like that in my maternal grandfather’s fishing village, Uswatekeiyawa. My grandfather tied his hair in a little knot just like some of them in the picture.

Wendt’s photographs of young men’s bodies are quite different. Their gaze is rather more diffused. It’s his play with and command of light and shade and chemical processing that sculpts their bodies, either caught straining in manual work or relaxed in posed still lives. In striking contrast, Paynter has given his standing fishermen a deep, anatomically grounded musculature that feels so contemporary in its fashioning, sculpting of desire. Thereby, he helps us (straight folk also) to understand how a Queer sensibility is crafted and invented as a fertile affective zone of aesthetic innervation, which also includes nature. These two paintings have a quiet theatrical and even cinematic sensibility (i. e. there is movement and drama), which reminds me of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s cinema, especially Gospel According to St Mathew. Pasolini however, was a flamboyantly public gay artist and poet. I feel that Paynter’s work offers young LGBTQI+ artists a vital tradition to draw from, not imitate. Some of them might have been at that Gay Pride March in Colombo sponsored by the Aragalaya recently, which I saw on You Tube. I hear Paynter the teacher say, ever so softly: ‘explore the +’. With just a slight turn, artists may change the + into an x.

These are thoughts that occur to me as I glance at Paynter’s work in the catalogue edited by Chandrajeewa, issued at the inaugural J.D.A. Perera Gallery, which houses 19 of Paynter’s work at the University of Visual and Performing Arts. But ‘The Afternoon’, sadly, is in a foreign gallery. This rare gift was given to the very institution whose Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist students and staff got rid of Paynter in 1963, through an ugly racist campaign against him, calling him a ‘Burgher suddha’!

I know that Professor Ashley Halpe, himself a painter, introduced Paynter’s art to students of Fine Arts at Peradeniya University and accompanied them to the Trinity College Chapel to look at the murals Paynter had designed in the 1930s. By the way, Prof Halpe was a Roman Catholic, who nurtured extracurricular student life on campus generously with an open house filled with painting and music every Friday, enthusiastically supported by his wife Bridgette.

What is to be Done?

I hope young Lankan art historians might take a cue from the marvellous idea of the ‘Memory Walks’ conducted by the ‘Collective for Historical Dialogue and Memory’ and go off the beaten track to find out what was made; what has been lost and the provenance of work that really should have been in a national collection but are now in private homes and overseas galleries and in damp basements, even locked away in a vault. Perhaps, only such dedicated hands-on work by scholars with intellectual and social capital and spiritual stamina might eventually convince the National Museum to open one of its majestic wings to house whatever is left of modern 20th Century art and Visual Culture of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Lanka. On the other hand, as some folk in the Aragalaya suggested, perhaps the official residence of the President, which was formerly known as the Queens’s House but has become the President’s House, can be converted like the European palaces into a museum of modern and contemporary art and the art work of the Aragalaya too.

Perhaps, an archive of photographs of work that has been sold or stolen or unavailable in the public domain can be compiled digitally just so that future generations of artists might get to know the eclectic variety of work that had been created by their multi-ethnic, multi-faith, queer and straight ‘ancestors.’ Then, they might begin to understand deeply some of the ideas and passions which animated the skilled and dedicated modern Lankan artists of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Such a virtual collection might be called following the famous idea of French Minister of Culture Andre Malraux, ‘An Imaginary Museum’ or ‘Museum Without Walls.’ Such a museum would, I hope, assemble an eclectic (non-partisan), collection of art- work with the power to nurture life in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-faith Lanka.

Here is a link to Paynter’s Apres Midi (Afternoon, 1935).

https://thuppahis.com/2022/03/27/david-paynters-open-homosexuality-on-display- then/

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Features

More state support needed for marginalised communities

Published

18 hours ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

A landslide in the Central Province

Message from Malaiyaha Tamil community to govt:

Insights from SSA Cyclone Ditwah Survey

When climate disasters strike, they don’t affect everyone equally. Marginalised communities typically face worse outcomes, and Cyclone Ditwah is no exception. Especially in a context where normalcy is far from “normal”, the idea of returning to normalcy or restoring a life of normalcy makes very little sense.

The island-wide survey (https://ssalanka.org/reports/) conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA), between early to mid-January on Cyclone Ditwah shows stark regional disparities in how satisfied or dissatisfied people were with the government’s response. While national satisfaction levels were relatively high in most provinces, the Central Province tells a different story.

Only 35.2% of Central Province residents reported that they were satisfied with early warning and evacuation measures, compared to 52.2% nationally. The gap continues across every measure: just 52.9% were satisfied with immediate rescue and emergency response, compared with the national figure of 74.6%. Satisfaction with relief distribution in the Central Province is 51.9% while the national figure stands at 73.1%. The figures for restoration of water, electricity, and roads are at a low 45.9% in the central province compared to the 70.9% in national figures. Similarly, the satisfaction level for recovery and rebuilding support is 48.7% in the Central Province, while the national figure is 67.0%.

A deeper analysis of the SSA data on public perceptions reveals something important: these lower satisfaction rates came primarily from the Malaiyaha Tamil population. Their experience differed not just from other provinces, but also from other ethnic groups living in the Central Province itself.

The Malaiyaha Tamil community’s vulnerability didn’t start with the cyclone. Their vulnerability is a historically and structurally pre-determined process of exclusion and marginalisation. Brought to Sri Lanka during British rule to work for the empire’s plantation economies, they have faced long-term economic exploitation and have repeatedly been denied access to state support and social welfare systems. Most estate residents still live in ‘line rooms’ and have no rights to the land they cultivate and live on. The community continues to be governed by an outdated estate management system that acts as a barrier to accessing public and municipal services such as road repair, water, electricity and other basic infrastructures available to other citizens.

As far as access to improved water sources is concerned, the Sri Lanka Demographic Health Survey (2016) shows that 57% of estate sector households don’t have access to improved water sources, while more than 90% of households in urban and rural areas do. With regard to the level of poverty, as the Department of Census and Statistics (2019) data reveals, the estate sector where most Malaiyaha Tamils live had a poverty headcount index of 33.8%; more than double the national rate of 14.3%. These statistics highlight key indicators of the systemic discrimination faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community.

Some crucial observations from the SSA data collectors who enumerated responses from estate residents in the survey reveal the specific challenges faced by the Malaiyaha Tamils, particularly in their efforts to seek state support for compensation and reconstruction.

First, the Central Province experienced not just flooding but also the highest number of landslides in the island. As a result, some residents in the region lost entire homes, access roadways, and other basic infrastructures. The loss of lives, livelihoods and land was at a higher intensity compared to the provinces not located in the hills. Most importantly, the Malaiyaha Tamil community’s pre-existing grievances made them even more vulnerable and the government’s job of reparation and restitution more complex.

Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the community. According to the resident data collectors, the police announcements reached only as far as the sections where they were able to drive their vehicles to, and there were many estate roads that were not motorable. When warnings did filter through to remote locations, they often came by word of mouth and information was distorted along the way. Once the disaster hit, things got worse: roads were blocked, electricity went out, mobile networks failed and people were cut off completely.

Emergency response was slow. Blocked roads meant people could not get to hospitals when they needed urgent care, including pregnant mothers. The difficult terrain and poor road conditions meant rescue teams took much longer to reach affected areas than in other regions.

Relief supplies didn’t reach everyone. The Grama Niladhari divisions in these areas are huge and hard to navigate, making it difficult for Grama Niladharis to reach all places as urgently as needed. Relief workers distributed supplies where vehicles could go, which meant accessible areas got help while remote communities were left out.

Some people didn’t even try to go to safety centres or evacuation shelters set up in local schools because the facilities there were already so poor. The perceptions of people who did go to safety centres, as shown in the provincial data, reveal that satisfaction was low compared to other affected regions of the country. Less than half were satisfied with space and facilities (42.1%) or security and protection (45.0%). Satisfaction was even lower for assistance with lost or damaged documentation (17.9%) and information and support for compensation applications (28.2%). Only 22.5% were satisfied with medical care and health services below most other affected regions.

Restoring services proved nearly impossible in some areas. Road access was the biggest problem. The condition of the roads was already poor even before the cyclone, and some still haven’t been cleared. Recovery is especially difficult because there’s no decent baseline infrastructure to restore, hence you can’t bring roads and other public facilities back to a “good” condition when they were never good, even before the disaster.

Water systems faced their own complications. Many households get water from natural sources or small community projects, and not the centralised state system. These sources are often in the middle of the disaster zone and therefore got contaminated during the floods and landslides.

Long-term recovery remains stalled. Without basic infrastructure, areas that are still hard to reach keep struggling to get the support they need for rebuilding.

Taken together, what do these testaments mean? Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah. An effective and fair disaster response needs to account for these underlying vulnerabilities. It requires interventions tailored to the historical, economic, and infrastructural realities that marginalized communities face every day. On top of that, it highlights the importance of dealing with climate disasters, given the fact that vulnerable communities could face more devastating impacts compared to others.

(Shashik Silva is a researcher with the Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka)

by Shashik Silva ✍️

Features

Crucial test for religious and ethnic harmony in Bangladesh

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

A political protest that led to governmental change in Bangladesh mid last year. (photograph: imago)

Will the Bangladesh parliamentary election bring into being a government that will ensure ethnic and religious harmony in the country? This is the poser on the lips of peace-loving sections in Bangladesh and a principal concern of those outside who mean the country well.

The apprehensions are mainly on the part of religious and ethnic minorities. The parliamentary poll of February 12th is expected to bring into existence a government headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist oriented Jamaat-e-Islami party and this is where the rub is. If these parties win, will it be a case of Bangladesh sliding in the direction of a theocracy or a state where majoritarian chauvinism thrives?

Chief of the Jamaat, Shafiqur Rahman, who was interviewed by sections of the international media recently said that there is no need for minority groups in Bangladesh to have the above fears. He assured, essentially, that the state that will come into being will be equable and inclusive. May it be so, is likely to be the wish of those who cherish a tension-free Bangladesh.

The party that could have posed a challenge to the above parties, the Awami League Party of former Prime Minister Hasina Wased, is out of the running on account of a suspension that was imposed on it by the authorities and the mentioned majoritarian-oriented parties are expected to have it easy at the polls.

A positive that has emerged against the backdrop of the poll is that most ordinary people in Bangladesh, be they Muslim or Hindu, are for communal and religious harmony and it is hoped that this sentiment will strongly prevail, going ahead. Interestingly, most of them were of the view, when interviewed, that it was the politicians who sowed the seeds of discord in the country and this viewpoint is widely shared by publics all over the region in respect of the politicians of their countries.

Some sections of the Jamaat party were of the view that matters with regard to the orientation of governance are best left to the incoming parliament to decide on but such opinions will be cold comfort for minority groups. If the parliamentary majority comes to consist of hard line Islamists, for instance, there is nothing to prevent the country from going in for theocratic governance. Consequently, minority group fears over their safety and protection cannot be prevented from spreading.

Therefore, we come back to the question of just and fair governance and whether Bangladesh’s future rulers could ensure these essential conditions of democratic rule. The latter, it is hoped, will be sufficiently perceptive to ascertain that a Bangladesh rife with religious and ethnic tensions, and therefore unstable, would not be in the interests of Bangladesh and those of the region’s countries.

Unfortunately, politicians region-wide fall for the lure of ethnic, religious and linguistic chauvinism. This happens even in the case of politicians who claim to be democratic in orientation. This fate even befell Bangladesh’s Awami League Party, which claims to be democratic and socialist in general outlook.

We have it on the authority of Taslima Nasrin in her ground-breaking novel, ‘Lajja’, that the Awami Party was not of any substantial help to Bangladesh’s Hindus, for example, when violence was unleashed on them by sections of the majority community. In fact some elements in the Awami Party were found to be siding with the Hindus’ murderous persecutors. Such are the temptations of hard line majoritarianism.

In Sri Lanka’s past numerous have been the occasions when even self-professed Leftists and their parties have conveniently fallen in line with Southern nationalist groups with self-interest in mind. The present NPP government in Sri Lanka has been waxing lyrical about fostering national reconciliation and harmony but it is yet to prove its worthiness on this score in practice. The NPP government remains untested material.

As a first step towards national reconciliation it is hoped that Sri Lanka’s present rulers would learn the Tamil language and address the people of the North and East of the country in Tamil and not Sinhala, which most Tamil-speaking people do not understand. We earnestly await official language reforms which afford to Tamil the dignity it deserves.

An acid test awaits Bangladesh as well on the nation-building front. Not only must all forms of chauvinism be shunned by the incoming rulers but a secular, truly democratic Bangladesh awaits being licked into shape. All identity barriers among people need to be abolished and it is this process that is referred to as nation-building.

On the foreign policy frontier, a task of foremost importance for Bangladesh is the need to build bridges of amity with India. If pragmatism is to rule the roost in foreign policy formulation, Bangladesh would place priority to the overcoming of this challenge. The repatriation to Bangladesh of ex-Prime Minister Hasina could emerge as a steep hurdle to bilateral accord but sagacious diplomacy must be used by Bangladesh to get over the problem.

A reply to N.A. de S. Amaratunga

A response has been penned by N.A. de S. Amaratunga (please see p5 of ‘The Island’ of February 6th) to a previous column by me on ‘ India shaping-up as a Swing State’, published in this newspaper on January 29th , but I remain firmly convinced that India remains a foremost democracy and a Swing State in the making.

If the countries of South Asia are to effectively manage ‘murderous terrorism’, particularly of the separatist kind, then they would do well to adopt to the best of their ability a system of government that provides for power decentralization from the centre to the provinces or periphery, as the case may be. This system has stood India in good stead and ought to prove effective in all other states that have fears of disintegration.

Moreover, power decentralization ensures that all communities within a country enjoy some self-governing rights within an overall unitary governance framework. Such power-sharing is a hallmark of democratic governance.

Features

Celebrating Valentine’s Day …

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love, romance, and affection, and this is how some of our well-known personalities plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day – 14th February:

Merlina Fernando (Singer)

Yes, it’s a special day for lovers all over the world and it’s even more special to me because 14th February is the birthday of my husband Suresh, who’s the lead guitarist of my band Mission.

We have planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and his Birthday together and it will be a wonderful night as always.

We will be having our fans and close friends, on that night, with their loved ones at Highso – City Max hotel Dubai, from 9.00 pm onwards.

Lorensz Francke (Elvis Tribute Artiste)

On Valentine’s Day I will be performing a live concert at a Wealthy Senior Home for Men and Women, and their families will be attending, as well.

I will be performing live with romantic, iconic love songs and my song list would include ‘Can’t Help falling in Love’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Burning Love’, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’, ‘The Wonder of You’ and ‘’It’s Now or Never’ to name a few.

To make Valentine’s Day extra special I will give the Home folks red satin scarfs.

Emma Shanaya (Singer)

I plan on spending the day of love with my girls, especially my best friend. I don’t have a romantic Valentine this year but I am thrilled to spend it with the girl that loves me through and through. I’ll be in Colombo and look forward to go to a cute cafe and spend some quality time with my childhood best friend Zulha.

JAYASRI

Emma-and-Maneeka

This Valentine’s Day the band JAYASRI we will be really busy; in the morning we will be landing in Sri Lanka, after our Oman Tour; then in the afternoon we are invited as Chief Guests at our Maris Stella College Sports Meet, Negombo, and late night we will be with LineOne band live in Karandeniya Open Air Down South. Everywhere we will be sharing LOVE with the mass crowds.

Kay Jay (Singer)

I will stay at home and cook a lovely meal for lunch, watch some movies, together with Sanjaya, and, maybe we go out for dinner and have a lovely time. Come to think of it, every day is Valentine’s Day for me with Sanjaya Alles.

Maneka Liyanage (Beauty Tips)

On this special day, I celebrate love by spending meaningful time with the people I cherish. I prepare food with love and share meals together, because food made with love brings hearts closer. I enjoy my leisure time with them — talking, laughing, sharing stories, understanding each other, and creating beautiful memories. My wish for this Valentine’s Day is a world without fighting — a world where we love one another like our own beloved, where we do not hurt others, even through a single word or action. Let us choose kindness, patience, and understanding in everything we do.

Janaka Palapathwala (Singer)

Janaka

Valentine’s Day should not be the only day we speak about love.

From the moment we are born into this world, we seek love, first through the very drop of our mother’s milk, then through the boundless care of our Mother and Father, and the embrace of family.

Love is everywhere. All living beings, even plants, respond in affection when they are loved.

As we grow, we learn to love, and to be loved. One day, that love inspires us to build a new family of our own.

Love has no beginning and no end. It flows through every stage of life, timeless, endless, and eternal.

Natasha Rathnayake (Singer)

We don’t have any special plans for Valentine’s Day. When you’ve been in love with the same person for over 25 years, you realise that love isn’t a performance reserved for one calendar date. My husband and I have never been big on public displays, or grand gestures, on 14th February. Our love is expressed quietly and consistently, in ordinary, uncelebrated moments.

With time, you learn that love isn’t about proving anything to the world or buying into a commercialised idea of romance—flowers that wilt, sweets that spike blood sugar, and gifts that impress briefly but add little real value. In today’s society, marketing often pushes the idea that love is proven by how much money you spend, and that buying things is treated as a sign of commitment.

Real love doesn’t need reminders or price tags. It lives in showing up every day, choosing each other on unromantic days, and nurturing the relationship intentionally and without an audience.

This isn’t a judgment on those who enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s simply a personal choice.

Melloney Dassanayake (Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2024)

I truly believe it’s beautiful to have a day specially dedicated to love. But, for me, Valentine’s Day goes far beyond romantic love alone. It celebrates every form of love we hold close to our hearts: the love for family, friends, and that one special person who makes life brighter. While 14th February gives us a moment to pause and celebrate, I always remind myself that love should never be limited to just one day. Every single day should feel like Valentine’s Day – constant reminder to the people we love that they are never alone, that they are valued, and that they matter.

I’m incredibly blessed because, for me, every day feels like Valentine’s Day. My special person makes sure of that through the smallest gestures, the quiet moments, and the simple reminders that love lives in the details. He shows me that it’s the little things that count, and that love doesn’t need grand stages to feel extraordinary. This Valentine’s Day, perfection would be something intimate and meaningful: a cozy picnic in our home garden, surrounded by nature, laughter, and warmth, followed by an abstract drawing session where we let our creativity flow freely. To me, that’s what love is – simple, soulful, expressive, and deeply personal. When love is real, every ordinary moment becomes magical.

Noshin De Silva (Actress)

Valentine’s Day is one of my favourite holidays! I love the décor, the hearts everywhere, the pinks and reds, heart-shaped chocolates, and roses all around. But honestly, I believe every day can be Valentine’s Day.

It doesn’t have to be just about romantic love. It’s a chance to celebrate love in all its forms with friends, family, or even by taking a little time for yourself.

Whether you’re spending the day with someone special or enjoying your own company, it’s a reminder to appreciate meaningful connections, show kindness, and lead with love every day.

And yes, I’m fully on theme this year with heart nail art and heart mehendi design!

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine’s Day, but, remember, love yourself first, and don’t forget to treat yourself.

Sending my love to all of you.