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After three weeks of non stop work, including the weekend, I found myself with a weekend off. That is half a day of Saturday and a full Sunday. I was looking forward to getting away from Moratuwa and convinced Samantha and Sandaruwan to go with me to Unwatuna. I had heard that beach at Unwatuna was beautiful. So, we took off on Saturday afternoon. It was about two and half hours on a bus. We checked into a nice resort for Rs. 1500 (about $15) a night for a duplex room. There weren't many westerners around and we got local rate (at that point I wasn't known to be a foreigner). Rest of evening and Sunday was really relaxing, we swam, walked on the beach, and I read a book - biography of Gandhi, Binoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan.

Yesterday evening I cooked for the first time here. For us who live at Sarvodaya hostels it is always canteen food, which can be too boring at times, especially sine we eat rice, dal, and curry (which is always tooooo hot for my taste) three times a day. So, I had been thinking of cooking for a while. Actually, almost a week back I had gone shopping had discovered that buying food can be as expensive here, the prices were comparable to US prices. Offcourse, I bought from a super market, which I am sure is off the reach of an average Sri Lankan. I had Samantha and Thiyaga as my dinner guests. I find cooking for myself too boring. We had dinner of Rice, Soyameat (I dont' like that meat thing, it's a wrong word), fried potatoes and lady's finger, and dal. Honestly, the food wasn't the best but edible...rice was little over cooked and I didn't have all the spieces I needed. Anyway, it was a welcome change from Canteen food. But, I am not sure how often I will cook, most...

I was to join Sharif and Francisco for dinner. We were planning on going outside, Sharif had suggested that there is a very nice Indian resturatnt in Colombo called Mango. I have rarely been to a nice resturant in Sri Lanka, none in Colombo. So, I was tempted enough to go eventhough I have not been eating much of dinner. My dinner at canteen has been mostly yoghurt and fruits. As we got out to catch a vehicle, we learnt that a bomb blast in Ratmalana had closed the Galle road. There are conflicting reports as to the causalties. We heard atleast three people killed and more than 20 people injured. BBC is reporting five dead and 20 injured . TamilNet says eight killed and 27 injured. Ratmalana is not far from here, it's about three or four kilometers. Only two days back another bomb went off in Welawatta near Colombo. It's rare that bombs go off in Colombo area this frequently. It is a sign that the war is coming to Colombo as well. As the government forces push towards North, LT...

Between May 8th and 11th, I went to four day bus tour with Sarvodaya's Desodaya (National Awakening) team carrying the message of good governance and peace. More photos http://picasaweb.google.com/skhanal/DesodayaBusTour

A man and his dog enjoy a beautiful day on Union Terrace

Nepal American Friendship Association (NAFA) organized Nepali New Year 2064 celebration today in Madison, Wisconsin.

People enjoy the first day of warm weather and melting ice on Lake Mendota Students take benefit of nice weather at the Memorial Union Terrace Ready to bloom, Lake Shore Path Finally! It's Warm

Photo: Madison, Wisconsin, January 7, 2007 Last night, weather report on television news said, we would be seeing some snow on the ground. "Just a little bit," television weather man had said. I expected to wake up to see some white on the ground. But, it was bright day, Sun on its full galore. No snow on sight. There has been no snow for most of December and so far in January. The temperature here for the most part has been above 40 degrees. Very very warm for this time of the year. 2007 winter is likely to be the warmest winter every recorded on history. Talk about global warming.  

It is the time again. To begin - a new year. Happy New Year to you all. May there be joy, happiness, love and prosperity in your life. Do you make resolutions? Normally, I don't. But, this year I will try one. My resolution to write more often. Let's see how do I do.

“There is a war,” a colleague said to me when I told her that I was going to Trincomalee on Saturday as if she was referring to a distant land on another part of the world . “Be Careful,” “Be Informative,” another one typed on the skype. Since I arrived in Sri Lanka about two weeks ago, I have rarely read news. There is no access to radio or television. Sarvodaya headquarters in Moratuwa (20 KM South of Colombo) feels like a peaceful oasis. Even the South that I have traveled betrayed no sign of the war. Last year, along the coastal areas of the Sri Lanka one could see the tents and temporary shelters that tsunami survivors were residing. These days, it is difficult to find the marks of the tsunami along the Galle road. If one didn’t know that tsunami had struck here only two years ago, it would be easy not to notice that thousands lost their lives in homes, in buses, in trains and in temples. I was going to Trincomalee, to the East, to see some of the refugee camps. Since the conflict...

After visiting war affected Trincomalee yesterday, I was in for a different experience today. "A super model is coming," Dr. Vinya, Executive Director of Sarvodaya, had said. "Come and join us on Sunday." So, I went. It was Petra Nemcova, a Czech supermodel. ( http://www.petranemcova.org/ ) Her foundation Happy Heart Foundation had donated Sarvodaya to build a youth training center in Kalmunai, eastern Sri Lanka. But because of the conflict risk, she was not to go there. Instead, she was to visit a community center, that is being constructed in Balapitiya, 60 KM south of Colombo. Petra had a horrible experience in the tsunami. She was vacationing, with her boyfriend, in Thailand when the tsunami hit on December 26,2004. The waves swept away both of them from their bungalow. She survived with broken pelvis. Her boyfriend didn't. We had put an elaborated program for her welcome. Children and their parents had been ready to welcome the donor long, delayed by 2 hou...

I am bored. I just feel like I cannot do anything. I am at work. I am supposed to work. But, I feel sleepy. I slept well, very well, actually. That was for more than eight hours. I shouldn’t feel sleepy. May be I am just lazy. Too lazy to work. But, I love my job. And, I have tons of work to complete… Soon. May be it’s just the weather. It’s cloudy out. May be it will rain again today. It’s raining for more than week now. When can I see sun? After long winter, I hoped to enjoy some light. But, there is no sign of bright lights. I am been indoor for such a long time. Even my office is in basement. I have a small window though, just by the road. I see people walking, sometimes. But mostly, it’s the cloudy sky, electric cable and a portion of tree. Finally, there are some leaves on the tree. For many months it was leaves less, green less and life less. Oh, I need to work. But, I am bored. May be it’s just my health. I am not feeling well. No. I wasn’t feeling well. I am doing fine. I caug...

Finally, sun came up after five days of clouds and rain. I took the opportunity to get to the garden. Weeds and grass are what my garden has in Eagle Heights. Just an hour of weeding out was tiring. It is going to be a fun filled summer.

Finally, Spring comes to Madison. Temperature today was in mid-40s, sun was out and everything look better and brighter. Finally, Spring has arrived. I walked up to library, which took me 45 Minutes (I thought, it would only be 30) but regardless it was nice to walk. Looked like everyone in Madison was waiting for the sun to shine and the temperature to rise as many were walking, jogging, and running along the path on Mendota. But, it is just the begining. Lake still looked frozen as ice capped the water. Even this looked like a thin veil, waiting to be removed. Welcome, Spring.

News coming out Nepal these days is so hopeless and depressing that little thing provides some real morale boost. Amidst the chaos, uncertainty, violence, and Bandhs , it is refreshing to hear or read some good news. One of such news was, Nepal’s victory over New Zealand on under -19 world cup cricket to win Plate Championship. After loosing successively against the UK and Zimbabwe, there were little hopes for Nepal’s young boys but last year’s runner up pulled together amazing comeback and defeated both South Africa and New Zealand, both established cricket power houses, to bring a trophy home. Congratulations to U-19 team and its coach Roy Dias. In international sports Nepal rarely has anything to show up. Most of Nepal’s international success has come from individual sports such as Tae-Kwon-Do or Karate but almost nothing from team sports. However, cricket has been a total surprise. Despite being in South Asia, where cricket is almost a religion, Nepal remained isolated for a long ...

Last weekend news broke out that the US Vice President Dick Cheney had shot a man while hunting. It was an accident the reports said. It was an irresistible headline. Every media – radio, TV, and newspapers ran stories and then began a spin. People asked why the VP hadn’t told President and public until late Sunday despite the fact that shooting had occurred on Saturday. Some speculated it was Veep’s disdain to media and public, others cried foul and went so far as to suggest grand conspiracy, perhaps to distract attention from other prominent issues. The VP and his staff were mum for more than four days. I knew why the VP was silent. He had nothing to say. What was there to say in a shooting? Finally, the US’s most powerful man gave in to the pressure. He appeared on Fox News (where else?) and took full responsibility. He said, “I am the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend.” “What? What is this guy saying?” I couldn’t believe my ears. How can you be so stupid and take respon...