How to buy a land in Sri Lanka ( as a citizen )?

 

In Sri Lanka, there is an ancient folk tale call four laughs. One of those laughs is, how the land laugh at people who fight for the land. There's a short story call "How much land does a man require" by Leo Tolstoy. It beautifully elaborates about a man , in his lust for land, forfeits everything. Love for the lands, men have is such, unstoppable, unavoidable and never get over. But every family need a land.

Buying a land in Sri Lanka is something you should do with extreme carefulness. Otherwise, if you get in to courts for a land case, case with drag your life time as well as your child's life time and make the family bankrupt.

Basic land laws in Sri Lanka is based on Roman Dutch Law.

How to help people in Sri Lanka - 2

Many Sri Lankans always like to help, those who are in need. But its always not easy to find information about who actually need help. There are many fraudsters. Being an auditor who audited number of such NGOs in Sri Lanka, needless to say I always have a very suspicious eye on where I recommend my friends to donate. Here's a quick note on a very good organization.

We came across this organization who silently helps thousands of poor patients reside in national hospital of Colombo Sri Lanka. 
 

What is this about?
This is a charity foundation which touched my heart. Name of this charity is Hospital Services Board, situated inside national hospital of Colombo. Approved charity by government of Sri lanka.

Activities to do in kindergartens / pre schools?

Montessori pre schools  in Sri Lanka

What's happening currently with pre schools in Sri Lanka?

Recently some of our friends had a discussion regarding Montessori activities in Sri Lanka. All of them are mothers of toddlers and we had very insightful thoughts sharing on the activities of different preschools. Then we realise that most of the activities taken place in the name of Montessori system is very different from the approach initiated by Maria Montessori. Some of those are really too much of theoretical education for a small child of 3-4 years and it makes them really pressurize and robotic.

(picture credit - www.fusa.kommune.no )

Later I had another hilarious discussion with one of my friends, who attached to one of the preschool in Colombo. This was part of our conversation.

Sinhala story books for children - සිංහල ළමා කතන්දර පොත්

A relative of mine living in another country sent me an email last week. He has two children aged 5 and 8. He was going to Sri Lanka for a short trip and he asked me what could be good Sinhala books  for his children. His email had quite descriptive requirements as to what he needs. "Everyone these days write childrens books to find money. Most of the childrens books today are not suitable for children. Not only the content, but the language too is disastrous. Can you please recommend some books which you have allready read and no nonsense? So that I could read those to my kids" is part of the email !

It took a long time to come up with a reasonable reply where I dragged the old books out of the shelf and spent more time with memories. Therefore I thought may be I will share it as it could be useful to many others as well. I'm writing this with all love and much respect to my father and his library. These books made my childhood, and I hope those will lighten up many other children's' lives as well.

Latest trend in the job recruitments in Sri Lanka - analyse candidates using social media

Last week I met a long lost friend of mine. Currently he is working at the Human Resources department of one of the biggest business groups in Sri Lanka. So what are you up to now? I asked. He is a social media analytic. He apparently handles social media research and analysis of the candidates and potential candidates. What the hell is that now? Well its the next level of human resource management.

No need to say, even I got bit shaken given that I too are a regular user of social media in public capacity. Though my writings or comments make sense for me, corporate aspect and personal interpretations could be insane some times.  Without my knowledge they track my social media behaviour? Well, most likely it is , he burst out laughing. Jokes aside, I can tell you more about some people than you gossip girls ever know, he assured. Now that's worth enough information for an article. I managed to get him agreed to publish some of the details.

 

 

 

(picture credit - http://socialmediastrategiessummit.com/)

The unexpected path to entrepreneurship - A great scientist shares her story (and a little wisdom gleaned from the journey)

Last week I met three science graduates.

One person was talking about the issue where even the science graduates do not have proper jobs. Second person told me that now she regret for selecting science as her field. She said, “If I manage to do a MSc, maybe I will get a university lecturer job. Third person was talking about a different issue on our mothers and sisters moving to Middle East and the social issues that come with that.

While I sat back and thought of what they discussed, I met this awesome lady, another scientist, Ms Praveena Joseph-de Saram.

 

How to help people in Sri Lanka - 1 (Drinking water problem in North Central province)

When I meet educated Sri Lankans working abroad , they always ask this question. How we should help our fellow Sri Lankans back home. They have the expertise and the resources, yet have no information as to how or where there help should go. Therefore I decided to start a series of articles to show them where we need help.

Problem

 

The most critical problem at the country right now seem to be the drinking water problem in Polonnaruwa and surrounding areas these days. This is critical in areas out side Mahaweli project.

 

There is no drinking water and it has led to many diseases such as CKDu (serious damage to kidneys over the years).

Therefore there's an urgent need for clean water mainly in Polonnaruwa district where more than 40,000 families affected with the drought.

10 Features of a good bus transportation system - Bus system in Oslo

I was on a short stay in Europe and  was much impressed with some of the things I experienced.  Therefore I thought may be I should share some of it. One of it is the bus system in Oslo. It is one of the best transportation systems in the world and managed by the company "Ruter AS". Ruter offers transport by metro, tram, bus and ferry where you can use one ticket and travel by all means.

 

 

 

(Photo credit - http://cdn-media-1.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2013/03/A-developed-country-is-not-a-place-where-the-poor-have-cars..jpg)

How to track the fruads in a small / medium company?

What is the main challenge a small or medium business faces these days? Could it be competition?  Could it be loosing customers? Could it be employee frustration, or could it be the downfall of profits? I've met quite a lot of small to medium businessmen in Sri Lanka. They actually knew how to handle the core of the business and earn revenue. But their biggest challenge was to cope up with the fraudsters and frauds. It wasn't easy. They came up with all forms of phases and faces. They exists everywhere. What are the ways of tracking those and protecting businesses from frauds?

 

 

 

 

Apply for a Chevening Scholarship 2014/15 year

Applications for 2014/15 Chevening Scholarships are now open.

Please visit below link for more details.

http://www.chevening.org/apply/


(Please share this news via your blogs )

Things required for running, as an exercise

I happened to read some hilarious comments in a gossip web site where men in Sri Lanka expressed their sadness over their wives getting  fat and not paying any attention to keeping up the body shape after a baby is born. Then I thought this is a timely article to write. Running is of course a good way to keep up not only the body shape but the good health. It is one of the best form of exercise for both men and women.

I'm not a professional runner, but I was an athlete once upon a time in life. I've run without any of these luxuries and then with all these things. Therefore I know the difference it makes you feel. On the other hand, the best motivation to run is , buying expensive running suits and items. Then you have no choice, but to run because otherwise you will feel guilty for the money you spent on those :)

(picture credit - http://withheart.com)

The power of a single story - My perspective

I came  across this awesome speech called the "Danger of a Single Story”, by Chimamanda Adichie, a young Nigerian author. While explaining the single stories she went through in life, she points that "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” omg how true ! How many of us lives with single stories? It is much more powerful than we think it is and we should also think how a single story creates.

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

What NOT TO DO when raising a daughter?

Bring up a girl child is one of the most challenging yet very satisfactory experience in life. A girl's life is mostly depend on how the parents brings her up. Having the opportunity to be open up with many girls and many elderly women, I thought I should summarize this article in to what are the mistakes we do with brining up a girl and how to address and overcome those.

(photo credit - http://www.heybrian.com/lib/images/travels/sri_lanka/sri_lanka_girl.jpg)
 

How to make life easy in a Sri Lankan kitchen? - Appliances and equipments for a busy family

How to cook Sri Lankan food easily?

I have some of the friends who usually works nearly 12-16 hours a day either from office or remotely logged from home. In some families, both husband and wife work such long hours due to the nature of their jobs. By the time they come home, they are too tired to cook a meal. Therefore they either settle for a short eat or take away food from a restaurant. But its not a pleasure to eat from outside every day and every meal. I thought I should pen a small note which might help them. I have to assume that these appliances are affordable for them and the electricity bills are bearable.

(picture credit - http://riceandcurry.files.wordpress.com)

Things to consider when starting a small / medium business in Sri Lanka

Once a friend of mine teased that "you should never encourage a foreign investor to invest in Sri Lanka". Well if you exclude the legal and political frame work, there are many benefits of investing in Sri Lanka. I've worked with investors from all continents except Africa. I can assure that compared to many countries, Sri Lanka is not as bad as they say. I have to agree its not easy to practically operate smoothly. But there are many benefits. In this article I'm trying to give a summarized picture of both sides, the risks and the benefits of starting a business in or with Sri Lanka and more in to how to over come some of the difficulties.

 

 

(picture credit - http://mysrilankaholidays.com)

 

How to raise a happy and safe child in Sri Lanka - 1

Recently one of my truly Sri Lankan aunts asked me how to help her niece with her baby. After listening to her long explanation on how the niece refuses her help and how she think the niece should have listen to her advice, and how she thinks that niece is not a good mother, I told her "may be the best way to help is that you just shut up and mind your own business" :D

 

(picture credit - http://stophavingaboringlife.com)
 

Couple of years before I started reading and researching on this topic. I could not find much local writings on this. There are many expert articles in the internet from mental and physical health experts. But I feel I must write this, because in Sri Lanka, raising a happy baby is much to do with the society and its attitudes. Parents and family has to do the main part of it, but society too have a role in it. I'm still not an expert, but I can at least write some crucial points I came across during my studies on this. 

How to answer accounting interview questions on basic Debit and Credit?

Why on the earth I'm writing on debit and credit?

 

There were couple of requests from my friends to write a summarized  article on this topic. Most of the accounting job interviews contains at least few questions on debit and credit.

There are thousands of articles in internet on debit and credit. But I thought I should write a summary version customized to Sri Lankan interviews, so that it could be useful for someone who do not have much time to prepare for an interview.

(picture credit - http://jobsearchnow.net)

Since there are much detailed articles already in the net, I've taken most of the below examples directly from some sites and the relevant link is given under each quoted paragraphs. Please refer to those separate sites for explanations and more details. But if you already know your theory and just need a revision, this article is sufficient.

How a women can help another women? !

(picture credit - http://www.bbcamerica.com/)

Men on women !

Recently I happened to read some of the comments made by male readers regarding a lady in one of the gossip web sites . I was quite shocked to read those. For a moment I thought what sort of an animal society we are living in. Men in this country are sick.  But then again I remembered that, these are the people we try so hard to help. These are the men we try to develop and uplift. If the attitudes of the men in Sri Lanka changes, women in Sri Lanka will anyway reach the sky. So much of potential just go hidden in shades of pathetic men.

Women for other women

I feel that, before we change men, women should make an effort to respect each other first. Out of desperation, I thought I should have this in writing, even if its out of my scope for this site.

What to consider when giving funds to non governmental organizations (NGO's) - 1

What are the things donors should take in to account when giving funds to organizations in Sri Lanka?

 

A small scale foreign donor asked me the above question and I actually Googled to find a proper answer. But failing which, I realize I can answer this question to a reasonable extent. I have come across many NGOs in various stages in different contexts. This article contain some information I gathered during my involvement with NGOs as an employee, as a researcher and as an informed citizen :). I have audited many NGOs, but my professional ethics prevent me from disclosing any of those findings. But the things I experienced surely leads me to  this article :)

 

(picture credit - jdsrilanka.blogspot.com)

How to simply assess the suitability of an organization to receive funds and what to consider?

What not to tell your patients - Message to Sri Lankan doctors with love

(picture credit - http://media.rd.com)

I was tempted to write this after listening to this particular incident in couple of family get-togethers. This is about a very simple statement made by a doctor with a good heart, but resulted ruining a whole family. I thought I should write it down.  Because in case if there are any young doctors who are willing to search and find what not to tell your patients, this could be a great example.