The Sri Lanka Podcast: The Jungle Diaries
Episodes
What Sets You Free
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 2nd of May 2025. Yesterday, of course, was the 1st of May, the day when people celebrate the start of spring. Or at least they used to until...
The Art of Hermiting
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“It's love,” my music teacher assured us, “that makes the world go round.” He was trying to enforce some degree of harmony in the class at t...
A Little Bit of Expert
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Little Bit of Expert, 14th February 2024There is the BBC of course. CNN. Reuters. The New York Times. All News, if you will. And then there is real...
My Missing Sapphire Tiara
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My Missing Sapphire Tiara, Friday, 10th DecemberIt was Mr Wijeratne from the Water Board who brought the missing tiara to mind when he called on us th...
Chinta
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chinta, 13th of November, 2023Today is the saddest of days, for Chinta has died. The inexorable world will not stop its spin around the sun, nor Sri...
Politics & The Art of Family
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Politics – and the art of family. Monday, 25th September 2023. “Spaghetti,” barked a planter friend, describing Sri Lankan politics. “Nood...
A Walk with Henning Mankell
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Monday, 28 August 2023 Damnit. I mean honestly. Just damnit. This is the second time in as many weeks. One more such episode and you can...
The Mathematics of Mortality
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
20th August, 2023. Everyone has their thinking space: the bath, the shower, the treadmill after work. Voltaire had his bed, Dylan Thomas his shed ...
Space, the Perhera - and Danby
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
17th August, 2023. “Thanks for the warning,” came the text from Danby this morning. The message displayed his characteristic linguistic athlet...
The Kerfuffle in the Kitchen
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The kerfuffle in the kitchen The kerfuffle in the kitchen has calmed down since I (at last) remembered the old adage about too many cooks spoiling th...
Hand Gestures
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hand Gestures: An Alternative TutorialAt 6 am Mr Goonetilleke the Younger’s workers were already busy tapping the rubber; and as I shot past them, f...
The Pride Owl
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Pride Owl, 15th of June 2023The owl’s hoot kicked it all off. It was 5.49 am and it rang out, sonorous, low, loud but not noisy. Mellow. R...
The Lovely Now
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wednesday, 7th June 2023The Lovely NowAfter days and days of heady sunshine, the rain falls. As ever, spectacular. Within minutes of the monsoon delu...
Now Thank We All Our God
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now Thank We All Our GodOnce, when people still had time for, or a belief in things other than shopping or raw survival, Sundays were special. There ...
At The Barbers
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At the barbersH.R. Managers are in their happiest pace when discussing either redundancy terms or the compensation package that will tempt you to leap...
Walking The Dogs
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thursday, 25 May 2023There’s something very special - in that most ordinary of ways - about walking the dog; or dogs, in my case. It’s taken a fe...
La Petit Mort
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
La Petit Mort: A Jungle Diary @ The Flame Tree EstateThe French condition, “la petit mort” hung in my head as I woke up this morning, for there wa...