Over the period of the two decades long civil war, dis-location has been one of its primary consequences, apart from of course death and destruction. Dislocation from ones home and its cultural and psychological consequences is the theme of an exhibition by Jaffna-based artist Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, which opened on January 5 and still on display at the Galleries, Paradise Café, at Alfred House Road, Colombo 3.

Under the title of Locating The Self, 19 mixed media on paper creations are displayed by the artist, who is also a lecturer in art history at the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Jaffna.

The overwhelming first impression in the artworks is the common element of being set in a brown coloured landscape. However, the figures juxtaposed and collaged in many of these creations of Shanaathanan have deeper meanings. These are best described by the artist himself, who says;

"Through destruction, displacement and migration, the war destroyed, dismantled and disturbed the layers of physical and psychological connections, which one cultivated with his/her immediate surrounding over a period of time. This situation forced the dislocated individual to live in a collage of time and space created by the fragmented memories, histories and realities of location and also question the notion of identity based on nationality, citizenship, geographical territory and collective memory … I am metaphorically and symbolically suggesting the nuances of experience of a dislocated self."

For example, the image titled Dislocation 1 depicts the attempt to turn the fragments of new experiences into one and thus create a new identity, illustrated through the multiple hands of a human body gathering in collaged items depicting different locations and experiences.

Other creations such as Kanthari highlight that the individual identity is tied to his/her original location. Shanaathanan, who has had several prior exhibitions since 1994 as well as receiving a Kalasuri award from the previous president of Sri Lanka, is pointing out that even if the displaced returned to their original homes, the community could never be the same, as each individual would return with different experiences from different locations.

Essentially dislocation has permanently altered the individual and collective self. Food for thought as millions in Sri Lanka hope for continued peace, but a peace that unfortunately never got round to dealing with the dislocated. The exhibition at the Galleries is on until January 28 .

Gleason’s Gym, that New York City boxing citadel where champions like Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson trained, seems very much an all boys club. At first glance all you see is men: men using weight machines, men on exercise mats, men punching bags and sparring in rings.

A closer look, however, reveals several slender women in a far corner, their long hair held back in ponytails or bandanas. They’re exercising as intently as the men, in staging an incursion into this once off-limits realm.

Nan Mooney, 32, explains why it was love at first hit. "It says women are powerful," said Mooney, who threw her first punch a year ago and whose delicate features crease into a smile as she talks about the sport. "They command space, command attention and it’s great for their body image because it’s all about strength and weights as something positive."

More and more women like Mooney are carving out a space in the very masculine world that is boxing. "For people who watch the sport seriously, it’s definitely progressed beyond the point of women being a novelty when they step into the ring," said Micah Pollock, a sport writer with The Washington Post. The pink gloves in Gleason’s display case are testimony to that. More than 135 women now train at the gym in Brooklyin. Nearly 2,000 women are registered as amateur boxers nationwide compared with almost 30,000 men.

While women’s boxing is still at a nascent stage, it does manage to draw fans. More than 7,000 people attended the Laila Ali-Jacqui Frazier fight last year. The purse for that was close to $1 million. Amateur fights, such as the Golden Gloves and the Women’s National Championship, draw crowds in the thousands.

But the number of women boxers who can pull in a huge audience is still small compared with their male counterparts. Only three or four women get purses close to $1 million, whereas top male professional boxers take home purses worth several million.

Some men, such as Mitch Abrahamson, 26, an amateur who also trains at Gleason’s said a woman boxer is worth watching only if she is exceptionally gifted. "I’m not going to see a female fighter fight because she looks good," he said. "She would have to equal the skills to what the guys put out."

Winning respect from such male peers in an obstacle that female boxers have to overcome. "Some men don’t take you seriously at all, others want to know why you want to get your pretty face bruised and things like that," she said. "But I’ve been here for over a year and I work hard and I think they respect that."

John Toliasaro, a 48-year-old trainer at Gleason’s backs her on this. He says that most women who come in to train, take their work very seriously. "They work hard, they’re focused and they don’t hold a conversation with the men," he said. "They’re the ones who get taken seriously."

Nonetheless, there are very clear differences between the rules for men and women amateur boxers. The women fight two-minute rounds, one minute less than men. Women must also wear protective breastplates and declare that they are not pregnant at the time of a fight.

These women boxers also have to deal with the perception that they must be worried about getting bruised or hurting their faces. "It’s really not a brutal sport," shrugged Alexandra Federov, a 24-year-old stockbroker who also trains at Gleason’s. "It’s as dangerous as any other competitive sport."

And how do their families and loved ones react to their choice of sport? "Let’s just say that I don’t really tell them. My mother knows I box, but I don’t think she knows that I get in the ring and get hit," said Mooney.

— Courtesy Liberty

Shopping. It’s the one thing most women (yours truly included) would give up anything for, including day out
with Baby Boy! It’s like oozy gooey chocolate milkshake with rum and cherries, and Irish cream (ok I made that up – but that’s because a pleasure that equals shopping is hard to find). Anyway, its a killer, and only a woman would understand.

Sometimes it’s literally killer. Like when certain politicians’ wives, first ladies included, decide to rub shoulders with the crowds.We understand your need to splurge occasionally, and enjoy the hubby’s er.. bounty, but is it really necessary to bring in a bevy of security guards and whatnot into already packed locations and inconvenience everyone?

And while we’re at it, please train your assistants in politeness and basic social etiquette. When the First Lady’s female assistants start pushing and shoving and verbally abusing others, well it’s pathetic and disgraceful. Everyone else is there to do the same thing after all. It might actually be prudent to request the shops to be kept open half an hour later on a particular day for your convenience, and shop at ease, without putting yourselves and everyone else in danger. After all, if your life is threatened, it’s no use putting everyone else, including little kids, at risk.

Anyway minor inconveniences aside; shopping is one of the best inventions of mankind. The best invention since maalu paan if you ask me! It’s also addictive and dangerous, but I refuse to be a spoilsport and elaborate!

The only thorn in the shoppers rose bush, as far as I’m concerned, is the changing room. Trying out things is tiring, and the rooms feel like giant vacuum flasks in the middle of the moon. And even though Hollywood appears to believe that a group of giggling girls trying out outfits is ‘paradise for the babes,’ the pleasure is somehow lost on me. It is only fun if a particular girl is looking for a particular dress for a particular date.

And it’s even better if the girl is you! It’s also fun to shop for each other’s boyfriends’ gifts. "Do you think he’ll like the platinum watch or the T-shirt that says "I’m made for the mamas!"? Ahh yes… And then there was light – and online shopping. But then there was darkness again because my card wasn’t accepted. Roughly tried, but this is not experienced turf for me. I have heard nevertheless that it has a charm all its own. And heard it from greater shopaholics than myself.

The temptations are certainly great. Everything from dolls to dodos, bras to brass, nets to nuts, taps to toffee, and so on and on and on can be found. Google it, yahoo it, order it, buy it. It is of course not the most foolproof or monetarily safe option, but it’s nice. Very nice. Please save by all means, but, season or not, splurge occasionally folks – there’s nothing like it!