Varuni Kulasekera

Kylie Kwong introduces us to some of her favourite people and the individuals helping to grow a stronger community. This month, we meet Varuni Kulasekera.

- JOANNA HUNKIN & KYLIE KWONG

If variety is the spice of life then Varuni Kulasekera is a woman who likes things fiery.

At first glance, it’s not immediately apparent what drives Kulasekera, who began her career as an entomologist in Sri Lanka and now resides happily in Hobart, where she teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction. In between these two, seemingly disparate career paths, she opened a specialist tea house in Tasmania, introducing locals to the calming ritual of tea making. Something, she suggests, everyone could benefit from in the current state of the world.

But Kulasekera is adamant her choices, which saw her move from Sri Lanka, to the United States (where she married a rock star), and eventually to Australia, are all linked. They are all, she says brightly, connected to science. Science is Kulasekera’s guiding light.

“Science explains life and everything we do. Science is not static, it’s always changing,” she explains. “My mother was a science teacher so it was always part of our lives.”