Thuppahi's Blog

Riza Yehiya in GROUNDVIEWS, 30 July 2026, where the title reads thus: “Sri Lanka’s Demographic Crossroads” ……  https://groundviews.org/2026/07/30/sri-lankas-demographic-crossroads/

Sri Lanka is entering a period of transformation unlike any in its modern history. For decades, national debates have focused on economic growth, constitutional reform, ethnic reconciliation and development. Today a quieter but potentially more consequential challenge is emerging, one that will shape the country’s future for generations.

 The nation’s population is beginning to decline.

For the first time in recorded history, Sri Lanka has experienced a reduction in population size. While the immediate numbers may appear modest, the implications are profound. Demographers warn that the country’s working age population is expected to begin shrinking after 2030 while the proportion of elderly citizens continues to rise. By the early 2040s, roughly one in four people could be over the age of 60.

At the same time, young families face mounting economic pressures. Housing has become increasingly unaffordable, living costs continue to rise and many skilled young people are choosing to seek opportunities abroad. These trends are interconnected, creating a cycle that threatens economic growth, social cohesion and long term national stability.

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SPONTANEOUS POSTS IN FACEBOOK From SRI LANKANS ….

Mahishini Colonne

Thank you, Mahishini Colonne, for sharing this.

I never had the chance to meet Sir Christopher Ondaatje in person, but I had the privilege of corresponding with him for a while. We were introduced by his close friend and travel companion, the late Dr. Rajpal de Silva, who authored some of the most important books ever written on maps, prints, and newspaper engravings depicting Ceylon.

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From  the Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), 2 August 2026, where the title reads “In search of Charles Ambrose Lorenz: Nick van der Hoeven traces his van­ish­ing leg­acy” … reproduced here with highlights and title imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

There is a par­tic­u­lar kind of dis­ap­point­ment that comes not from find­ing noth­ing, but from find­ing almost everything – locked, boxed, boarded up and quietly out of view.

Over two trips to Sri Lanka in the last three years, I set out to find what remains of Charles Ambrose Lorenz: law­yer, journ­al­ist, legis­lator and, by most cred­ible his­tor­ical accounts, one of the most emin­ent people of European or par­t-European des­cent to emerge from four and a half cen­tur­ies of Ceylonese col­on­isa­tion.

What I found was a man who is, in the most lit­eral sense, still there. His house stands. His bust sur­vives. His por­trait remains. His final home is main­tained. And yet he is almost entirely absent from pub­lic memory.

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Gamini Senevirsatne reviews Christopher Ondaatje’s Works on Ceylon …. in An Essay entitled “Woolf in Ceylon By Christopher Ondaatje” ….  

This book runs to over 300 pages–room enough for Christopher Ondaatje to touch on virtually every aspect of Leonard Woolf’s life and work. It would of course be possible to pursue each of them towards a clearer understanding of both (author and subject). In a review of this kind, though, a consideration of what appears to be the author’s view of what Woolf experienced here and in England must suffice.

It is embellished by many photographs, most of them truly excellent. Some have been drawn from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society and the University of Sussex, many are of Ondaatje’s own making. The author has been to a great deal of trouble researching the people and places mentioned by Woolf in his writings on/from Ceylon: ‘The Village in the Jungle’, ‘Stories from the East’, his letters and ‘Growing’ the segment of his autobiography that covers his stay here [in Lanka], and his ‘Diaries’ as Assistant Government Agent, Hambantota. The writing is lively and lucid, perhaps less so here than in ‘The Man-eater of Punani’; a selection of the photographs in both books merit publication in a separate portfolio.

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Michael Roberts  Thuppahi

Yesterday  3 August 2026, I was shocked, even stunned: the Thuppahi site entitled “ABOUT” had received 1300 hits!! ….Cricket Elements Doodle Set Sports Game Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 2647469737 _ Shutterstock

This number of Viewers is quite unique –as underlined by the figures for the other Items consulted by viewers of the site that same day [see below]. I remain puzzled as to the reasons/incentives promoting this ‘miracle.’

But that statistic has prompted me to reflect on the CONTENT of the item as well as the range of COMMENTS it has received over the period February 2011 to April 2026.

These Comments are set out in a separate TPS item today [with my thanks to those who went to the trouble of responding and apologies for any absence of reaction on my part]. Continue reading →

Item in ???,  June 5. 2026

From Cricketer to global spear thrower: The rise of Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga

By any measure, 92.62 metres is a long distance in javelin. For Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, it was the throw that transformed him from one of Asia’s emerging talents into one of the world’s most talked-about athletes. When the 23-year-old Sri Lankan launched his javelin into the Rome sky at the Diamond League meet on 4 June, he did more than win a competition. He produced the longest throw in the world this year, climbed to eighth on the men’s all-time list, and announced himself as a genuine contender in an event long dominated by larger sporting nations.

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An  Item From PRIYAN

Rumesh Tharanga triumphed over a stacked men’s javelin field to create history for Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  World leader this season, Tharanga defeated one of the strongest fields assembled at the Games to win the country’s first gold since legendary Duncan White won the hurdles gold at the 1950 edition.

‎Tharanga  took control of the competition with an 89.75m throw in round two. India’s 2021 Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra responded with 85.83m to take silver, while his teammate Yashvir Singh produced a personal best of 85.41m to secure bronze.

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Jeremy De Lima

Last Friday 24^th July 2026, an innovative chapter began for Sri Lankan literature. This was initiated by an enterprising group of private Sri Lankan book publishers who banded together to launch a trilingual literary festival – https://colombolitfest.lk/

The following five directors created this concept.

1. Janaka Inimankada – Vidarshana Publishers
2. Chandu Haputhanthri – Sarasavi Publishers 
3. Dinushi Weeraman Abeywickrama – Samayawardana Publishers
4. Pradeep Samaranayake – Expographic Books (Pvt) Ltd
5. Darshana Ralapanawa – Darshana Publishers

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The 2026 Lanka Premier League (LPL) features five competing franchises: the Colombo Kaps, Dambulla Sixers, Galle Titans (previously known as the Gallants), Jaffna Kings, and Kandy Royals. [1, 2, 3, 4]

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Richard Simon

Anura Saparamadu’s extraordinary two-volume portfolio, Where Every Prospect Pleases: Sri Lanka through the Eyes of Foreign Artists, features a finely detailed panoramic view of the city of Kandy from the famous lookout point on the opposite side of the lake (Vol. I, pp. 178–79). Unfortunately, there is no information available in the book as to who painted the scene or when; the editor has attributed it to that well-known if elusive master, ‘Unknown Artist’, and the image is undated – although, judging by the buildings visible and the large expanses of unbuilt land between them it was probably done in the late coffee era. The presence of St Paul’s Church in the foreground tells us the scene was painted after about 1850.

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