Thuppahi's Blog

Michael Roberts 

The British  Empire was carved out over the centuries by intrepid adventurers aided by the weaponry developed in the British Isles and anability to organize their power to maximum effect. When pursuing my interest in cricket and taking in a Sri Lankan cricket match in my beloved home town of Galle on …., I met two intrepid Brits of the modern era, Nick White and Danny Byrne (see photo at Galle taken by me).

Yes …………..  two dinky-die Brits; both cricket nuts. But Danny outdoes Nick. He has invested a good part of his time in recent years travelling on local transport (and a few readers know full well what this means) and watching cricket in all manner of sites in India and Sri Lanka. His latest remarkable move has been to the match played at Dharamsala where a new venue was christened at Chandigarh in Mohali District in the Punjab (see ……………………….. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharaja_Yadavindra_Singh_International_Cricket_Stadium).

Continue reading →

Arthur Saniotis & Michael Roberts:  “Empowering the Body and ‘Noble Death’,” .… a reprint of an article pubd in Social Analysis, Volume 50, Issue 1, Spring 2005, 7–24 © Berghahn Journals

Facing death with equanimity and with a honed, trained body is an expression of sheer power.1 When a group of like-minded individuals confronts an oppositional force with equal mental and bodily capacities, whether on a sports field or in a warring conflict, the result is power compounded. Each article in this special section ‘confronts’ such powers. Together they explore several regionally specific projects in Asia in which dying for a cause is seen as a virtue.

There are several parts of Asia where social practices and cultural traditions have consciously nourished bodily empowerment. In these select yet dynamic traditions, mind and body are conceived as a unity. Attentiveness to cosmic powers is an integral aspect of disciplined ascetic practices that seek to harness bodily energy in maximal ways. These practices confront death. They are directed toward transcending the fear of death—and death itself. When they are inserted into a moment of violent conflict involving interpersonal combat, they encourage a steely, terrifying fearlessness as well as deadly striking power.

Continue reading →

Andrew Miller in ESPNcricinfo.com, 5 June 2026

Continue reading →

Last Stand in Kandy Kindle Edition,  by Miliani Philip Sansoni (Author)

The book “Last Stand in Kandy” discusses the annexation by the British of the Kingdom of Kandy, after centuries of its’ stubborn resistance to foreign powers. It also covers the period before annexation, full of negotiations, intrigue and finally open warfare. The book also deals with the advent of Western colonisation and discusses the rivalry between the Dutch, the British and the French, insofar as it affected Sri Lanka.

Continue reading →

Richard Koenigsberg

Just to go back in time a bit. Before High School, I lived in a lower-middle class neighborhood, (Irvington, New Jersey). I lot of Italians, Poles, etc., although I didn’t pay much attention to ethnicity.

Many of the tough guys at school called me “Jew boy.” Didn’t bother me a bit. I wasn’t religious. My classmates were very much against me at first. I had to reverse this.

Continue reading →

Andrew Fidel Fernando in ESPNCricinfo, June 2926

Continue reading →

 Sidhartha Thamby … OR … Aruliniyan Mahalingam, in an article entitled “The Land That Never Returned: The North’s Unfinished Struggle under the Thirteenth Amendment”

The Dividends to Reap from State Land

According to the Land Commissioner General’s Department (eSlims, as at 7 February 2022), 123,141 land use permits have been issued against a total of 401,000 families in the province. The number eligible to receive permits in 2022 stood at 40,782, with 6,040 permits still unused.

All permits ultimately flow through the Governor’s office for processing before titles are issued by the Director General of Lands in Colombo — a labour-intensive sequence that encompasses title settlement, land-use inspection, application verification, surveying, and document uploads.

Continue reading →

Harendra Alwis,  whose preferred title in an article presented on 28 May 2026 runs thus: “Alek Garden Fraser’s tour of Australia in 1915” ….. with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

ESPNcricinfo Staff …. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ambidextrous-spinner-shashini-gimhani-in-sri-lanka-s-t20-world-cup-squad-1538811

Batter Vishmi Gunaratne, wristspinner Shashini Gimhani and seamer Kawya Kavindi have been picked in Sri Lanka’s squad of 15 for the Women’s T20 World Cup in England starting on June 12.

Chamari Athapaththu was named captain of the team and will be representing Sri Lanka in her tenth T20 World Cup.

Rashmika Sewwandi, Dewmi Vihanga, Inoka Ranaweera were left out of the squad that played the series against Bangladesh earlier this month. Gimhani, 17, is an ambidextrous wristspinner, a lass who has played seven T20 internationals, having made her debut as Sri Lanka’s youngest international at the age of 15.

Continue reading →

And Where a Roberts enters the Reckoning ! …. https://www.aramcoworld.com/en/articles/2026/mj26/football-or-soccer-why-the-world-cant-agree-on-the-name

Continue reading →