Thuppahi's Blog

Sampath Bandarupalli … ESPNcricinfo.com

“West Indies mow down second-highest T20I chase

Shai Hope hit an unbeaten 102  •  Getty Images

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Dr Tony Donaldson

Published in 1962, W. B. Makuloluwa’s Hela Gee Maga (The Way of Hela Music) is as defined by its omissions as by its contributions. Celebrated as a pioneering folk specialist, Makuloluwa argued that a truly national Sri Lankan musical tradition must be extracted exclusively from local folk music. In setting out to free Sri Lankan music from Indian classical hegemony, he built a new cage: one in which popular music—the very medium through which a democratic national sound was being forged—simply did not exist. Beneath the text’s anti-Hindustani intent lie the foundational flaws and ideological blind spots characteristic of mid-20th-century cultural nationalism. The book is not without merit. It is an in-depth study, much of it well-researched and valuable. But his ideological framework — biased in favour of folk music to the exclusion of all other categories — constitutes the book’s central weakness.

 Hela Gee Maga (1962). Cover illustration: a thammattama drum and a hakgediya…. W. B. Makuloluwa

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Danyal Rasool… in ESPNcricinfo.com

Lahiru Udara’s 91 was the only bright spark in an otherwise hapless batting performance from Sri Lanka

Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat shared a 92-run stand  •  AFP/Getty Images

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NOVEL  October 2026 …. Outpost of Empire by Shavindra Fernando

Available on Amazon and Waterstones,  Kindle Edition £ 3.50 Paperback £15.99 …. 637 Pages 38 Chapters freeview first 20 pages

A political allegory set in a tropical island paradise. The story unfolds in the  Republic of Lackadasia, in the thrall of neo-colonial manipulation by the Dominion of Burgherbugaria. It is a story of the silence of an island republic, quietly weaponized by large sharks that lurked beneath the surface of her strategic waters. The Dominion waives the rules. The division of Lackadasia had been a vital interest in the Indo-Pacific, for an empire addicted to command.

According to its imperial theology; it is destined to govern the human race, in any corner of the earth. Lackadasia’s big brotherly neighbour, was an imperial proxy used to shatter the islands deterrence, and reduce her to a flag, an anthem, and nothing more.

One Christmas eve when bombs exploded in her Roman Catholic churches, Jihadists were blamed. Then the natives became suspicious. There was speculation within the grey area of fighting global terrorism, if the preacher was the perpetrator.

The greater nations brushed aside the “conspiracy theories”, to rush to Lackadasia in her hour of need, with the milk of human kindness. She needed their protection from global terrorism, it was proclaimed.

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Gamini Seneviratne, whose article in …. is entitled “Sri Lanka and India: Fact and Fiction”

There are several features through history that India and Sri Lanka have from time to time drawn from each other elements of their culture. However, in the years following ‘independence’, it is hardly possible to assert, as Santosh Jha, India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, recently did, that a “civilisational bond” governs our relations. 

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Jehan Perera, in The Island, October 2026

The death sentence on Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan citizen convicted of blasphemy in Saudi Arabia, has taken a central place in national consciousness for the past several weeks. It has been in the headline news since it was first reported last month. There have been many initiatives taken locally to get a more lenient sentencing by the Saudi authorities. There is also an undercurrent that is critical of both the culture and religion from which this sentencing emanates. This also sustains the widespread publicity being given nationally to the issue. By way of contrast, the controversy caused by the forcible removal of the Thileepan statue in Jaffna has not significantly impacted upon the national consciousness. There was only passing mention of the incident in the national media which has been overtaken by other events.

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Madushka Balasuriya, in ESPNcricinfo, 25 September 2026

Kusal Mendis’ 82-ball hundred set Sri Lanka up for victory  •  AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka 321 for 6 (Kusal 121, Kamindu 54) beat England 305 for 9 (Banton 73, Buttler 69, Duckett 67, Jacks 52, Wellalage 3-49) by 16 runs

Seven years on from their last away ODI victory against England – also at Headingley – Sri Lanka repeated the trick, and kept the series alive, ahead of the decider at The Oval on Sunday with a hard fought 16-run win.

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Yomal Senerath-Yapa, in The Sunday Times, October 2026, where the title reads thus: “Legacy of ‘The Eastern Degas’ to give life to creativity” … & the sub-title runs thus “Seven decades of George Beven’s art to fund a new trust for artists”

AI Search Outcome

Lionel Wendt _ About Us  …. The Lionel Wendt Art Centre (and its gallery/theatre) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has faced two primary areas of management-related criticism and controversy over the years:

1. Operational Mismanagement and “The Tragedy of the Lionel Wendt” (2017)

In late 2017, public outcry and investigative coverage highlighted severe operational failures by the centre’s paid management team and its trustees. Main criticisms included: [1, 2]

• Inaccessibility and Neglect: Paid staff and trustees were accused of being completely unresponsive to the public, leaving office phones unanswered, ignoring emails, and abandoning the venue’s official Facebook page. [1, 2]
• Poor Facility Upkeep: Despite charging steep booking fees to play and performance producers, management failed to use available funds or solicit donations to upgrade outdated facilities, fix deteriorating seating, or address restoration needs. [1, 2]
• Unwelcoming Rules: Audiences criticized heavy-handed policies, such as aggressive handbag searches years after the civil war ended, strict food bans, and removing traditional local snack sellers from the premises. [1]

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Hiran Hewavisenti…..in FACEBOOK ….https://www.facebook.com/

Matters of the cricketing mind

Sri Lankan cricket – which is a passion for some and a religion for others like yours truly – is in shambles. It can’t be anything else when our highest ranking across the three formats is No. 7. Emulating our world champion teams of 1996 and 2014 has thus become a distant dream… because those who have run the show paid lip service to a golden rule of nurturing talent, which we’ve had – and still have – in abundance.

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