The issue of the OTHERS with Charlie Chaplin at the Dalada MalIgawa in Kandy in 1932 has raised a modicum of interest among some Sri Lankans. So, I present some of the information and conjectures that have been presented in Email exchanges or Facebook commentary…. Editor, Thuppahi
EMAIL from Rohana Nanayakkara, 10 September 2024
Hi Ranjit & Michael
In the photo, I am uncertain which one is Chaplin -but take it that it is the guy with the old Cine ( ? ) camera in hand (he looks the correct height for Chaplin!) – the guy next to him on his right & in specs looks very much like HW Jayewardene, QC, the youngest brother of President JR. I cannot ID any other person; but I can ID the location from the backdrop. I think it is on the entrance steps to the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) judging by the iconic carvings of the two tuskers on either side – these are the old ones – [subsequently] damaged by the bomb attack on the Temple by the LTTE. The JVP, too, attacked it prior to that.
Overall, this being in Kandy, the “guy in the 3-piece suit” to the left of the pix maybe the then Mayor or the MP for the area.
Cheers, Rohana.
Puzzled Thoughts from Michael Roberts, 10 September 2024
I assumed that Charlie Chaplin would take centre stage and is the person with hands on the shoulders of the young boy. The white man to his left is therefore Sydney Chaplin p– Chaplin’s half-brother (identified by Iranga Silva of the ICES in Kandy in a recent exchange: …………………………………………………… https://thuppahis.com/2021/04/06/charlie-chaplin-in-ceylon-with-his-brother-1932-rare-snaps/.
It would be helpful if Sri Lankan buffs confirm the other two suggestions from Rohana – though my old eyes cannot see any specs framing the eyes of the gent between the Chaplins.
And THEN: who are the three young ones in front of the famous men? Not should we erase the young lad in a scouts-sort-of hat on the exeme right of the photo.
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The photograph is a finding in ELANKA — see ……………………………………. https://thuppahis.com/2021/04/06/charlie-chaplin-in-ceylon-with-his-brother-1932-rare-snaps/
Tony Donaldson’s Thoughts in the previous Thuppahi version of the visit are also worth absorbing and responding to: ….…………………….. https://thuppahis.com/2021/04/06/charlie-chaplin-in-ceylon-with-his-brother-1932-rare-snaps/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin
Could the person in the 3-piece suit be Sir Lalitha Rajapakse?
I provide the following comments.
(1) Rohana Nanayakkara had suggested. “the guy next to him on his right & in specs looks very much like HW Jayewardene, QC, the youngest brother of President JR.” This suggestion is incorrect. H.W. Jayewardene (1916-1990), would have been only 16 years old in 1932, and this guy looks older than a 16 year old!
(2) I checked David Robinson’s biography of Chaplin, published in 1985, in my Chaplin collection of books. Being a fan of Chaplin, I have more than a dozen of Chaplin-related books in my shelf. The dates Robinson mention about Chaplin’s trip to Japan were: “Chaplin and Sydney embarked on the Suwa Maru on 12 March 1932….In the second week of May they arrived in Tokyo.”
Maybe, a scan of Colombo newspapers of that period during March 1932, will provide additional details on Chaplin’s visit to Ceylon, and who that ‘3-piece suit guy’ was.
(3) I’m not sure, how many days Chaplin stayed in Ceylon. Even David Robinson had failed to record that Chaplin was in Ceylon, prior to his arrival in Singapore.
Very Helpful and pertinent COMMENTS, SACHI …. thanks.
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It had been only a 24 hour stop over, one night out by a hired vehicle from Colombo.
His hand written notes confirm it and also the fact that ‘although, he initially entertained an idea of settling down in Ceylon, having seen the beautiful scenery on the way up to Kandy, the children flocking them begging or asking for coins, put him off and stated ‘this is not suitable for Nordics to settle down”.