Author Archives: thuppahi

About thuppahi

Sri Lankan and Australian nationality; student of Sri Lankan society and politics; sociology of cricket;

Seeking Aid for Poverty-Stricken Estate Children in Lanka

An Appeal from Ranjan Sivagnanasundaram of VANNI HOPE

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CREATE AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE YOUTH OF THIS AREA SO THAT THEY CAN BE SELF-DEPENDENT, CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA AND BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN DEVELOPMENT EFFORT OF THE FUTURE NATION.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF MORAL EDUCATION HELPS ONE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG. IT GETS REFLECTED IN ONE’S PERSONALITY. IT HELPS IN BUILDING A GOOD PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE. IT HELPS TO ELIMINATE PROBLEMS LIKE VIOLENCE, DISHONESTY, JEALOUSY ETC FROM ONE’S LIFE.

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Paul Newman: In His Own Words

Dave Itzkoff in the New York Times, 16 October 2022, entitled “A Posthumous Memoir Reveals Paul Newman in His Own Words”

Compiled from interviews he gave to a close friend, “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man” sheds light on the self-doubt of the seemingly imperturbable Hollywood star.

 

Credit…George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

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Sri Lankan Beauties in Staten Island, New York, 2022

Item in Daily Mirror [of Lanka], 23 October 2022, entitled “First-ever Miss Sri Lanka New York pageant held on Staten Island”

Angelia Gunasekara was crowned the first ever Miss Sri Lanka New York at the pageant held at The Vanderbilt in South Beach.

More than 300 attendees came out to support 14 contestants who dazzled at the first-ever Miss Sri Lanka New York beauty pageant.

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The Machinations of Vellala Lawyer Leaders that Deepened Tamil-Sinhala Divisions from the 1920s-to-the-1960s

Sebastian Rasalingam, reproducing an article presented in 2008 in The Sri Lanka Guardian in October 2008 with this title “An Excellent and Timely Feature on the Tamils” **

 Please permit me to make some comments on the recent article on the “Sri Lankan Identity” by R. M. B. Senanayake, continuing a discussion in a previous article by Anne Abeysekera. Both these articles, written by authors who are familiar with the English-educated Sinhalese point of view, deal very inadequately with the issues of Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka and in erstwhile Ceylon. In fact, the modern generation, even the Tamils, are on the whole unaware of the true nature of the present conflict and the role of Tamil nationalism. They are misled and mesmerized by simplistic histories concocted by the great political agenda set in motion by the Tamil leaders of the pre-1956 era. In fact, I will outline below how the battlelines were drawn in the Donoughmore days, by G. G. Ponnambalam (GGP) and others who followed.

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Galle Fort Today: Its Dutch Legacy

Mahil Wijesinghe, in Sunday Observer Epaper, 23 October 2022, with this title “Dutch Legacy of Galle fort

The Galle city is home to a population of around 100,000. Easily reached via the Southern Expressway, the A2 Highway or the coastal rail track, Galle is indeed a place worth a stop. A quick walk through the chip-stone laid busy streets, you will discover the rich history of the colonial period and the natural beauty of the seascape.

 

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Galle Face Green in Colombo Over the Decades

Ismeth Raheem and Angeline Ondaatjie, in Elanka, 10 October 2022, where the title runs as “The Changing Face of Galle Face Green”

Galle Face is Colombo’s most-prized open-aired public space, extending over a mile along the Fort oceanfront in Colombo. Over the course of Sri Lanka’s history, it has been the de facto stage for landmark public gatherings. Most recently over the months of April to July 2022, the Galle Face Green was the centerstage of the People’s Aragalaya, a protest movement that arose from economic hardship in Sri Lanka.  During those weeks the protestors renamed it GotaGoGama (GGG) and even had a Google marker to prove it.  On July 9th 2022, unprecedented crowds from all parts of Sri Lanka gathered in the Galle Face Area breaking attendance records of Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake funeral in 1952, the 1953 hartal, and Pope Francis’s holy mass in 2015.

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Enhancing Protection in the Face of Pandemics

Dr. Laleen Jayamanne:** in The Island, 19 October 2022, where the title reads thus: “An Insider’s Guide to Pandemics and Biosecurity”

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”  ….
The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”

The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

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The City of Bath in England Today: Its Attractions … & Travails

Michael Patrick O’Leary, in …………………………………………………. https://pcolman.wordpress.com/2022/10/16/customer-service-in-a-septic-isle-part-one/ .… where the title is “Customer Service in a Septic Isle: Part One”

Mellifluous Amiability: During our lengthy visit to the UK from Sri Lanka, my wife and I went to the Walter Sickert exhibition at Tate Britain. I bought Matthew Sturgis’s hefty biography of the painter from the Tate shop and found it an absorbing read. Sickert was a handsome, witty and charismatic figure, friend of Degas and Whistler, with more female conquests than a rock star of today. Sturgis authoritatively dismisses crime writer Patricia Cornwell’s absurd notion that Sickert was Jack the Ripper.

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Monga & Fernando on Sri Lanka’s Win Against Netherlands

ONE: Sidarth Monga: Mendis’ pragmatism helps wounded Sri Lanka survive banana-peel beginning,” ESPNcricinfo, 20 October 2022

They’ve battled injuries and unexpectedly slow pitches, but they’ve scrapped their way into the Super 12s

As far as banana peels go, Sri Lanka found themselves on a big one, which in turn was placed on an oily surface. Playing the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup, after coming in as Asia Cup champions, they struggled to adjust to a slow, two-paced Geelong pitch and ended up paying for it with a defeat to Namibia. Add to it a soft outfield that can leave you vulnerable to injuries.
Five of the Sri Lanka players have been injured so far. Dilshan Madushanka tore his quad during training on the eve of the first match. Dushmantha Chameera did his calf during the second game. Pramod Madushan and Danushka Gunathilaka injured their hamstrings. Pathum Nissanka has now gone for a scan of his groin.

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Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup Preliminary Matches  

Michael Roberts

In forecast to myself I thought that the Sri Lankan Squad that had snaffled the Asia Cup in the Gulf arena would face a difficult situation in Australia notwithstanding the lower-placed teams in their initial round of matches. For one, the Australian playing conditions would be quite different, both in terms of climate, pitch conditions and the size of the playing fields. For another, the Namibian team is made up of tough outback country Boer-types who do not take a backward step; while the Dutch have many experienced campaigners.

 

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