Courtesy of Nandasiri Jasentuliyane,** who was known to us then as N. De Silva
Category Archives: architects & architecture
Memories of Peradeniya University Campus Sparked by A Visit in 2012
Rex Olegasegaram, whose favöured title runs thus: “Peradeniya Campus – A Visit Down Memory Lane
In November, 2012 when I drove into the Peradeniya University along with my wife Navaranjini, it was indeed a wonderful visit down memory lane covering my very enjoyable undergraduate spell in 1955/59. Then known as the Peradeniya campus of the University of Ceylon, it has indeed seen a number of physical changes in the interim period with new Halls of Residence, some significant changes to existing buildings (e.g. the old tinned roof of the Economics Department replaced with new modern structures), new approaches etc. Notwithstanding, a number of features that obtained at that time still continue: the older Halls of Residence, some lecture theatres, the library including the “pilloring” area, the gymnasium and the sport venues.
Meaningful Moments at the National War Memorial in Battaramulla, Colombo
Compiled by Gp Capt Kumar Kirinde, SLAF [retd] …. with his title being “National War Memorial,Colombo and the National War Heroes Day Commemoration”
The National War Memorial in front of the Parliament complex at Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo is dedicated to all military personnel killed since World War I and police personal killed due to militancy. An annual ceremony to commemorate the velour and gallantry of War Heroes is held at the site on the Remembrance Day unique to Sri Lanka, which is 20th May. This day in 2009 the country’s civil war which went on for 26 years came to an end.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, meditations, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes
How The War Memorial in Colombo came into Being
Dr. Narme F. Wickremesinghe, in the Sunday Times …………….. https://www.sundaytimes.lk/071111/Plus/plus00012.html …….. where the title is “The Genesis of the National Remembrance Park”
The red poppy which s”ymbolizes the blood of war heroes is from the poppy that grows in Flanders, France, a Remembrance Park for the war dead. It was at 11 a.m. on November 11 (- the 11th month) 1918 that the Armistice was signed, bringing to an end the First World War. The war heroes are remembered on the Sunday closest to November 11th at 11 a.m. with two minutes silence and all life comes to a standstill including electronic channels and vehicular movement. In this article I will give you an account of how Sri Lanka’s Flanders – the Remembrance Park at Mailapitiya, off Kandy, came into being.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, nationalism, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, world events & processes
Picasso’s Worldly Wisdom: Obliterating The Dog
A Canary Club Reader, … with highlighting emphasis imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi
Finally, after twenty years of non-stop propaganda in the Western media, here is an article in British and Australian newspapers that actually contains a nugget of truth, though a very tiny nugget. The key point to observe is in the final two paragraphs which attempts to suggest why Mr. Picasso painted over the dog. It is an intriguing question.
Bernard Van Cuylenburg’s Recent Travel Odyssey in Sri Lanka
Bernard VanCuylenburg … serving up the First ‘Stage’ of His Voyage into Ancient Sri Lanka
PROLOGUE: Travel is an apt metaphor for life. There is a mystical side to any journey, specially to lesser-known archaeological sites which one has never visited before. While travelling we realize that life cannot be wholly planned and controlled however much we prepare in advance for our own futures. Having visited the more famous historical treasures of ancient Ceylon some more than others, many of which are today World Heritage Sites, I surmised long ago from what I had seen, the limited research that I undertook, and the books I read, that Sri Lanka virtually groans under the weight of its cultural cachet, and there is much more to be revealed by the archaeologist’s spade which promises to be a cultural cornucopia.
The Galle Fort: Its Southern Rampart ‘Fronts’ Multi-faceted Ambience
Michael Roberts
As I walked along the Galle Fort’s ramparts on several occasions in early April this year 2023, not only did pleasant memories flood back: the intriguing present lay before me (literally in some cases) …;
while a regular ‘little tide’ of tourists (perhaps Ukrainian or Russian?) passed me every now and then. The ambience and power of setting and nostalgia enveloped me at every stage. As a youngster the ramparts were not my only passageway. The rocks at the bottom edge of the walls and/or the sea provided adventurous routes this way or that…. familair routes because one knew where the thorny corals and dangerous spots were.
Galle Fort & Its Peoples in Black & White
Gagno’s Searing Camerawork
Filed under architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, communal relations, cultural transmission, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, photography, population, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan scoiety, tourism, travelogue
Ceylon and Beyond: Hugh Karunanyake on Antiquarian Books
Hugh Karunanayake : “Collecting Antiquarian Ceylon Books,” .… Victor Melder Lexture …. Sunday 30 April 3pm-4pm ……Clayton Hall, 264 Clayton Road
Sri Lankan-born Hugh Karunanyake is a collector of unique antiquarian books about Sri Lanka, and has established an extensive personal library that extends to maps, prints and old postcards. For Hugh, the collecting of knowledge and ephemera has never been purely about acquisition, but also about the sharing of knowledge.
With a B.A. in Sociology from Peradeniya University in Sri Lanka, Hugh has worked across both public and private sectors. He was the founding president of the Ceylon Society of Australia and is a prolific writer about all things Ceylon and Sri Lanka.
The Victor Melder Lecture honours the work of Victor Melder and the extensive library of books, journals and magazines relating to Sri Lanka that he established in 1968.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, meditations, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Uncategorized, unusual people
Merton College & Its Meaningful Academic ‘Surrounds’
VICE-CHANCELLOR’S ADMISSION CEREMONY LUNCH AT MERTON
Former Warden Professor Irene Tracey CBE FMedSci became Vice-Chancellor of the University in January 2023.The admission ceremony was held in the Sheldonian Theatre on 10 January and was followed by a procession to Merton College, where the post-ceremony lunch was held. Upon arrival at College, the Vice-Chancellor looked delighted to see Mertonian staff welcoming her outside the College, and took a moment to greet Head Porter Huw James on her way in to College for lunch with fellows and guests.
