Category Archives: art & allure bewitching

St. Anthony’s College in Kandy: Its Heritage

Bernard VanCuylenburg  and  Sisira Weragoda  … whose title reads “From Little Things Big Things Grow – Antonians Who Excelled Beyond Excellence” 

Prologue

As an introduction to the subject of this article I had to choose a title which nails it all in just one line. It is the story of an academic miracle which emanated from a simple school in its infancy, St. Anthony’s College Katugastota, by a group of students who raised the bar of achievement and excellence in the prestigious London Matriculation Examination in 1934, with a 100% pass rate THUS OBTAINING THE BEST RESULTS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. It was a path breaking year for the College and a validation of the school’s excellence. Twelve students sat the examination that year of whom six obtained first division passes, and six obtained second division passes. Their names which should be emblazoned in letters of gold in the field of education will be mentioned in this article. Paraphrasing the title of the book by Rubeih Murray James, we should “Carve their names with pride”.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people

A Pathway to History: Biographical ‘Hits’ in Thuppahi, 22 July 2025

Michael Roberts

Biographical tales and investigations serve as one pathway to historical enquiry.  Because they resonate with readers interest in their own personal journeys this fascination seems to evoke continuous appeal. The WORD PRESS record of readers hits on items in THUPPAHI confirm this fact. Let me, therefore, provide TPS readers with a list of some of the items that drew at least one reader …. that is one HIT …. today/yesterday.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, charitable outreach, communal relations, cricket selections, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, education, ethnicity, female empowerment, foreign policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, LTTE, military strategy, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, photography, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, prabhakaran, press freedom, religiosity, Royal College, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, terrorism, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people

In Maureen Hingert’s Memory via Paul Robeson

Charles Schokman

It was in the early fifties at the age of twenty-one I used to ride my bicycle from Dematagoda all the way to Bambalapitiya to visit friends living down Lorensz Rd. It was quite a distance but worth the ride.

Vale Maureen Hingert – mrober137@gmail.com – Gmail

Down that street lived Maureen Hingert and whenever she saw me pass her home, she never failed to greet me with a smile or say hello.

She, though a mere stranger, was happy to make her acquaintance with me. This kind gesture of hers and endearing ways left a lasting mark in my life.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, charitable outreach, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, ethnicity, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance, travelogue, world events & processes

Sri Lanka Overwhelm Bangladesh in Third ODI

Andrew Fidel Fernando n ESPNcricinfo, July 2025, where the title is different

Sri Lanka 285 for 7 (Kusal 124, Asalanka 58, Mehidy 2-48, Taskin 2-51) beat Bangladesh 186 (Hridoy 51, Asitha 3-33, Chameera 3-51) by 99 runs

Kusal Mendis crashed 124 off 114, Sri Lanka‘s seamers took three wickets apiece, and Sri Lanka surged to a series win, defeating Bangladesh by 99 runs in the deciding ODI. The centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s batting was the 124-run  between Kusal and Charith Asalanka, who made 58 off 68. Bangladesh’s bowlers did well either side of that partnership, particularly at the death, conceding only 62 off the last 10 overs.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, cricket selections, heritage, life stories, nationalism, performance, Sri Lankan cricket, travelogue

THE GUARDIAN in UK seeks reader-support

“From Minute Hands can an Ongoig  ‘Edifice’ be built”– Thupphiyaaa

AN APPEAL ON EMAIL from THE GUARDIAN

 

 

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under art & allure bewitching, Britain's politics, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, citizen journalism, democratic measures, economic processes, governance, heritage, human rights, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, press freedom & censorship, self-reflexivity, tolerance, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

For Richmond College: EFC Ludowyk and His Outreach

EFC LUDOWYK MEMORIAL LECTURE,  Organized by the Richmond 60 Club, July 5th, 2025, at the OPA Auditorium

the AUTHOR = Austin Fernando

The President and members of the Richmond 60 Club, the former Principal of Richmond, Mr. E.M.S. Ekanayake, and friends. I consider it a singular honor to have been invited to speak about the late Prof. E.F.C. Ludowyk. I was not a student, colleague, or acquaintance of his. Hence, what you will hear from me today is what I have been able to glean from the literature I could access on Prof. Ludowyk, and I delved into during my preparation for this talk.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching

Biographical Paths to Lankan History via ‘Hits’ on TPS

A MEMO From Michael Roberts as Editor, Thuppahi,  July 2025

The Word Press system keeps me informed about the HITs on TPS items everyday and also assembles figures for each week. Reviewing these details provides one with a glimpse of internet viewers and their interests. As an exercise with this objective I provide figures of HITS on items carrying biographical tales.

HEREWITh, then, are the figures of such hits — HITS on bio-tales – during the past week.

 

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, cricket selections, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, European history, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, theatre world, unusual people, world affairs, world events & processes

Rugby: British Lions Down Under –Schedule

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Date 28 June – 2 August 2025 …………..Coach … Andy Farrell ….. ……………. Tour captain(s) Maro Itoje

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, communal relations, cultural transmission, ethnicity, landscape wondrous, life stories, nationalism, patriotism, performance, travelogue, Uncategorized, unusual people

Gananath’s Manifold Reach: Many Voices in Vale

IT is a testament to Gananath’s openness and skills that personnel from so many walks of life have stepped up to record his influence on their thinking and lives. May he dwell comfortably in his after-life. ….. Michael Roberts

A Female Voice in Facebook, March 2025

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Prof Gananath Obeyesekere. Much will be written about Prof Obeyesekere’s contribution to academia in the coming days. He was a giant in the field and one of the most well-known and respected Sri Lankan intellectuals.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, caste issues, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, world affairs, zealotry

Reflections on Gananath’s Wide-Ranging Corpus of Work

Professor M.W. Amarasiri de Silva, about 3/4 years back inwhere the full title of the essay reads thus: Sinhalese Society Through The Prism Of Religion: An Appreciation Of Gananath Obeyesekere’s Work On Sinhalese Buddhism”

This article celebrates the remarkable scholarly contributions of Gananath Obeyesekere, specifically in the field of popular Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Obeyesekere, now aged 93, embarked on his anthropological career at the University of Ceylon (now University of Peradeniya), where he earned his undergraduate degree in English. Subsequently, he served as a lecturer and professor in the Department of Sociology from the 1960s to 1972, before moving on to the United States. He was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University from 1980 to 2000.

 

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, teaching profession, transport and communications, unusual people, vengeance, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry