Category Archives: Colombo and Its Spaces

September 19, 2025 · 7:38 pm

Sri Lanka’s Economy Now: After A Honeymoon….

Item in THE ECONOMIST, 6 Sep 2025, entitled “The Sri Lankan government’s honeymoon is nearly over” … & sent to me by  Jayantha Somasundaram of Canberra; while the highlights are my imposition

Initial popularity:  OPENED IN AUGUST with the stated ambition of making Sri Lanka “India’s Macau”, the City of Dreams development in downtown Colombo houses a casino, luxury hotels, high-end shops and a champagne-and-cocktail bar “floating amid the clouds”. The gleaming but for now largely deserted halls of the vast complex seem a symbol of renewal: a far cry from the mass civil unrest of just three years ago and the accompanying economic collapse—rampant inflation, fuel shortages, mass poverty and foreign-debt default.

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September 18, 2025 · 2:00 pm

The ManyTourist Attractions along Sri Lanka’s Coast

ITEM sent by Keith Bennett, entitled “SRI LANKA’S BEACHES – The Ultimate Insider’s Guide”

Here’s what makes Sri Lankan beaches absolutely unique – and why timing is everything. The seasonal secret,

 West/South Coast (Nov-Apr): Unawatuna, Mirissa, Bentota East  Coast (May-Sep): Arugam Bay, Pasikuda, Nilaveli …………. tip: Most tourists get this wrong and end up with monsoon rains

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September 15, 2025 · 12:40 pm

Advanced Lighting Systems for Two Cricket Stadiums in Lanka

News Item in The Island, 15 September 2025… with this  title “DIMO Installs Sri Lanka’s first ICC-compliant LED floodlights for stadiums”

Advanced features include zoned lighting control for partial stadium use … [with activation  here  in  TPS  made possible  by  KK de  Silva,  of  St Aloysius College  cricket  in the mid-late  1950s  and the SL Admin-Service]

Reinforcing its leadership in sports infrastructure development, DIMO has successfully completed the installation of Sri Lanka’s first and second LED floodlighting systems at two of the country’s most iconic cricket stadiums. The first installation was completed at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS) in 2023, followed by the second at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo in 2025.

This milestone builds on DIMO’s historic achievement in the 1980s, when it made global headlines by installing Sri Lanka’s first and the world’s second floodlighting system at RPICS, cementing its legacy as a pioneer in sports lighting technology.

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September 10, 2025 · 4:19 pm

East & West: Cross-fertilisation in Sri Lanka, 1940s et seq

Michael Roberts

An EMAIL Exchange with Vinod Moonesinghe recently prompted me to search for relevant literature and I came across this text from my hand in People Inbetween (1989, Sarasavi Publications, page 111).

“In brief, in the 1900s and 1910s the literati who engaged themselves in English drama developed no synthesizing link with the Sinhala theatre which was flourishing at the same time in and around the Tower Hall in Maradana, Colombo. The latter, as we know, had some awareness of the Western theatrical traditions [81]. Our speculative point is that the fertilizing influence, such as it was, moved in one direction only.      Pathiraja

 Sarathchandra 

Ludo
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September 7, 2025 · 2:57 pm

Indigenous ‘Touches’ within the British Colonial Era of Capitalist Expansion

Vinod Moonesinghe, IN  Factum Perspectives March 3, 2025, where the title runs thus: “Tindals, Dhonis, and Sampans – The interconnectedness of historical Indian Ocean commerce” ….  NB: the two photos &  the map are insertions by The Editor, Thuppahi

 In the days of the British Raj, bullock carts were used to transport goods inland and to bring coffee beans (and later tea) from the montane plantations down to Colombo, for shipment overseas.

The distance from the coffee plantations to the main seaport of Galle caused the colonial government to override the wishes of the British Admiralty and of the steamship lines (who all wished to operate from Galle, which was closer to the main sea route to the Orient) and to develop Colombo harbour at a considerable cost.

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September 5, 2025 · 4:01 pm

Vale: Bishop Kenneth Fernando

From Wikipedia …………… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fernando

Kenneth Michael James Fernando (25 July 1932–3 September 2025) was a Sri Lankan Anglican clergyman who was Bishop of Colombo.[1][2][3]

 Born in Moratuwa and educated at Prince of Wales’ College, Moratuwa and Royal College, Colombo and at the University of Oxford, he served as the Secretary of the Diocese before he was elected as the Bishop of Colombo. He served as the Vicar of Maharagama Anglican Church prior to his ordination. Fernando died on 3 September 2025, at the age of 93.[4][5]

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September 3, 2025 · 4:40 pm

Vale: Lareef Idroos

Errol Fernando in Melbourne

I am deeply saddened to hear of my very old friend Lareef’s death. He was my neighbour in Kollupitiya, Colombo 3. From the time I was 6 or 7 years old I played cricket with him under the coconut trees. The railway line and the sea were just behind the batsman!  Lareef loved to bowl, and I loved to bat and so we were both happy! I spent hours, days, weeks, months and years facing his bowling. He came up with new tricks all the time and used the sea breeze very effectively!  I have no memory of him batting and me bowling !

 

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September 1, 2025 · 11:50 am

High Rise Overkill in Colombo City Centre

Sanjiva Wijesinha, in Facebook, where the title  runs “The loss of habitat and heritage”

Last Sunday morning I went for my usual walk to Galle Face Green.

It is a habit I have cultivated over the years – an early morning walk before the sun gets too hot, when I can inhale the fresh ozone-laden air coming in from the Indian Ocean and invigorate my physical body while refreshing my mind. My custom used to be to start where the Galle Face Hotel stands, walk out towards Galle Buck and the old light house or even as far as the Port Maritime Museum and then walk back, which would take me about an hour. In recent times, I have changed my route from time to time – turning round at the roundabout opposite the old Parliament (now the Presidential Secreta-riat) and walking along the road that passes behind the Shangri-La, the ITC Ratnadipa and the Taj Samudra hotels back to my starting point. As I return along this road I can see on my left across the Beira Lake the Cinnamon City of Dreams hotel.

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August 30, 2025 · 6:35 pm

A Candle for GAZA in Colombo……Supporting the SUMUD Flotilla

Message from  Manel  Fonseka 

Join us to light a candle and say a prayer for the success of the Sumud Flotilla as they set sail to break the siege on Gaza.

Starting on August 31st, 150 ships will set sail with crew from more than 40 counties, in the biggest global effort to break Israel’s 18year siege of Gaza. As famine spreads in Gaza and Israel continues with complete impunity to murder, rape and starve the population of 2 million people living there, the people of the world are banding together to step up where international law has failed.

Join us this Sunday, 31st of August, at 4.30pm under the Nuga tree at the Chapel of Christ the Living Saviour on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07, to light a candle and say a prayer for the success of the fleet, the safety of its crew, and the salvation of the people of Gaza from Israel’s unrelenting genocide.

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August 25, 2025 · 2:03 am

Women’s Cricket: World Cup in India & Lanka, 2025

Anjana Kaluarachchi, at CEYLON TODAY, 22 August 2025 where  the title reads “Revised Schedule: Colombo to Host 11 Matches of ICC Women’s World Cup”

 The ICC has released a revised schedule for the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 30 September to 2 November.  Due to the unavailability of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Navi Mumbai will replace Bengaluru as one of the five host venues. The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai is now set to stage five key fixtures, including three league matches, a semi-final, and potentially the final on 2 November.

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