In SRI LANKA 12 May 2024
Category Archives: Colombo and Its Spaces
The Royal-Thomian: Yesterday & Today
Uditha Devapriya & Uthpala Wijesuriya, in https://scroll.in/where the title reads thus: “Cricket, class and baila: The many layers of Sri Lanka’s celebrated Royal Thomian sports encounter”
With an unbroken 145-year streak, the face-off between two of the island-nation’s oldest schools has become a cultural rite of passage for the nation’s elite.
Prefects leading a cheer at the 144th Royal Thomian, 2023. |
Uthpala & Uditha … in match fervour
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, propaganda, Royal College, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, tolerance
Stark Images of Ethnic Retribution & Violence in Colombo, late July 1983
Photos selected by Michael Roberts & Rendered Accessible by David Sansoni of Sydney
Commencing with a ‘shot’ of passers-by and ordinary citizens assaulting and ridiculing a Tamil person at Galle Road in Colpetty
Filed under accountability, atrocities, citizen journalism, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, disparagement, ethnicity, historical interpretation, life stories, photography, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, racism, refugees, riots and pogroms, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, trauma, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry
Black Friday in Colombo: 29 July 1983
Sugath Kulatunga, …. original submission with highlighting added by the Editor, Thuppahi
That** was the story of Monday. The Friday that followed was a stark tragedy and a national calamity which has left its bloody stain in the records of our recent history. This was my harrowing experience of Friday 29 July 1983.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, chauvinism, Colombo and Its Spaces, conspiracies, disparagement, ethnicity, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, trauma, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry
THAT Monday 25th July 1983 in Colombo: Organized Violence within the Pogrom
Sugath Kulatunga .…. in item entitled “Black July Monday 25th” …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
In my last post on the 4th of March, I mentioned that the time I served under Lalith [Athulathmudali] was the golden era of my public service. But it did not occur to me that I had deliberately suppressed in my mind the ugliest and nastiest week in my life as well as of the nation. That was the week of Black July of the ghastliest communal riots. Let me recall my experience of that week.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, conspiracies, ethnicity, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, trauma, vengeance, world events & processes
Boom! Boom! The Central Bank Collapses in Front of Our Eyes!
Somasundaram Skandakumar, in essay entitled “A former chairman of George Steuarts remembers”
As the clock moved towards 10.50 a.m. on January 31, 2021, my mind went back 25 years to that fateful day. It was a Wednesday, and having finished our weekly meeting of the Parent Board of Directors in the Board Room on the eighth floor of Steuart House around 10.30 am, we sat around to exchange views on matters of a non-official nature as was customary, before returning to our rooms.
Enjoying the view of the sea beyond the Central Bank that faced us from the opposite side of Janadipathi Mawatha, was a favourite pastime of ours on such occasions.
Janadipathi Mawatha on that last day of January was as busy as always as people flocked into the banks, business offices and hotels that stood imposingly along it . Yes, the human traffic on this busy street was as heavy as the vehicular.
At 10.45 a.m., we heard what sounded like gun shots and sensed trouble.Moving to the large french windows that were the hallmark of “Steuart House,” we observed a lorrylike the ones that used to bring down tea from the plantations to Colombo, attempting to scale the pavement bordering the Central Bank.
The intention to enter the lobby of the Bank seemed obvious. An alert and courageous security guard shut off the access only to pay for his noble deed with his life as the occupants in the vehicle shot him dead.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, nationalism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
The LTTE Bomb Attack on the Central Bank Building in the Heart of Colombo, 31 January 1996
Michael Roberts
Colombo in the 1990s was a rather different world from the city today because its heartland centred around the Fort with its venerable shops (Cargills, Millers) leading mercantile offices, three premier hotels and the huge Central Bank building looming on the horizon. The expansion and transformation of the Port of Colombo and many other developments have transformed the city since then and the ‘weight of the Fort’ has diminished considerably since then.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, Uncategorized, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
Ancestral Genealogy and the DBU’s Marvellous Service
Nick Van Der Hoeven, whose choice of title was “The Dutch Burgher Union “……………… while highlights have been imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi …………………………………………………………………………… snSpedtoorh3fi1c80a115m1h307g3u8i82016f0i28a6c396l64390307fi ·
I have been reflecting on how lucky we are (as a group) to have such incredible access to the history of our ancestors. Yes, its very interesting: the diverse biological backgrounds (Dutch, British, Prussian, French, Portuguese, local etc). I am, however, a second generation Australian-born Burgher on my father’s side (plus Hungarian on mothers) and no doubt have a different reading history than those who ‘lived it’ back in Ceylon for those 500 years of colonisation.
For me the
greatest gift is knowing the names and some of the stories of ancestors dating back 22 generations — regardless of where they are from. This is unique and is in my opinion one of the greatest legacies of the DBU. The shipping manifests, the Dutch churches, the British churches, the various journals and off course the DBU records themselves. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education, ethnicity, European history, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people
C. A. Lorenz of “Karlsruhe” as Propertied Gentleman in British Ceylon
Avishka Mario Seneviratne, in The Sunday Island, 24 March 2024, where the title reads “Karlsruhe and the properties of Lorenz” …. with highlighting being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi
The history of this abode is both historic and tragic concerning the life of Lorenz. The origins of this abode are unknown. Its structure is essentially Dutch, but its occupants of various eras have made their additions to its architectural setting. Lorenz had been eyeing this property for some time. Previously, it was owned by Governor Charles McCarthy’s brother. Just like Elie House, this property opposite the Welikada Prison was situated at a higher elevation in comparison with its surroundings. Originally this property was in two blocks of land covering 11.5 acres. After purchasing this property from Dr. Dickman and Dr. Wambeek, Charles Lorenz, who was mortally ill arrived here in early 1871. Sadly, this would be his final abode as Lorenz passed away in August 1871.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, Empire loyalism, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
“Elie House” in Mutwal & Its Illustrious Occupants in the 19th Century
Avishka Mario Senewiratne, in The Island, March 2024 with this title: “Old Mutwal, Elie House and Lorenz”
Elie House, water colour by Andrew Nicholl
The history of this most historic and valuable abode Elie House dates back to the days of Philip Anstruther, the Colonial Secretary of Ceylon from 1833 to 1845. Anstruther was a capable Civil Servant, who won the popularity of both the home Government and the inhabitants of Ceylon. Capt. James MacDonald Henderson states in his book The Rebellion in Ceylon, “Had this gentleman [Anstruther] but retained his appointment of Colonial Secretary, there is every reason to believe that the rebellion of 1848, with its long train of miseries and misfortunes, would never have occurred”.
Filed under architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, paintings, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
