Category Archives: cultural transmission

Journalistic Articles from my Pen: A Bibliography, 1996-2009

Michael Roberts

Articles that appear in academic journals are subject to a refereeing process before they, so to speak, scale the heights and enter the academic world. But there are numerous forums at the cutting edge which serve up essays on hot topics. These are not necessarily run-of-the-mill mundane pieces. They can be spin-offs presented by writers in the academic field.  As I look to the future when my mortal steps in this world will no longer generate any sound, I present here a listing of some of these ‘pop-articles’ produced in the period 1996-2009.  Many of them relate to the Eelam wars and the Tamil Tiger commitment to sacrificial devotion” (a term I deploy in lieu ofsuicide missions”).

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ANZAC DAY Commemorations Today … 25 April 2024

The Ceremonial “Markings” in Turkey and Elsewhere: Momentous & Indelible Recollections

GALLIPOLI, TURKEY – APRIL 25: New Zealand Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae speaks at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at ANZAC Cove on April 25, 2010 in Gallipoli, Turkey. Today commemorates the 95th anniversary of ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day, when First World War troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey early April 25, 1915. Today April 25 is commemorated with ceremonies of remembrance for those who fought and died in all wars ….. Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images   

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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

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Ushering in the New Year in Culturally Meaningful Manner in Colombo 

Uditha Devapriya and Pasindu Nimsara, whose preferred title is “Kévum, KrÏda, and Kadé: Avurudu in Colombo”  … from The Island, 19 April 2024

No Avurudu would be complete without an Avurudu Ulela. It has become part of our national social calendar, an event that must be organised, a tradition that must be kept. Practically every institution, from nurseries to universities to companies to Rotaract Societies, has a shot at holding one. The result is that somehow or the other, an Avurudu Ulela unfolds somewhere every other day until the end of April.

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Roman Szechowycz: A Discerning Eye for Past & Present in the Gal Oya’s History

This is a presentation of an article entitled “The “Rock River” Story” by Roman W. Szechowycz in the Loris Magazine, Vol. 8 No. 6  December, 1960. Page 348. Its presentation here has been made feasible by my Aloysian pal KK De Silva.  I have underlined aspects of this account with highlights.

Let me stress here that Roman Szechowycz’s searching eye and mind leaves me amazed. This essay links the landscape to its medieval and ancient history and dwells on the history of Sinhalese civilization in revealing manner. 

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Accidental Cameraman: My Best Shots

 Michael Roberts as a Cameraman …. seeing to emulate that genius the late Nihal Fernando

A Shoreline Fish-hunter south of Wattala at twilight where a small inland canal meets the sea …. the photo was shot in a snap decision from the prow of a padda boat about to land our touring-party on the beach …..

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An Intriguing Challenge: Deciphering a Photograph of Ceylonese Elites at Tennis

Mevan Pieris & Arun Dias Bandaranaike decipher and debate the identities and location of personnel within an intriguing high-society photograph of a tennis cluster in British Ceylon at some point in the 1920s/30s. The suggestion that JR Jayawardene is part of this cluster is challenged by Mevan : a claim presented within Thuppahi: see https://thuppahis.com/2016/10/29/when-jr-and-banda-batted-for-ceylon-together-in-1926-a-piece-of-social-history/

 

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Rupert Ferdinands: A Stellar Career …. & A Thomian Tall

Ravi Rudra, whose chosen title for this illustrated essay was “Rupert Ferdinands: A Blazing Tennis Star and Much More”  … while the plethora of photographs rendered this item a difficult piece to insert — so that some illustrations will be missing; a or will be inserted over time. The Editor has also inserted highlighting emphasis along the way.

Rupert W. Ferdinands, born April 1936, was an outstanding product of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. He is also a former Head Prefect of the School, a B.Sc. (Hons) graduate, Sri Lanka Davis Cup player and Australian qualified tennis coach (Level 3). Rupert excelled in Tennis for his College and Country, having made his national debut as a young schoolboy.

Teen Rupert in Ceylon Tennis Team at the Hague in 1953 ….L-R:  Percy Ernst, Douglas Fonseka, Lionel Fonseka (Manager), Douglas Scharenguivel and 17-year-old Rupert Ferdinands (extreme right).

Trophies Galore! ….  36-year old Rupert Ferdinands with around 150 trophies at his Colombo Residence, just prior to migrating to Australia.

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“Colonization and Ethnic Conflict in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka” – Article in 1990

Patrick Peebles in a refereed article in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), pp. 30-55 …. which John De Silva in Melbourne, my Aloysian sporting mate, has worked on to make it feasible for me to present it in the Thuppahi format-style. The supporting Maps & Diagrams are presented via web-references, while the web-reference to the article as a whole is placed herein in pdf format.

Sri LANKA’S INABILITY to contain ethnic violence as it escalated from sporadic terrorism to mob violence to civil war in recent years has disheartened observers who had looked to the nation as a success story of social and political development. In retrospect, Sri Lanka lacked effective local institutions to integrate the society, and the Sinhalese elite relied on welfare and preferential policies for the Sinhalese majority to maintain power. These alienated the minorities and resulted in Tamil demands for a separate state. 1

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Galle: So Bewitching …. with Aid from the Work of Norah Roberts

R. Simmington, whose article bears another title

Sri Lanka has a special place in my heart because I lived here for a few
years in the early 1980’s and returned in 1986, armed with a camera.
Although the photographic phase of my life was short and sweet, I still have
all my negatives, which I can now convert into digital images. I hope this
piece, together with the photographs that accompany it,*** bring back some
happy memories for the members of this group. I realise that there will be
many who know this story, but there will be some that don’t, in any event, I
think it is worth sharing.

Amangalla exterior & front verandah

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