Category Archives: cultural transmission

April 11, 2024 · 12:54 pm

From Karaithivu, Jaffna to Buckingham Palace

Premila Thurairatnam

Mr. Sabapathipillai Rajanayagam O.B.E was a wise man who lived till he was 104 years old (1908–2012). He was alert to the end when most of his contemporaries had passed on.

His achievements are exemplary: coming from humble beginnings – his London diaries (attached) state how he grew up in a mud hut in a remote island called Karaithivu1 off Jaffna, Ceylon. From there his career culminated in being invited to Buckingham Palace! He studied hard and was awarded the University Telegraph Engineering scholarship to Imperial College, London in 1930. His article written for the Imperial College centenary when he too hit a century, can be found here: ………………………………………………………………… https://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/memories/Rajanayagam.shtml

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April 10, 2024 · 8:27 pm

Introducing Tambiah’s 1992 Book: “Buddhism Betrayed?”

Item in Tamil Nation ……………………………………… https://tamilnation.org/books/eelam/buddhismbetrayed

Given Buddhism’s presumed non-violent philosophy, how can committed Buddhist monks and laypersons in Sri Lanka today actively take part in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils?

Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah’s Buddhism Betrayed? seeks to answer this question by looking closely at the past century of Sri Lankan history and tracing the development of Buddhism’s participation in such ethnic conflict and collective violence. Tambiah analyses the ways in which this participation has, over time come to alter the very meaning of Buddhism itself as a lived reality.

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April 10, 2024 · 3:26 pm

Idyllic Explorations: Sri Lanka’s Marvellous Ruins & Monuments

Bernard VanCuylenberg, whose chosen title for this essay was  “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage” …. with pictorial illustrations selected in arbitrary manner by the Editor, Thuppahi

Pursuant to the articles which I wrote last year, “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage, parts 1 and 2 “) following a foray into the cornucopia of ruins buried in deep jungle well off the beaten track, I embarked on a similar venture in March this year. I am passionately moved by the treasure trove of what could be the best in ancient Sinhala civilization, possibly the life force of Sinhala culture which remains buried in the sands still awaiting the archaeologists spade, and I wish to share my experience with a wider circle of lovers of history. Parting the veil of time, an unknown sculptor, architect, engineer, master craftsman, even a poet reached out to me and held my hand leading me across the centuries in my quest.
 Degaldoruva …. off Kandy

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April 9, 2024 · 8:15 pm

Demographic Trends in the World: A Muslim Predominance

Web-Reference sent to me by Richard Hermon

A Thuppahi thought arising from the graphic illustrations in this Video TALE: Where affluence and the search for security has led most of the non-Muslim world to deviate from the practices of their forefathers so that the capacity of Islamic families TODAY to bear and sustain large families [in the manners past] has worldwide ramifications.

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April 8, 2024 · 7:14 pm

Michael Tissera: A Lifetime of Grounded Achievement

Krishantha Prasad Cooray, in The Island,  7 April 2024, where the title runs thus: “Michael Tissera at 85: Gentlemen’s gentleman” ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Tissera with his children and grandchildren

When people who have the same first name meet up, there’s name-related humour. The more, the merrier, obviously, especially if they are good friends and enjoy friendly banter. Today I am thinking of three people who share the name Michael: Michael Tissera, Michael Sproule and Michael De Zoysa, all three who played cricket for St Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia. The first of course is the bigger name associated with the gentleman’s game.

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April 6, 2024 · 12:58 am

Undermining the Australians at the Colombo Oval in 1948?

Hugh Karunanayake, in The Island, 2023 …. with his preferred title running thus: “Did Ceylon Try a Fast One on Don Bradman’s Team?”

Bradman struggles against Sathi Coomaraswamy

 

The Ceylon Team walks out to field

The last cricketing appearance by Don Bradman in Sri Lanka was at the Colombo Oval on March 31, 1948, before a capacity crowd of 20,000. The Australian Team was on their way to England for the Ashes series and stopped over in Colombo to play a one-day game against what was then called the All Ceylon XI – captained by M. Sathasivam. The game was characterized by two major controversies. The first was on the captaincy of the Ceylon team which many thought should have gone to the more experienced and accomplished F.C. de Saram. T. B. Marambe in his book “Pen sketches of our cricketers” thought that “de Saram clearly had not had sufficient contact with the common man” and the selectors preferred the popular Sathasivam instead.

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April 3, 2024 · 10:24 pm

Islamic Hands? Controversy over Moscow Bomb Attack

Michael Roberts

The information and interpretations present in this Thuppahi website by “A Observer in a Black Sea Resort” (see refs at end) have been challenged by several Academic friends of mine located in the West (A and B quoted below within this text).  However, another friend located in USA …. a Sri Lankan as it happens …. has chipped in with a counterpunch (see C below); while another Sri Lankan has also added a note of significance.

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April 1, 2024 · 6:19 pm

Campaign to Promote “Malaiyaha Thamilar” Identity

Diana Joseph in Groundviews, 25 March 2024 ….where the title runs thus :  “Identity Crisis of the Malaiyaha Thamilar Community” … reproduced here with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

People of Tamil descent raised on plantations have endured a long history of discrimination, exploitation and violence tracing back to the era of colonization. The younger generation, both men and women, expresses a preference for employment opportunities in urban areas or Middle Eastern countries as labourers rather than on plantations. Unfortunately, this pursuit often results in their exploitation and entrapment in modern day slavery, a cyclical pattern that has persisted for over two centuries.

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March 29, 2024 · 1:39 pm

For Ceylon. Roman Szechowycz in Gal Oya, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz … detailing his father’s dedicated work in the Gal Oya Project in the 1950s and in communication with  Michael Roberts in ways that mark his deep attachment to the island

Group Photo – Dr. Roman Szechowycz in middle.

L-R: Mr. (not legible), Mr. P. W. Richards, Mr. Coel Menai North Wales UK, Dr. Roman Szechowycz, Dr. A. J. Kostreamaks Bongor, Mr.. Anwari Dilmy Indonesia, Mr. B. A. Abeyvickram Colombo, Mr. R. A. DeRosaryro Colombo

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March 27, 2024 · 1:17 pm

Bala reviews Upali Wickremeratne’s Book on Colonial Rule

P. Balakrishnan, reviewing Upali Wickremeratne’s Book on Colonial European Rule in Sri Lanka, in Daily Mirror, 26 March 2024, in item entitled “Sri Lanka’s European rulers doggedly retained traditional structures”

In his book “The Conservative nature of the British rule of Sri Lanka”  (Vijitha Yapa 2014), Dr. Wickremeratne says that even conversion to  Catholicism under the Portuguese or the Dutch Reformed Church under the  Dutch did not alter the culture, values, thought and social structure of  the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

“There would otherwise only be a very remote possibility of finding out  everything that was happening and of which it was also important to be  aware.” …. Ryckloff van Goens

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