Category Archives: cultural transmission

March 27, 2024 · 12:37 am

Percy Abeysekera as Large as Life

Percy Abeysekera aka “Pissu Percy” has, alas, passed away; but, as we celebrate good cricket this week pursued in Bangladesh where Sri Lanka was led by a man from the south nurtured in Richmond College, we can savour the world of cricket with Percy of St. Aloysius and Sri Lanka.

http://www.islandcricket.lk/photos/somebody-stop-percy-abeysekera

Somebody stop Percy Abeysekera ….. Submitted by Hilal on January 7, 2009 – 18:48

Taken at the 5th and final one day match between Sri Lanka and England at the R Premadasa stadium on the 13-Oct-2007. A bespectacled, 62-year-old grandfather, Percy Abeysekera is perhaps Sri Lanka’s most exuberant supporter.

Photographer/Owner:  Chamil Thanthrimudalige

Source…. 

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March 26, 2024 · 8:55 pm

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 →

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March 24, 2024 · 7:50 pm

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.

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March 21, 2024 · 6:14 pm

Experiences: Working on the Gal Oya Project in Ceylon, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz, presenting a Memoir-cum-Report entitled “Gal Oya Project (1950-1960): Dr. Roman W. Szechowycz & the Gal Oya Development Board”

Dr. Roman W. Szechowycz was employed by the Gal Oya Development Board from 18 July 1950 to 1961. He arrived in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) with his wife Sabina (nee Czekan) Szechowycz and their 3-year-old daughter Maria. I was born in October 1951 in Colombo. During the time in Sri Lanka, we lived in Inginiyagala next to the post office.

My parents were displaced people who after World War II ended were in Hanover Germany in the British Sector. My father’s home was in northwest Ukraine and my mother’s home was in southwest Poland. These areas were occupied by Russians after the conclusion of World War II.

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March 20, 2024 · 8:01 pm

Colombo Ladies serving Hindu Ladies College in Jaffna

Goolbai Gunasekara in The ISLAND Newspaper, 17 March 2024 … entitled “My time at Hindu Ladies College”

Following in her mother, Clara Gunaskara nee Motwani’s footsteps, principal and teacher Goolbai Gunasekara revolutionised the sphere of English education in Sri Lanka …. & this account is her trip down memory lane.

Mrs. Visaladhy Sivagurunathan, a philanthropic Hindu lady, had gifted the property of Hindu Ladies’ College to the school in 1943. [My] Mother […. of the Motwani  lineage] …. was the school’s fifth Principal. Under her, the first Past Pupils’ Association was formed, with Mrs. Jeevaratnam Rasiah as its first President. Miss Thambu (Mother’s long suffering Tamil tutor) was its Secretary. Just recently, I was invited to speak to the Colombo branch of the HLC alumni.

I met a former HLC teacher there — Mrs Navaratna, formerly Leela Ponniah — along with many old friends. The reverence in which Mother was held was very heartwarming, and it was a moving experience to hear the stories they related of instances in which Mother had touched — and sometimes directed — their lives.

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March 20, 2024 · 7:08 pm

Mareeba: An Albanian Muslim Community in Outback Queensland

VISIT … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ZvzG1WtlM

756,306 views Mar 13, 2024

OnePath Network travelled all the way over to North Queensland to meet with the Muslim Community of Mareeba. They are a small rural community of Albanian farmers that have been here for over 100 years. Their story is nothing short of inspirational for Muslims around the world. We uncovered how they not only were able to blend in so flawlessly into Australian culture but also the secret behind their ability to survive for so many generations. Enjoy their story! Read more real stories from right here in Australia of how local Zakat has transformed peoples lives, empowering generations to come:

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March 19, 2024 · 1:06 am

“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”.

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March 17, 2024 · 12:19 am

Rukrakaganno’s Ecological Reforestation Project in Singharaja Rainforest

Ruk Rakaganno — A Note about this NGO’s Enterprising Programme in Protecting a Vital Element in the Singharaja Rain Forest ……….. Hanne Lund Madsen, Sustainability Director, Forward Advice, Denmark

Sri Lanka was recently awarded international recognition at the United Nations Environmental Assembly, Nairobi, for its flagship initiative to restore mangroves in Puttalam in northwest region of Sri Lanka. The ecological reforestation project by Ruk Rakaganno in the borderlands of the Singharaja Rainforest Reserve, a world heritage site, is also deserving recognition and support.

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March 14, 2024 · 1:16 pm

Sirimavo Bandaranaike on The World Stage in Pictorial Power

Item in Daily Mirror, 14 March 2024 ………………………… https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Second-edition-of-SIRIMAVO-Steering-the-Destiny-of-a-Nation-published/108-278787

The Bandaranaike Museum Committee has taken step to publish the second limited edition of the Pictorial Biography; ‘SIRIMAVO – Steering the Destiny of a Nation’ in collaboration with the Sarasavi Bookshop and it is now available for sale, the Bandaranaike Museum Committee said.

It said the book was published due to various request from the public here and abroad.

 

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March 13, 2024 · 12:49 am

Beach Slum to Cricketing Heights: The Marvellous Tale of Yashasvi Jaiswal

James Wallace in The Guardian, 11 March 2024, where the title runs 

The opener has gone from living in a tent to breaking records and plays for an Indian Test side with frightening depth.

PHOTO wd not dowlnload

You may, by now, have heard the origin story of Yashasvi Jaiswal, the 22-year-old Indian opener who has just crunched 712 runs in a series, the most inflicted on an England side by any Indian batter in Test history. No matter – it’s a tale that bears repeating. Jaiswal was just a slight and shy 10-year-old boy when he left his home district of Bhadohi, eastern Uttar Pradesh, with his father, and headed 1,000 miles south across India’s vast expanse to the bright lights of Mumbai in pursuit of a seemingly impossible dream – to make it as a professional cricketer in a country of 1.4 billion people where the game is revered as a quasi-religion.

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