An Informant
A short extract from the 1979 film “One Hundred Entertainments” produced by Bob Kingsbury for Film Australia.
The film follows an acrobatic troupe in Shensi Province China as they perform and talk about their lives.
Category Archives: cultural transmission
Remembering Ian Goonetileke: A Doyen of The Arts & Sri Lankan Publications
Gamini Seneviratne, in a set of profound reflections entitled “Ian Goonatileke, A Memory” and presented previously …. but now subject to a change of title and highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Browsing through various writings that had to do with Ian, I came upon the following paragraphs that seem to merit a fresh airing in the light of the literary awards recently made under the Gratiaen Trust. Regardless of his spell of scepticism (as mentioned below) that made him turn away from his commitment to advancing his friend Michael Ondaatje’s hopes and intent in funding that Trust it came to establish another award in Ian’s name, one for translation.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British imperialism, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, meditations, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world affairs
Edwardian Villas and Maharajas’ Palaces: A Question on the Kalu Ganga
Mick Moore of Susssex University ** … with highlighting imposed within this essay by The Editor, Thuppahi
Richmond Castle is a large and elegant villa beautifully located in a wooded estate on a hill above the Kalu Ganga not far from Kalutara town. It was built at enormous expense between 1900 and 1910, by Padikara Mudali Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena, aka Arthur Silva, Mudaliyar. Were it located in the UK, it would be a major tourist attraction. It is however little visited or even known. One reason is that it has languished – and crumbled – for decades in the hands of the Public Trustee, who has neither the resources nor the incentive to promote or even maintain it. Arthur Silva left the property to the care of the Public Trustee in the expectation that a Trust would be established to manage it and the small boys orphanage attached. That has never happened.
Filed under architects & architecture, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, growth pole, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, plantations, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
When St. Peters of Adelaide toured Ceylon in January 1928
Michael Roberts
St. Peters College in Adelaide is an elite boys public school that has produced several Prime Ministers of South Australia and schooled many prominent figures in Australian life. The school’s cricket team chose to tour Ceylon in the month of January 1928 and played matches against Royal College, S. Thomas’ College and Trinity; and also against a team of planters at the grounds in Darrawella in the hill country.
Tamil X’mas Parade in New York Conveys Devotional Fare, 2023
Sent to Thuppahi by Ranjit Sirimanne …. revealing and arousing warmth in wintry conditions through song and traditional X’mas figures and vehicles
Empowering the Body and ‘Noble Death’
Michael Roberts and Arthur Saniotis, … reproducing the editorial introduction to a collection of essays devoted to the topic identified in the title pesented within Social Analysis, Volume 50, Issue 1, Spring 2006, 7–24 © Berghahn Journals ... with highlighting emphasis imposed in this version by Michael Roberts
Facing death with equanimity and with a honed, trained body is an expression of sheer power.[1] When a group of like-minded individuals confronts an opposi- tional force with equal mental and bodily capacities, whether on a sports field or in a warring conflict, the result is power compounded. Each article in this special section ‘confronts’ such powers. Together they explore several regionally specific projects in Asia in which dying for a cause is seen as a virtue.
There are several parts of Asia where social practices and cultural traditions have consciously nourished bodily empowerment. In these select yet dynamic traditions, mind and body are conceived as a unity. Attentiveness to cosmic powers is an integral aspect of disciplined ascetic practices that seek to har- ness bodily energy in maximal ways. These practices confront death. They are directed toward transcending the fear of death—and death itself. When they are inserted into a moment of violent conflict involving interpersonal combat, they encourage a steely, terrifying fearlessness as well as deadly striking power.
Filed under accountability, Al Qaeda, american imperialism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, Fascism, female empowerment, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, immolation, Indian traditions, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, jihadists, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, racism, racist thinking, security, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, violence of language, war crimes, world events & processes, zealotry
JLK Van Dort’s Vibrant 19th Century Sketches of British Ceylon
Ismeth Raheem, in the Sunday Times, 24 December 2023, where the title reads “A Christmas sketch among the many 19th century social events captured by J.L.K. Van Dort” . … An Item conveyed to me by David Sansoni of Sydney and now sibject to my=highlighting emphasis (Editor, Thuppahi)
J.L.K. Van Dort who flourished in the latter half of the 19th century in Sri Lanka could well be described as the ‘Hogarth of Ceylon’. He was undoubtedly the best-known painter and illustrator working in the country at the time. From 1850 up till to his death in 1896, he recorded almost every social event of importance with his deft quick sketches, including religious festivals like Christmas.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, citizen journalism, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, performance, photography & its history, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, taking the piss, theatre world, unusual people, working class conditions, world affairs
The Bambalapitiya Flats of Colombo in the 1950s & 60s
Asiff Hussein, in Elanka, 23 December 2023, …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Bambalapitiya Flats was the place to be back then, as any good ole’ Bamba boy or girl will tell you.
Built in the 1950s, the 16 blocks of buildings between Galle Road and the Indian Ocean comprised of two to four storeys built in such a way that the balconies gave a splendid view of the sea to the west. The blocks back then were colour coded for easy identification, with gelati colours like yellow, orange, pink, sky blue, lime green, and sandstone brown giving life to the scheme, especially in the evening when the golden orange orb of the sun set in the sea and bathed the flats with a beautiful sundown glow.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, education, ethnicity, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance
