Category Archives: cultural transmission

From Rural Poverty to Peradeniya Professorship: Vale for Prof. N. D. Samarawickreme (1943-2022)

Sachchitra Samarawickreme, in The Island, 7 January 2023 

We owe our existence to a string of unforeseeable events, repeated arbitrary fortune. My father was born in a rural part of the country. He was the eldest of ten siblings, who survived the circumstances and transitioned out of the village. The privileged upbringing and opportunities I had stand in stark contrast to his experience. That I exist is a tribute to his journey.

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Murali’s Ordeal in Pictures, 1995-2005

Michael Roberts

Looking back in retrospect, my respect for the resilence and strength of character shown by Muttiah Muralitharan has expanded by ‘metres’ these last few days. The story –involving numerous episodes — has been set out in my old essay “Saving Murali: Action On-Field and Off-Field, 1995-2005″ which has been presented as Chapter 5  in the book Incursions & Excursions in and Aound Sri Lankan Cricket, printed by Vijitha Yapa Publications in 2011 (ISBN 978-955-53198-0-5).

 

 

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Murali’s Epic History: Facing Many Powers …. A Bibliography

Compiled by Michael Roberts  …

  Murali is ’embraced’ by Tamil fans in Jaffna in 2004

 

Dr. Barclay “Buddy” Reid 2022 “Muralitharan: the arm that did not chuck,” 21 December 2021, https://thuppahis.com/2022/12/21/muralitharan-the-arm-that-did-not-chuck/

School of Human Movement, UWA 2004 “The Murali Report,” 15 May 2004, https://www.rediff.com/cricket/2004/may/15murali.htm …. signed by Daryl Foster

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Hiring Murali for Australia! …. An Aussie Diehard in His Dungeon

Malcolm Conn in/for NewsCorp Australia, 22 December 2022, where the title reads “Hiring suspect spin king Muttiah Muralitharan a huge philosophy shift for Australian cricket”

THE appointment of Muttiah Muralitharan as a spin bowling consultant by the Australian cricket team shows a huge philosophical shift in Australian cricket and the ruthless pragmatism of Darren Lehmann.

Previous Australian spin bowling coaches such as Terry Jenner and Ashley Mallett have refused to teach the doosra to their understudies in the belief it cannot be bowled legally.

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Female Attire in Sri Lanka and AK Coomaraswamy

Laleen Jayamanne, in The Island, 28 December 2022, reviewing Ayesha Wickramasinghe’s ‘The Dress of Women in Sri Lanka’

Dr. Ayesha Wickramasinghe, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, at the University of Moratuwa, has recently published her doctoral research on sartorial styles, The Dress of Women in Sri Lanka (2021), in a handsomely designed hardcover book. The historical information, which spans the colonial and the postcolonial periods, with glances at the ancient past, is presented as a cultural survey, in an engaging manner, with a large number of photographs embedded, in the text, as illustrations. It has been published by The National Science Foundation and has recently received a national award as well.

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Playing with Puns

From Lakshman & Sanath Jayatilaka: To all connoisseurs of good puns

“My ex-wife still misses me. But her aim is starting to improve”

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Experiencing Piercing Tennis at Memorial Drive Adelaide

Shona and I were enlivened and pleased to witness  Belinda Bencic beating Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-3 …. and then to see Thanasi Kokkanakis defeat fellow Australian Alexai Popyrin in tight two sets after an easy first set: 6-o, 6-7 and 7-5.

 

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A Hymn for Sri Lanka …. On the ‘Lines’ of Danno Budunge

Hymn for Sri Lanka – Produced & Sung by Aglow Generations Choir. – Aglow International Sri Lanka. … Aug 10, 2021

This Song was done during the most hard times in our nations, so we declare a blessing upon our Beautiful Nation of Sri Lanka, may there be peace in the borders, as the Lord reigns over our land we have hope, healing and restoration. This recording was done for the Annual Conference “Anchored to the Rock” August 2021

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

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St. Joseph’s College in Colombo: Its Early History

Following up on Till the Mountains Disappear, Dr. Srilal Fernando (Melbourne) and Avishka Mario Seneviratne have authored a new book Fruits of Virtue: An Early History of St. Joseph’s College.

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The Potency Borne by Pictures

Michael Roberts

This little presentation is a DEDICATION. It illustrates the potency and power of friends in producing an academic booklet in 2011. As it happens, the booklet bears the title Potency, Power & People in Groups and was financed by the good friends Godfrey & Amar Gunatilleke of the Marga Institute.

The “Acknowledgements” and the “Foreword” taken together spell out the names of those friends who assisted this project. But let me single out Anura Hettiarachchi for his aid in this project and in the endeavours leading to my book on Sinhala Consciousness in the Kandyan Period (Colombo, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2004) because he was struck down by heart failure recently.

To Anura, then, in gratitude I place this item in my website.

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