Category Archives: gender norms
Effrontery …. or Bust !!!
Filed under accountability, Al Qaeda, art & allure bewitching, asylum-seekers, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, energy resources, female empowerment, fundamentalism, gender norms, governance, growth pole, landscape wondrous, life stories, medical marvels, performance, psychological urges, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, wild life, world affairs, zealotry
A Historical ‘Cuppa’ of Ceylon Tea
Ceylon Tea: The Trade That Made a Nation
The Colombo Tea Traders’ Association will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Ceylon tea on July 20th with the launch of an illustrated history entitled Ceylon Tea: The Trade That Made a Nation. This art-quality large-format illustrated book has been authored by Richard Simon with Dominic Sansoni as Illustrations Editor, while the design has been fashioned by Sebastian Posingis. Continue reading
Filed under British colonialism, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, gender norms, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, travelogue, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions
Tiger Martyrdom: Architectural ‘Marks’ in 2009 as the SL Army captured LTTE Terrain
Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda, courtesy of the Daily Mirror, 26 April 2017, where the title rune thus: “Martyrdom and LTTE. The worship of death” … with highlighting and additional bibliographivcal references at the end inserted imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Dr. SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda is one of the few non-combatants allowed into the war zone during the final stages of the Eelam War. On his own initiative, he made an application to visit the operational areas and was granted permission to do so by the Defence Ministry. He toured these areas on three occasions between March and April 2009. His work has been published in international media and military journals, and presented to audiences in the U.K., India and Canada. Dr. Tammita-Delgoda has never been an employee of the Sri Lankan Government nor the Defence Ministry. These impressions and supporting photographs are original and based on firsthand experience in 2009 when the war was still raging and had entered its final stages.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, Buddhism, gender norms, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, Saivism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, world events & processes, zealotry
Caste in Sinhala Society
කුලය – සිංහල සම්ප්රදායික
විකිපීඩියා, නිදහස් විශ්වකෝෂය වෙතින්
සමාජයක් යනු සංකීර්ණ ජන සබඳතා හා ආයතනික රටාවන්ගෙන් ගැවසී ගත් සාර්ව ඒකකයකි. එනම් යම් යම් සමාජ ක්රියාවන් හා ඒවායේ ප්රතිඵල ලෙසින් ගොඩ නැගී පවතින සංස්ථාදියේ සමස්ථ සංකලනයකි. මෙම ක්රියාවන් හා සබඳතා වල එක්තරා පෙළ ගැසීමක් දැකිය හැකි වෙයි. එක පිට එක වැටුණු තට්ටු පරිද්දෙන්, උස් පහත් ස්වරූපයෙන් දැකිය හැකි වූ මෙම ස්ථර ගත බව සමාජය තුළ බොහෝ කාලයක සිට දක්නට තිබූ බවට සාධක ඇත. පුද්ගලයාගේ උස් පහත් බව නැතිනම් පුද්ගලයා සමාජ ස්ථරයේ අයත් මට්ටම තීරණය කරනු ලබන එක් ස්ථරයක් ලෙස කුලය දැක්විය හැකිය.
බත්ගම කුලයේ නිවසක්
Where Music transcends Ethnic Divisions: Sinhala Nona
Pon Kulendiren, courtesy of The Tamil Mirror where the title is “True Story of coincidence: Sinhala nona”
Kaffrinha –Pic from The Localist
It was snowing heavily. A few days were left for Christmas. I was enjoying a sip of Scotch on the rocks and watching Discovery channel on T.V. My wife walked into the sitting room after preparing the dinner for the family. She looked at the clock that showed 5.30 in the evening. With a grimace she turned towards me. It showed that she did not like me having a second drink. Black label bottle was a quarter empty. She quietly took the bottle and disappeared into her room. I ignored her action as I was reluctant to start a fight as she may have a long face while serving dinner. She returned after a few minutes. Continue reading
Filed under caste issues, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, gender norms, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, the imaginary and the real, world affairs
The LLRC Sittings in Pictures
The recent presentation in Thuppahi of a specific proposal from the LLRC on national anthems as well as the issues raised by Thuppahi on the topic of DISAPPEARANCES prompt me to present a number of images from the sittings conducted by this peripatic body of personnel together with a brief officla report. the images have been helpfully provided by Kithsiri De Silva an old Aloysian class-mate who was an officer servicing the work of this august body. I am also tacking on an official report on the LLRC plus one dissenting note about its lopsided composition from Harshadeva Amarathunga. Michael Roberts
Filed under accountability, atrocities, communal relations, democratic measures, disparagement, ethnicity, gender norms, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, law of armed conflict, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, mass conscription, military strategy, modernity & modernization, news fabrication, NGOs, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, women in ethnic conflcits, working class conditions, world events & processes
Critical Reflections on Biology and Patriarchy in the Mahavamsa within the Context of Sinhala Nationalism Today
Andi Schubert, in The Island, 31 August 2016, where the title is “Some selective (bio)logical readings of the Mahawamsa” = see Col-Telegraaph version for commentary = https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/some-selective-biological-readings-of-the-mahawamsa/
In a recent article on the confrontation between those holding the “Different Yet Equal” vigil and prominent members of the “Sinha Le Jathika Balamuluwa,” Prof. Susirith Mendis poses a very interesting challenge. In drawing out the critical role that blood plays in Sri Lankan politics, I read what Prof. Mendis is doing as an encouragement to think biologically. What I hope to do therefore is to examine the relationship between (bio)logy, i.e. the logic of the reproduction of life, and politics as it emerges in our current political discourse.
The Seductiveness of Indian Women: Cricketing Stars in Love
Sudatta Mukherjee, writing about “SEVEN foreign cricketers who married Indian women” …http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/7-foreign-cricketers-who-married-indian-women-149507
Australian speedster Shaun Tait tied the knot to Indian model Mashoom Singha on June 12, after a four-year courtship. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, commoditification, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, female empowerment, gender norms, heritage, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, performance, power politics, psychological urges, pulling the leg, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, slanted reportage, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, travelogue, unusual people, world affairs
Vaginal Stimulation at Ugandan Airport
Filed under accountability, discrimination, doctoring evidence, female empowerment, gender norms, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, power sharing, security, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, taking the piss, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes, zealotry
Amidst the Taliban in Jalalabad: Anoja of the UNICEF
Anoja Wijeyesekera, in The Sunday Island, 8 May 2016, where the title is “Jalalabad”
Excerpted here is a chapter from Anoja Wijeyesekera’ recent book, Facing the Taliban, providing a fascinating account of the writer braving the challenge of heading the UNICEF office in Jalalabad during the height of Taliban terror. Anoja who retired from UNICEF in 2006, having been the agency’s Country Representative in Bhutan for nearly five years, was picked to be assigned to Jalalabad by the agency which believed that in the face of a woman anathematizing regime, an international woman officer was needed to ensure that its program for Afghani mothers and children actually reached them. The chapter reproduced here with permission from the author, deals with her move to Jalalabad.
As we neared Jalalabad, I could see canopies of delicate fir trees on both sides of the road. These trees formed an exquisite natural archway that extended mile after mile. In the good old days before tragedy struck this country, this was the grand entrance to Jalalabad, the winter capital of Afghanistan. The climate of Jalalabad being milder than that of Kabul, the rich retreated to their winter villas there to get away from the freezing temperatures of the capital city. During the golden era of King Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, Kabul, the administrative and. commercial capital that was modelled on Paris, was known as the “Paris of Asia”. It attracted many visitors from neighbouring countries and was a favourite stop-over for those who undertook the road journey from Europe to India. Continue reading
Filed under cultural transmission, economic processes, female empowerment, gender norms, human rights, Islamic fundamentalism, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, Taliban, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, women in ethnic conflcits, working class conditions, world events & processes
