… captured by Alan Marriage
Category Archives: heritage
The Original Cave Man at PUNYELROO in Outback Australia
… captured by Alan Marriage
Sudharshan Seneviratne speaks at AIA Awards: “Humanising archaeology in multi-cultural society”
Sudharshan Seneviratne, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Peradeniya, won the Archaeological Institute of America’s 2013 Conservation and Heritage Management Award for Excellence at a recent ceremony in Seattle, USA. The institute’s president, Elizabeth Bartman, in her citation said the award was presented in recognition of Prof. Seneviratne’s tireless efforts to protect and preserve the archaeological heritage of Sri Lanka. “As head of the department of archaeology at the University of Peradeniya for nearly 10 years, Seneviratne has been instrumental in training the next generation of South Asian archaeologists,” Bartman said. The following is the acceptance speech delivered by Prof. Seneviratne at the awards ceremony:
I was honoured to receive a communication from President Bartman stating my name as recipient of the 2013 Award for Best Practice in Conservation and Heritage Management. It also gratified me to note that heritage initiatives carried out in Sri Lanka during the past few decades have been recognised by one of the oldest standing professional bodies of heritage in the world and by the community of global heritage professionals at large. Continue reading
Pukerangi !! A quaint little railway station in South Island, New Zealand
The Taieri Gorge railway run is presented as one of the the world’s “great train trips” and apart from the striking ‘gorgic’ scenery one meets several little railway stations of yesteryear that are as charming as extraordinary. For Sri Lankans with a penchant for awkward phonetic connotaiiosns when one crosses language divides, of course, Pukey-Ran-Gi will draw a laugh.
This is one of the other stations:
Filed under cultural transmission, heritage, life stories, pulling the leg
The Symposium on VILLAGE IN THE JUNGLE at Oxford: A Brief Report
Dominic Davies as Symposium Facilitator
This Day Symposium, hosted by the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford, marked and celebrated the centenary of the publication of Leonard Woolf’s path-breaking first novel, set in then Ceylon, The Village in the Jungle (1913). It explored the novel from a number of different critical and informed angles, all of which addressed and emphasized its richness, complexity and importance as a piece of literature. The Symposium was well attended, with over 60 delegates engaging with the various presentations, lectures and papers in the rich discussions that followed them.
Calverley House in Old Colombo
Rohan de Soysa
Calverley House, built in 1868, was the residence of a famous barrister, Frederick Dornhorst KC (1849 to 1926), in whose memory there is a much coveted prize given each year at Royal College to the most popular student. It was situated in what was then Turner Road, later re-named Turret Road, and now called Anagarika Dharmapala Mawatha. It was a substantial colonial style mansion typical of such late 19th century/early 20th century houses, well-suited for such an eminent person. Continue reading
IMAGES OF BRITISH CEYLON and REGENERATION reviewed by Richard Boyle
Richard Boyle
Images of British Ceylon: 19th Century Photography of Sri Lanka — by Ismeth Raheem and Percy Colin-Thome, Produced for Ismeth Raheem by Times Editions Singapore: March 2000 …………. 155pp, Rs 3,950.00 …………….ISBN 981 204 778 6
Regeneration: A Reappraisal of Photography in Ceylon 1850 – 1900 — By John Falconer with Ismeth Raheem, Published by the British Council London: January 2000, 95pp, Rs 1,000.00 …… ISBN 0 86355 444 X
I am exceedingly grateful that a master photographer took my wedding photographs using black-and-white film. They nestle in the wedding album in their sharp and contrasting black-and-white glory, while the colour photographs of the conventional photographer affixed alongside have already begun to lose their vitality after less than two decades. It is a problem that has begun to alarm not only those who want to cherish memories, but curators, archivists and art investors as well. The London Times of July 11, 1998, reported in an article titled ‘Why the past is looking just a little too rosy’ that, “Millions of images taken since the invention of modern colour photography are changing because of the way their dyes break down. Just as the 19th century is now viewed in tones of sepia, so future generations may look back on the last three decades of the 20th as the era of purple lawns and red skies.”
Ships in Colombo harbor, Pic by S. Slinn & Co, 1868 –images, p. 85 Continue reading
Radhika and Nihal launch CPA’s THE REPUBLIC AT 40
The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice
The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice, a collection of scholarly essays edited by Asanga Welikala, Senior Researcher, Legal & Constitution Unit was launched at the 80 Club, 25, Independence Avenue, Colombo 07, on 21st December 2012.
CPA’s latest publication, in association with the F riedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF), marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Sri Lankan Republic.
Speaking at the launch were its Editor as well as Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama and Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Continue reading
Filed under authoritarian regimes, caste issues, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education policy, female empowerment, fundamentalism, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religious nationalism, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, world events & processes
Walking the Pettah and the Fort in Colombo
Wolvendaal Church – courtesy of http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g293962-d2452003-r122177443-Wolvendaal_Church-Colombo.html
A tour around Colombo Fort and Pettah might not seem like one of Sri Lanka’s greatest attractions; however YAMU encountered a man, Mark Forbes, who fervently believes that the old inner-city is the capital’s greatest asset. We heard that Mark runs $ 50 tours showing, predominantly European, tourists the wonders of old Colombo. We were intrigued, but somewhat sceptical – I mean I already know rather a lot of about Colombo Fort and spend as much time as I can in Pettah, so what on earth could someone called Mark Forbes (surely a foreigner) show me that don’t I already know? And how many tourists are going to pay to be taken around faded and chaotic downtown districts? Continue reading
Betting Shops and Racy Characters within Galle Fort
From Daily News, 3 January 2013
Juliet Coombe took a gamble on entering the forts inner sanctum, the Galle Fort betting shops in the heart of popular pedlars street. From early morning to late afternoon, men scurry in and out of the betting houses on Galle Fort’s popular Pedlar street, where you can find little old men studying the racing pages of the papers as if for a major exam, all part of the exciting bookie business world, which varies from day to day.
In between people placing their bets, the owners normally spend their mornings gluing the spines of the various different versions of The Racing Post with a pencil-shaped piece of wood, so that the pages are sealed together making them easier documents for his customers to negotiate. Piles of these papers are delivered every morning at 5.30am from the head booking office in Galle, who he works under. Continue reading
Rainforest Ecolodge on edge of Sinharaja at Enselwatte
The Rainforest Eco-lodge, said to be a stunning chalet style lodge bordering the south-eastern side of the Sinharaja Rainforest, was launched this week providing an opportunity to the public to connect with the natural world and experience the forest habitat in all its glory. “Located on a 500-acre division of the Enselwatte Tea Estate, the lodge offers a spellbinding 360 degree view of the forest reserve, with the backdrop of the sounds of nature coming alive – be it the meandering of a stream, chirping of birds or the playful chattering of 
squirrels in the Continue reading
Filed under heritage, sri lankan society
