Category Archives: island economy

The Gift of Healing and Teaching: Dr Ariyananda’s Lifework

Dr Sarath Gamani De Silva, reviewing Healing and Teaching. Gift of a Lifetime, by Pilane Liyanage Ariyananda, Colombo, A Vijitha Yapa Publication, 2023, .…..  224 pp LKR 2,000/2,000/=

Galle, one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka, had been labeled a sleepy old town by many.  However, there has been a remarkable awakening in the past few decades due to several reasons. The Dutch Fort has been recognised by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. This has resulted in a total overhaul of the Fort area making it one of the main attractions for local and foreign tourists. The International Cricket Stadium is praised by cricket commentators and fans worldwide as one of the most picturesque in the world. The devastation caused by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami brought the attention of the international community to the city of Galle.

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The Indian Tamils in British Ceylon & Sri Lanka: Pursuing Their Equality TODAY

International Conference focusing on  the topic MOVING TOWARDS EQUALITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH.”….  200 years of People of Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) in Sri Lanka” …. BCIS Auditorium (The Olympus), BMICH, Colombo,  11th December 2023

Welcome & Opening Address: Dr. Mario Gomez
Executive Director
International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo …

 Inaugural Address:  Dr. Yasodara Kathirgamathamby
Conference Chair, Department of Legal Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
The Open University of Sri Lanka

Special Address: Prof. Gamini Keerawella, 
Executive Director, Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, Colombo

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High-Profile Burghers & Other Exotic Personnel in Olde Ceylon

Rodney Vandergert, whose title reads thus: “Random Musings of A Senile Mind,”. an article which appeared on web on 4th March 2006 at https://kermeey.blogspot.com/2006/03/random-musings-of-senile-mind.html …… reproduced with selective highlights in this version … & brought to my attention by Charles Schokman of Australia

“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven” Wordsworth: Preludes

In the Nineteen Forties and early Fifties, Bambalawatte was the centre of the universe. It was where all the meaningful action took place and where the principal actors were mainly Burghers and a group of expatriates drawn from half a dozen nationalities.

This was brought most forcibly to my mind after reading the recent obituaries which appeared in the local press – one to Zoe Jayatilleke by Tita Nathanielsz; the other to David Gladwin Loos , C.C.S.. by Bradman Weerakoon.                                                             

Rodney Jonklaas, Mike wilson  & Arthur c. Clarke at seaside in Ceylon 1950s

 

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The Walawwa in Sri Lanka: Its Origins

Dash De Soysa, …. with a modification by the author of the original Thuppahi entry set out in blue lettered text; and two ‘pictures’ of the Prince of Wales’ visit to Ceylon added on 28th Novembe 2023

The walauwa was a residence of an aristocrat in the past and, according to the Sinhala Dictionary, it is derived from the Tamil or Telugu word ‘walawu’. Some also refer to it as a place of jurisdiction. The earliest sources that refer to elite residencies and residents of Lanka can be found in many ancient Brahmi inscriptions dating from about the 2nd century BCE. The ‘prabhu‘ (elite) of various sectors – administration, military, tax collection, navigation, ports, agriculture, infrastructure and so on were referred to as ‘parmuka‘, and the king as ‘Mapurumukā‘. Similarly, ‘pramukha’ and ‘pramukhän’ in Sanskrit and ‘perumakan’ in Tamil also mean foremost, chief, principal or a distinguished person. The term ‘grahapati’ (from the same era) meaning householder is perhaps the earliest recorded version of the subsequent gruha(pati), geya and gedara, terms which are in use even today. The term derives from the Sanskrit ‘gṛha’, meaning house. Whilst subsequent literary sources also mention wasala, niwasa and medura, there is no mention of walawwa until one comes across sources from the more recent centuries.

Badulla Pillar Insciption

  Mannar Kacceri Pillar Inscription
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DIG Jingle Dissanayake’s Report on the JVP in Lanka, 4th November 1974

A NOTE from Michael Roberts, 27 November 2023

This file is among the documentary material under my name in the Special Collections, Barr Smith Library, Adelaide University and Samantha Farnsworth, its chief, sent me a pdf copy  I cannot recall how the original Mss came into my hands. Its pdf format has been converted to Word File by my friend KKS Perera in Lanka. The spacing is erratic and difficult to change. I have resisted the temptation to highlight important details because I do not have adequate background knowledge of the situation in 1972 to 1974 (even though I conducted one or two lectures to JVPers held in the prison camp at Katugastota …… including Gamini Keerawella …… one of my previous History Honours students).

The photographs are my insertions …. and perhaps hit ‘n miss in character .

Wijeweera in rousing flow on platform … & on way to court with his lawyer

 

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The Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

Udumbara Udugama, in The Sunday Times …. and retrieved here by Moira Djukanovic for the ASLA  Web Magazine in Adelaide

The full title in the Times runs as ; 200 years ago a green haven began to grow: the Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya

The Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya, beloved to Lankans and known simply as the Peradeniya Gardens celebrated it’s bicentenary in 2022. Founded by the British as a premier research institution for agriculture and plantation crops in the country, it was brought under the purview of the Department of Agriculture in 2006, The Department of National Botanic Gardens was formed to administer this and other botanic gardens around the island.  Dr. Shelomi Krishnarajah, the seventh Sri Lankan Director General of the Gardens became the first woman to hold this post. Dr Krishnarajah who was appointed in 2018 has a solid background in floriculture and tissue culture.

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Reaching Out: VANNI HOPE’s Aid to A Peasant Family in Lanka

Dear Friends, Relatives, and Well-Wishers,  ……“The Reason Someone Smiles Today”

As part of our continued mission to serve the communities in need within Sri Lanka, Vanni Hope is embarking on an ambitious project that seeks to bring economic stability and enhance the livelihoods of our people, especially those who have suffered due to the current economic hardships the island faces.

➢ There are doing agriculture. They have coconut, banana grove. They cultivate nut plants.

➢ Nagusami is the head of the family. He lost a hand due to an accident.

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Michael Roberts Papers at Adelaide University Library

Michael Roberts Papers, mainly on Sri Lanka ……MSS 0031 …. AT = University of Adelaide Library………………………………………………. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/roberts/transcripts%20list

Philip Gunawardena

Edmund R Leach

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Revelations within Colonial Photographs of Ceylon: “Veins of Influence”

Veins of Influence: Colonial Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in Early Photographs and Collections, by Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra

 [This book is a pioneering monograph that brings a rich array of early and previously unpublished images of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) into the global discourse of photography, pairing a striking lens of visual appreciation with distinctly humanizing perspectives.

 

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Heavenly Bliss in Sri Lanka: Holidaying in Galle & Colombo, 24 July–4 August 2023 

Ron Slee of Flinders University & Adelaide, ……  with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi and some End Notes added

My interest in visiting Sri Lanka has been building for decades, generated by my friendship with two Sri Lankan nationals with whom I play tennis, Michael Roberts and Justin La Brooy. Justin had written me a very helpful short history of the country and added his recommendations of where to see wildlife and scenic beauty and Michael had sent hundreds of photos and personal stories that helped me plan my visit.

Unexpectedly this year,[1] I was able to spend 11 memorable days in their country of origin, including two days visiting Galle Fort where Michael had grown up in the 1940s and 50s.

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