Category Archives: landscape wondrous

April 27, 2020 · 6:07 pm

Portuguese Imprints in Sri Lankan Culture

 Dr Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, in The Island April 25, 2020, Tracing the Portuguese Cultural Imprint on Sri Lanka”

Way back in 1998, I theorised on the extent of Lusitanisation in Sri Lanka, in my paper entitled The Portuguese Cultural Imprint on Sri Lanka, published in Lusotopie (Journal of Sorbonne, Paris), de Silva Jayasuriya (2000):  “The Portuguese era marked the end of medieval Sri Lanka and the beginning of modern Sri Lanka. It changed the island’s orientation away from India and gave it a unique identity moulded by almost 450 years of Western influence due to the presence of three successive European powers: the Portuguese (1505-1658), the Dutch (1658-1796) and the British (1796-1948). The Portuguese cultural imprint can be analyzed by examining: (a) those who claim Portuguese descent (the Portuguese Burghers), (b) those who do not claim Portuguese descent but who follow the Roman Catholic faith, (c) those who are neither of Portuguese descent nor follow the Catholic faith but nevertheless underwent a sociocultural transformation. Language is a necessary element in the set of culture. The other elements are subjective and could include religion, food, dress, music and dance.

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April 26, 2020 · 6:39 pm

Lovina Alphonso: A Rodi Waif who ‘converted’ a British Governor

N. Sarawanan, whose preferred title is “The Story of Lovina Alphonso — A Dalit Heroine of her Time,” 9 April 2019 …. https://medium.com/@dalithistorynow/the-story-of-lovina-alphonso-a-dalit-heroine-of-her-time-7d43310dd7aa

The “Rodi” caste people are the most oppressed in the Sinhala community. Historically, this community was involved in folk religion, magic, mantras, and ritualised caste begging. Rodis were treated as untouchables and violently discriminated. Rodiya men and women were denied permission to wear any upper-body covering. It was also forbidden for them to cover themselves below the knee. In one era, both men and women were only allowed to cover their genital area and nothing else. Even if they felt ill or cold and clothed themselves to feel warm, and an “upper” caste person caught them in the act, they would have to say, “Please forgive me, Lord, I was feeling too cold!” It was up to the “upper” caste person, then, to decide whether to allow the act of covering or not.

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April 26, 2020 · 2:16 pm

The Political Philosophy driving a Dangerous Programme against Covid-19

Isabel Frey: “Herd Immunity’ is Epidemiological Neoliberalism,” article in Economic Sociology ….. https://economicsociology.org/2020/04/24/herd-immunity-is-epidemiological-neoliberalism/

While most European countries are imposing lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a few countries are opting for a different strategy: herd immunity. Instead of testing as many people as possible and implementing measures to increase social distancing, they want to purposefully let the virus spread among people who are at low risk, so that a large part of the population becomes immune. This approach was first proposed by UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson, who refused to implement social distancing measures until a few days ago. While the UK and then the Netherlands has officially distanced itself from this strategy, Sweden continues to hold on to this approach, despite harsh criticism by the WHO. However, the point of this article is to unravel the underlying paradigm of this strategy, not to make an argument about its effectiveness.

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April 26, 2020 · 4:58 am

Debating the Progress of Covid-19: Vibrant Viewpoints

                                

While the Email Discussions below have developed from Malik Magdon Ismail’s modelling of the likely chart for Sri Lanka, the items beyond ÖNE” have been responses to that article viz, https://thuppahis.com/2020/04/24/prediction-covid-19-in-sri-lanka-heading-for-peak-in-august/#more-41891….

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April 25, 2020 · 4:52 pm

Sri Lanka’s Problematic Covid Data

Chandre Dharmawardana, whose preferred choice of title is“Is complacency marring  Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 effort?  Fatality figures and the number of “confirmed cases”

Professor Pranna Cooray, in a  Q&A  session (Island, 20-04-2020)  draws attention to  Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 Case Fatality ratio (CFR). This is the ratio of the number of deaths to the number of confirmed cases.  He pointed out, using the  April 13th data for  the CFR figures for neighbouring countries, viz.,  Sri Lanka’s  3.2 percent (total cases – 218), India 3.4 percent (10,541), Pakistan 1.7 percent (5,716), Bangladesh 4.9 percent (803), “that  it is unacceptably high” given Sri Lanka’s reputed public health system.

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April 25, 2020 · 12:47 pm

The Bell Tolls the ANZAC Way: Covid 19 Statistics for Australia

From the Melbourne Age

COVID-19 cases in Australia 6695

COVID-19 deaths in Australia 81

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April 25, 2020 · 11:50 am

The Problem with Spatial Diffusion Models

Gerald H. Peiris

Models of Spatial Diffusion have been developed and used in Geography at least from the time of the Swedish geographer Hiegastrand (I hope I have got his name correct), and the kindly old professor of Geography at Trondheim, Prof. Karlsen Asbjorn (now retired) who hosted me for several meals at his home when I was on sabbatical in Norway way back in the last century. Asbjourn was considered an expert in the field of applying those models to the diffusion of infections. There are several such models.

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April 23, 2020 · 7:55 pm

The Horrific Terrors of 21/4: Three Pronouncements

ONE = Ellise Ann Allen: “Sri Lanka: One year after the Easter attacks,” Daily News, 23 April 2020, http://www.dailynews.lk/2020/04/23/features/217020/sri-lanka-one-year-after-easter-attacks

On the one-year anniversary of a series of Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka that killed nearly 300 people and injured 500 more, the nation mourned in silence, as the Government continues its investigation and families struggle to move forward.

To mark the anniversary of the April 21 attacks, the Sri Lankan government asked the entire nation to observe two minutes of silence at 8:45 a.m., the time the first bomb went off in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Colombo.

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April 21, 2020 · 7:11 am

Mangala Most Ludicruous …. Anti-Chinese Venom

Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Island, 21 April 2020, where the title is “Mangala’s ‘pussvedilla’ “

In a recent article, Former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has ctiticised the SriLankan management “for putting the lives of crew members of SriLankan Airlines (UL) at risk by ordering them to bring Chinese nationals from London to Shanghai.” In a twitter message, Samaraweera has also asked, “Were all the passengers tested/quarantined before leaving London?” He further tweeted: “The question is why China did not choose one of their own airlines to carry their citizens home. They have over a dozen international carriers.”

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April 20, 2020 · 8:09 am

Champion’s Photographic Lens on Sri Lanka’s Travails, 1988-2008

Saroj Pathirana, in bbc.com, where the title reads “History ‘repeats’ through lens” … an EVENT in July 2008 in London  = https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/highlights/story/2008/07/080716_champion_photos.shtml

While traveling around Sri Lanka for over 22 years I always expected someday the situation would change for the better”, says the veteran British photographer Stephen Champion. However, after nearly two decades since he first set his foot on the island the country is still battling, he says. “We are still looking at the very similar scenario. History seems to be repeating itself,” Mr. Champion told BBC Sandeshaya at the launch of his latest book on Sri Lanka.

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