Pushpa Weerasekera, courtesy of Daily Mirror, 15 August 2018 , where the title reads“Celebrated war hero now sells fish”
The untold suffering and dedication of the war heroes, who were engaged in a thirty-year-armed-conflict, are indescribable. They were once treated as the saviours of this nation. However, this is the tragic story of a war hero, who waged war on behalf of territorial integrity and peace.
Filed under education, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes
Meera Srinivasan:, in The Hindu, 17 August 2017, where the title is “Evoking the Politics of Cricket in Sri Lanka,”
Sparked by Imran Khan’s ascent to the Prime Minister’s chair in Pakistan, sporting fans in Sri Lanka have been quick to pitch their own cricket stars as prospective leaders. And going by social media endorsements, Kumar Sangakkara is clearly a favourite.
In their eyes, ‘Sanga’, with his known record of speaking truth to power, has potential of becoming President in 2020. Some even came up with a “dream team” led by the prudent batsman — not test or one day, but a Cabinet of Ministers under his leadership. For those who nurtured hope for Mr. Sangakkara’s political entry, especially after his thoughtful tweet on Sri Lanka’s Civil War anniversary this year, calling for solemn reflection to remember all Sri Lankan lives lost to war and to “open our hearts so that we are able to feel another’s pain without judgement…”, it didn’t last long.
Filed under accountability, cricket for amity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
Borrowed from http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/2008/11/2008112019115851343.html =/where the title reads “The history of the Tamil Tigers” .… emphasis has been added by The Editor, Thuppahi
Filed under accountability, atrocities, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, modernity & modernization, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajiv Gandhi, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
AFP News Item in Sunday Observer, 26 August 2018, where the title is “Serena Williams banned from wearing Black Panther catsuit”
Serena Williams will be banned from wearing her ‘Black Panther’ catsuit again at the French Open after Roland Garros chiefs described the outfit as “going too far”. The 36-year-old American star stunned Paris this year in her body-hugging outfit which she said was inspired by the ‘Black Panther’ movie and made her feel like a ‘warrior princess’.As well as describing it as “fun and functional”, Williams insisted it helped her prevent a return of the blood clots which put her life in danger after giving birth last year. Continue reading
Rip Van Winkle, in The Sunday Times, August 2018, where the title is “The corridor of uncertainty” .… with emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
I thought of writing to you when I heard you saying that you will not be running for the top job when the contest is held in little over a year. Hearing that, I was very disappointed – and quite surprised too because I always thought you would have been the ideal candidate to run the race next time around.
Hugh Karunanayake, courtesy of The CEYLANKAN, Vol XXI, No. 3, August 2018
The Wolvendaal Church, that almost neglected but historical building in the Pettah, is unique in many ways. It is one of the few buildings in Sri Lanka which link the Portuguese period of occupation of Sri Lanka right through the Dutch and British periods, to independent Ceylon, and finally exists as a repository of culture of the Dutch who unsuccessfully sought to conquer the whole country. Some recent photographs show weather related damage to the exterior of the building, which seem to be receiving the attention of those who are in charge of the church.
Wolvendaal Church in 1938 – Pic by Lionel Wendt …. and
Watercolour painting of the Dutch Reformed Church by J. L. K. van Dort (1888)
Penance on road, Sri Maurpthy Pathirikaali Temple, 2009
This book is both a display and a reflective exercise on the power of imagery, whether from camera or painting or etching. Images can be as captivating as seductive as misleading. They can serve as raw data that provides glimpses of facets of life lost to the modern generations. They must, of course, be deployed by social scientists with attention to context and in association with other forms of data.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, economic processes, female empowerment, heritage, Hinduism, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, prabhakaran, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world affairs
Michael Padraig Colman O’Leary is an Irishman who was a civil servant in England who also wrote articles the English version of a French publication. He chose to settle down in Uva District at some point way back with his charming Sri Lankan wife Tiny.
He has recently moved to the hinterland of Colombo. His writing and investigative instincts remain strong and he sustains a web site.
He took up some of the challenges associated with Eelam War IV and its aftermath. He participated in the discussions pursued by the Marga Research Institute when Marga investigated the foreign investigators – leading to such outcomes as these reviews:
Marga 2011 An Analysis and Evaluation of The Report of the Advisory Panel to the UNSG nn the Final Stages of the War in Sri Lanka, https://www.dropbox.com/s/0eybj1ynej6spaa/The%20Darusman%20Report-%20Final%20doc-2.doc
Marga 2014 Issues of Truth and Accountability. The Last Stages of the War in Sri Lanka, https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdxwntf7wu5andq/The%20Last%20Stages%20of%20the%20war%20in%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf?n=66191473
Filed under accountability, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, war reportage, world events & processes
Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, courtesy of THE CEYLANKAN, Vol XXI, No 3, August 2018 … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
The extraordinary love of the Portuguese for music is epitomised at El Ksar el Kabir in Morocco, in 1578, where 10 000 guitars lay on the battlefield, near the dead Portuguese soldiers. The Portuguese took guns and guitars to battlefields! Is it surprising that the Portuguese presence is vibrant through Sri Lankan popular music – Baila?
Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
thuppahi
