Category Archives: life stories

January 31, 2013 · 4:38 am

Leading Buddhist Activists in 1889 … with Olcott too

LEADING BUDDHISTS IN bR CEYLON  Pic from The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society, 1925.

seated on ground: Anagarika Dharmapala, Weragama Banda, C. Don Carolis, William de Abrew, CP Gunawardane, .., Aliph

middle row: two Japanese monks, Revd Devamitta, Revd SH. Sri Sumangala, Col. Olcott, Japanese monk, Muhandiram Dharmagunawardana

standing back: …, Dullewa, C Wijeysinghe,.. ……..CW Leadbeater, ….  NS Fernando, “Bob’ (Olcott’s servant), NP Fernando, James Perera.

The Three Japanese monks seated may be Y. Ato, C. Tokugawa and Shaku Kozen (also known as Kozen Gunaratana who hailed from Yokohama and lived in Sri Lanka till 1893) . who became new members of the Maha Bodhi Society pursuant to the trip made to Japan in 1884 by Colonel Olcott  and Anagarika Dharmapala then a youth of 20 years. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under historical interpretation, life stories, sri lankan society

January 30, 2013 · 1:33 pm

The Other Side of the Impeachment Drama

S. L. Gunasekera, in the Daily Mirror, 20 January 2013

The impeachment of a judge of a superior court is indisputably a tragic event to be dealt with  due solemnity and wholly divorced from all considerations of extraneous matters such as party affiliations and `loyalties’; prospects of rewards; political gain etc. It is a solemn occasion where Members of Parliament are required and indeed bound to discard and ignore completely their party affiliations, the  decisions of their respective parties on such matter as well as the instructions of their party whips and decide wholly dispassionately and objectively whether on the evidence adduced before them, the Judge concerned was or was not guilty of any one or more of the charges against him that gave rise to the resolution for his impeachment and whether such charges were of sufficient gravity to warrant his dismissal. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, discrimination, legal issues, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, sri lankan society

January 30, 2013 · 10:36 am

Bikes for Life, Sanga and the Lanerolles reach out to the north

Smriti Daniel, in the Sunday Times, where the title is “Kumar’s push to help children ride into a brighter future. The cricket legend’s Bikes For Life (BFL) initiative takes a tuneful turn with the De Lanerolle Brothers joining hands”

For the smiling children clustered around him, the chance to meet cricketer Kumar Sangakkara must have been a bigger thrill than receiving the bikes he had brought them as gifts. However, in the months to come, these bikes will make a significant difference in their lives. For many of these children this will be their primary mode of transport to school – and Kumar hopes – to a better life.

Kumar FOG + bikesA bicycle from a cricketing hero: A shy schoolgirl in the North is all smiles as Kumar Sangakkara gives her a brand new bike Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under life stories, NGOs, patriotism, reconciliation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil civilians, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy

January 16, 2013 · 1:40 am

The Use of Cluster Bombs in Sri Lanka: Fiction rather than Fact

Citizen Silva, 1 May 2012,whose original title  runs “The Use of Cluster Bombs in Sri Lanka: Fiction or Fiction” — with the editorial change anticipating his conclusion. **
cluster-bomb 33The recent revelation about the alleged discovery of sub-munitions in the Wanni East has re-opened the debate about the use of Cluster Bombs in the Sri Lankan Conflict. The story initially broke as follows on April 28, 2012 (Title: UN finds Cluster Bombs in Sri Lanka ): “The Associated Press obtained a copy Thursday of an email written by a U.N. land mine expert that said unexploded cluster bomblets were discovered in the Puthukudiyiruppu area of northern Sri Lanka, where a boy was killed last month and his sister injured as they tried to pry apart an explosive device they had found to sell for scrap metal. The email was written by Allan Poston, the technical adviser for the U.N. Development Program’s mine action group in Sri Lanka. “After reviewing additional photographs from the investigation teams, I have determined that there are cluster sub-munitions in the area where the children were collecting scrap metal and in the house where the accident occurred. This is the first time that there has been confirmed unexploded sub-munitions found in Sri Lanka”, the email said. RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

January 13, 2013 · 2:00 am

The Bracegirdle Incident. How an Australian Communist ignited Ceylon’s independence struggle

Alan Fewster

11-MA Bracegirdle with LSSP leaders, Horana Bracegirdle beside Colvin R. de Silva and other Trotskyite leaders at Horana in 1937 – Pic from Victor Ivan, Paradise in Tears, Plate 164.

The Bracegirdle Incident is the true story of how an Australian communist labour agitator almost brought down the British colonial government in Ceylon in 1936. Unknown in Australia, the case of Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle became a cause celebre in Ceylon’s independence struggle, and his name remains revered among the Left in Sri Lanka today. The son of an artistic English blue stocking, Bracegirdle arrived in Australia in 1927. He joined the Communist Party of Australia and quickly became a ‘bagman’, or financial organiser, attracting the attention of the Commonwealth security service. In 1936 Bracegirdle sailed for Ceylon, ostensibly to become a tea planter. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, historical interpretation, Left politics, life stories, nationalism, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, unusual people, world affairs

January 12, 2013 · 5:55 am

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Elmore Perera castigates Parliament and the Regime

Elmore Perera
parliament-sri-lanka

01. The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka purportedly consists of representatives elected by the Sovereign people of Sri Lanka. This Parliament is currently debating (on 10th and 11th January 2013), what is undoubtedly the most “momentous” issue ever placed on the order paper of Parliament. “Momentous” for the reason that their “inevitable”, “unlawful” decision will have “irreversible” and “drastic” consequences from the moment it is taken. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, citizen journalism, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, sri lankan society

January 10, 2013 · 1:57 am

Currying and Rissoling one’s way into Australia: Sri Lankan chefs at Charters Towers

Sarah Elks, in The Australian, 10 January 2013, where the title reads “Foreign chefs strike gold in remote pubs” 

CHEFS at Charters towersFOR Sri Lankan chef Don Prasanga, the most difficult part of the move from a seven-star resort restaurant in the Middle East to a north Queensland pub kitchen has been mastering rissoles and onion gravy. Now that he’s perfected the dish, Prasanga’s take on the traditional counter meal has become the talk of Charters Towers, the historic goldmining town 135km west of Townsville. The 40-year-old is one of three Sri Lankan chefs recruited last year to fill long-standing vacancies in the regional centre which, like many small country towns, is in the grip of a skills shortage driven by the mining boom. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Australian culture, cultural transmission, ethnicity, life stories, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes

January 9, 2013 · 9:55 am

Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE by KM de Silva reviewed

Colonel Hariharan

Prof. K M de SilvaKM de Silva’s Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE (Penguin books, 2012 ISBN 9780143416524) looks at the rise and fall of LTTE in the context of  South Asia and the India-Sri Lanka relationship, says R Hariharan. The story of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s rise from the backwoods of  Jaffna to build the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the most  dreaded terrorist organisations, and his fall in the battlefield can be told in  many ways. Sri Lanka historian KM de Silva in his latest book looks at the rise  and fall of the LTTE in the larger context of South Asia and the India-Sri Lanka  relationship. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under atrocities, indian armed forces, Indian Ocean politics, language policies, law of armed conflict, Left politics, life stories, LTTE, military expenditure, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

January 9, 2013 · 4:08 am

Radhika and Nihal launch CPA’s THE REPUBLIC AT 40

The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice

SEE http://www.cpalanka.org/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.

radhika coomSpeaking at the launch were its Editor as well as Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama and Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Continue reading →

1 Comment

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

January 8, 2013 · 1:56 pm

Deloraine Brohier’s Sugar and Spice is for those with taste buds

Courtesy of The Sunday Times with some liberties taken in our choice of title

deloraine brohierWhen Deloraine Brohier chanced upon a yellowed manuscript in her late father, renowned scholar Dr. R.L. Brohier’s library, she knew it was a valuable find. In the faded pages were “Rare recipes of a Huisvrouw of 1770’. Another discovery was an old manual dated 1875 which had an article on the culinary arts of the island. Considered an authority herself on Burgher life and customs, Deloraine was intrigued. And so began her effort to document the cuisine of the Burgher housewives handed down over generations in the making of those delicacies such as Bolo d’Amor (love cake), Karmenatchi, Fios, Breudher, lamprais and frikkadels, some of which we still enjoy today. Her book ‘A Taste of Sugar and Spice’– Cuisine of the Dutch Burgher Huisvrouw in Olde Ceylon’ draws on the old manuscripts and her own personal recollections of Burgher family customs and celebrations. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under cultural transmission, ethnicity, female empowerment, life stories, patriotism, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy