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The Ceremonial “Markings” in Turkey and Elsewhere: Momentous & Indelible Recollections
GALLIPOLI, TURKEY – APRIL 25: New Zealand Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae speaks at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at ANZAC Cove on April 25, 2010 in Gallipoli, Turkey. Today commemorates the 95th anniversary of ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day, when First World War troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey early April 25, 1915. Today April 25 is commemorated with ceremonies of remembrance for those who fought and died in all wars ….. Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images
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Richard Koenigsberg plus ….
Addressing the practices of remembrance in Australia, Richard Koenigsberg has noted the irony that a battlefield defeat at Gallipoli in World War One, 1915, served a people as an emblem of nationhood: the “Australian nation, came into being on the foundations provided by the slaughter of its young men.”
There is more irony. The commemoration of Australian courage, sacrifice and manliness at Gallipoli (and subsequently on the Somme) was threaded by tropes of youthful innocence that drew on classical Hellenic motifs; while the monuments and epitaphs that were crafted in Australia to mark this event were manifestly Greek in form. The gendered masculine metaphor, in turn, was often embodied in the seminal image of a full-bodied blonde young man. “Archie Hamilton” in Peter Weir’s classic film Gallipoli was/is one such trope (and he died of course).
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Brian Victoria* … in Informed Comment … https://www.juancole.com/2024/02/judaism-tribalism-universalism.html…. where the title read thus: “The Battle for the Soul of Judaism: Tribalism, Amalek and the Axial Age Universalism of Isaiah”
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Michael Roberts
The Bullfights staged in custom-built arenas in Spain and Latin America are spectacular pageants that are said to have held watchers spellbound (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting). Presumably they still do. But someone sent me a striking still-shot that immediately held me spellbound.
This picture reveals an experienced matador in wailing repentence …. with a forgiving bull facing him calmly in stoic sadness.
Ajith Samaranayake, in The Island in 1983 … now presented again on the aniversary when the plane carrying Wijewardene and others from KL to Sri Lanka simply disappeared
Between Sri Lanka’s 35th independence anniversary and his birthday Upali Wijewardene boarded his executive Lear Jet at Kuala Lumpur and in a single fateful flash became solidified into an enigma and a legend. The flamboyant tycoon who had left with five others never arrived in Colombo. Somewhere over the Straits of Malacca the plane disappeared with not a clue or a trace.
THE MAKING OF AN ALL-ROUNDER: A Conversation with Dr Buddy Reid …. Sunday Island, 28 January 2024 …. https://island.lk/the-making-of-an-all-rounder-a-conversation-with-dr-buddy-reid/ …. Correspondence to Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha = Sanjivasw@gmail.com
Dr Buddy Reid – one of the finest all-around sportsmen Sri Lanka has produced – recently celebrated his 83rd birthday. During his University days, Buddy won the National Table Tennis championships of Ceylon three times, played Cricket for Ceylon, sang in the University SCM choir, and played clarinet in a dance band called The Neurones.
Item: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=AAWEB_WRE
But the issue that’s reaching boiling point today is the Australia Day debate. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has added his voice to calls to change the date from January 26: “My personal opinion is I absolutely love Australia and think it is the best country in the world by a mile. I think we should have an Australia Day but I think we can probably find a more appropriate date to celebrate. Australia Day is meant to be a celebration of everything Australia in our history. I think we could choose a better date.”
Coping with a Squirrel Menace
The Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about their squirrel infestation. After much prayer and consideration, they concluded that the squirrels were predestined to be there, and they should not interfere with God’s divine will.
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Gamini Seneviratne, in a set of profound reflections entitled “Ian Goonatileke, A Memory” and presented previously …. but now subject to a change of title and highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Browsing through various writings that had to do with Ian, I came upon the following paragraphs that seem to merit a fresh airing in the light of the literary awards recently made under the Gratiaen Trust. Regardless of his spell of scepticism (as mentioned below) that made him turn away from his commitment to advancing his friend Michael Ondaatje’s hopes and intent in funding that Trust it came to establish another award in Ian’s name, one for translation.
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thuppahi
