Category Archives: meditations

May 21, 2022 · 12:55 am

Sri Lanka’s Fallen Remembered at Battaramulla Monument on 19th May

The 19th May marks the final defeat of the LTTE and its Eelam Movement …. Thuppahi **

The 13th anniversary of National War Heroes’ Day was commemorated in a simple ceremony this afternoon (May 19) at the Battaramulla National War Heroes’ Monument with the attendance of Commander -In-Chief President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest

Standing L-to-R: 

Secy Def Gen Kamal Gunaratne, Maj Gen Nandana Senadeera (retd) Chairperson Ranaviru Seva Authority; President Gothabaya,  Genl Shavendra Silva, the Commander SL Navy and the Commander SLAF.

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May 15, 2022 · 4:15 pm

“The Last Post” — Its Origins and History

A BBC News Item, 20 January 2015, entitled  “The story of the Last Post”  

The Last Post will be played all over the world on Remembrance Day. But as Alwyn W Turner explains, its origins had nothing to do with mourning.

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May 13, 2022 · 7:56 pm

A Requiem For Barbara Sansoni: From 1962 ….

Somasiri Devendra, ** whose chosen title is “A wooden bridge, an iron house, and Barbara then ….”

.………… of such are memories made, writes Somasiri Devendra

So, Barbara has ridden off into the sunset, on her white horse, after “a hard day’s night” leaving behind memories of the times when she was a person, not an icon, and very good company indeed. Those memories reach back 60 years.

 Barbara and Hildon Sansoni in 1958

 

 

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April 9, 2022 · 8:36 pm

Buddhist Temples in Lanka: Evocative Thoughts

Uditha Devapriya, in The Island, 9 April 2022, … With input from and photographs by Manusha Lakshan … & bearing this title  “Some reflections on the temples of the South”

The social and cultural history of Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka has been the object of study for well over a century. Far from receding into a world of their own, these temples occupied a prominent place in the world around them. Buddhist monks lived under a code of piety and self-denial, and they operated under their own rules and customs. Yet despite being cut off from mundane concerns, they were very much linked to the society they hailed from. Granted entire villages for their upkeep, the clergy made use of the social institutions of their time, most prominently caste, to maintain their hold.

 

 Ceityagiri, 

Dharmasalava, Pushparama Continue reading →

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April 9, 2022 · 7:42 pm

A Play on Hit Tunes in the Context of Mr Covid

Courtesy of KEITH BENNETT in Australia ….. for the generations of the 11950s-t o-1970s

 

 

 

 

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March 21, 2022 · 8:03 pm

The Stalinist Reading of Sri Lanka’s Place in the Indian Firmament

Cafe Spectator’s Thoughts in Sunday Times, 20 March 2022

Considering the current Ukraine crisis, a historical anecdote on Sri Lanka–then Ceylon–between former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and former Indian Ambassador to Russia Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India’s second President, is making the rounds in diplomatic circles these days.

 

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March 8, 2022 · 12:19 pm

Learning from Shane Warne’s Sudden Death

Sanjeev Gupta, An Asian doctor in New York , speaking on video  “Lessons from Shane Warne’s death – A cardiologist’s perspective”

As a doctor and cardiologist, I see heart attacks and death on a daily basis and after a while one gets used to it and it feels like nothing can shock anymore. However, i was completely shocked yesterday when i heard about Shane Warne’s death from a suspected heart attack. Firstly he was only 52. Secondly he was a world class athlete only a few years ago. Thirdly from the news it seems that he was completely fine in the days beforehand and had lots of plans and aspirations and then out of the blue we hear that his amazing life had just come to such a brutal and sudden end without even an inkling of a warning.

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March 2, 2022 · 11:07 pm

Jihadist Terror in Lahore: Some Thuppahi References … & BBC Revelations from Bayliss & Farbrace

A = “When Terrorism assailed Cricket at Lahore,” 3 March 2009………….. https://thuppahis.com › 2017/10/30 › when-terrorism-a………………………. 30 Oct 2017 — This analysis is available as “Cricket under Siege: The Lahore Attack, … Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, …

B = The Lahore Assault on the Cricket Entourage in March 2009 …………………… https://thuppahis.com › 2019/10/02 › bewildering-facts… 2 Oct 2019 — Roberts, Michael 2009a “The Lahore atrocity: our cricketing ambassadors,” Island, 14 March 2009. Roberts, Michael 2009b “Cricket and Lahore: 

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February 15, 2022 · 11:19 am

Advancing Medical Reach: Quintus and Co reach out

Quintus de Zylva

SAJITH BANDARA is a first year medical student at Sri Jayawardanepura University. His partner is Punsala Hewage. She is also a first year medical student at the same University. She entered Uni from Furguson College Ratnapura.

 

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February 5, 2022 · 1:01 am

IF Only ……

This example of  trans-ethnic amity and fellowship was/is spread through our island-land, THEN, we Lankans could smile and sleep well — however poor and limited in our resources

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