Category Archives: patriotism

August 22, 2025 · 1:10 am

Vijaya Kumaratunga in Wikipedia

FROM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijaya_Kumaratunga

Kovilage Anton Vijaya Kumaranatunga (Sinhala: කොවිලගේ ඇන්ටන් විජය කුමාරණතුංග; Tamil: விஜய குமாரணதுங்க; 9 October 1945 – 16 February 1988), popularly known as Vijaya Kumaratunga, was a Sri Lankan film actor, playback singer and politician[1] regarded as one of the most popular icons in Sri Lankan cinema of all time. He was married to former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaranatunga from 1978 until his assassination in 1988. He was the founder of Sri Lanka Mahajana Party.[1]

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August 21, 2025 · 5:15 pm

Remembering Vijaya Kumaratunga Today

Michael Roberts

 SEE David Jeyaraj’s Vale ….. https://thuppahis.com/2025/08/10/in-memoriam-vijaya-kumaratunga/ … FOR the original Thuppahi version, which does not have the highlighting emphases from my hand that can be seen NOW.

A NOTE:  David Jeyaraj provides readers with a wide-ranging and incisive account – one which I recommend strongly. Sri Lanka’s political circles lost a visionary political figure when the JVP assassinated  Vijaya Kumaratunga  on the 16th February 1988. For Chandrika, Yasodhara and Vimukthi, of course, it was a tragedy.

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August 21, 2025 · 4:51 pm

Yasodara Kumaratunga’s Inventive Mind: Free Verse from London

Michael Roberts in Adelaide, August 2025

Among a small pile of photgrpahs, letters and papers left by my departed elder sister, Estelle Fernando, is a printed ‘pamphlet’ published by Yasodhara  Kumaratunga, the  eldest daughter of Vijaya Kumaratunga and Chandrika Bandaranaike.

It presents thirteen brief  poems coined by Yasodhara when she was “in exile in  London” — as  the Foreword by an unknown person  tells us. These were “written by Yasodhara between the ages  of 8 plus 1/2 years – 11 years” during a period when she  was beginning to learn English after an education in Sinhala.”

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August 18, 2025 · 3:41 pm

Reaching Across the Skies: Young Avishka

Ifham Nizam ✍️in The Island, August 2025… with this title “From Skies to Scripts: A young editor taking Sri Lanka’s stories to the world,”  Published

At just 26, Avishka Mario Senewiratne has already done what many spend a lifetime trying to achieve. A trained pilot, published author, historian, and now Editor-in-Chief of The Ceylon Journal, Senewiratne is fast emerging as a defining voice in Sri Lanka’s literary and historical landscape. But behind the titles lies a story of deep passion, quiet perseverance, and an unwavering love for history – and the written word.

 

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August 17, 2025 · 12:58 am

Reading Richard Simon’s THOMIA

Uditha Devapriya, via Thilina Walpola in The Island, 10 August  2025 …………….. Review of “Thomia: The Entangled Histories of Lanka and Her Greatest Public School” by Richard Simon. In 2 volumes. Lazari Press. 869 pages.

Richard Simon’s Thomia is a massive undertaking, though to describe it as such is to indulge in cliches hardly deserving of such books. Where does one begin with a publication like this? It is, as the author notes at the beginning, not just a history of “Lanka’s greatest school”, but a fairly comprehensive and I would say eclectic history of Sri Lanka before and after British rule. The author is at his best when he draws attention to the parallel histories of school and country. Needless to say, he is at his best throughout.

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August 17, 2025 · 12:26 am

Vale: Bob Simpson, Aussie Cricketer & Coach

Priyan, in The Island, 16 August 2025, where the title reads: “Former Australia captain and coach Bob Simpson dies aged 89”

Pix shows Simpson with Sobers

Austalian cricket has lost a giant after former Test captain and the first full-time coach Bob Simpson  died in Sydney at the age of 89.

Simpson is one of the most influential figures in the history of Australian cricket. He played 62 Test matches between 1957 and 1978, averaging 46.81, and claimed 71 wickets while being known as one of the greatest slip fielders of his time. In first-class cricket, he amassed 21,029 runs and picked up 349 wickets with his legspin.

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August 16, 2025 · 12:53 pm

A Thoughtful Assessment of THE CEYLON JOURNAL

Dhanuka Bandara, in The Daily Mirror, 15 August 2025 … where the  title reads “The Ceylon Journal III: A Review,”  while the title here and the  highlighting are  the imprint of The Editor, Thuppahi

 The third installation of the bi-annual periodical The Ceylon Journal certainly continues the success of the two previous issues. Edited by Avishka Mario Senewiratne, The Ceylon Journal was first launched in July 2024. This unique journal, which in turn draws inspiration from Young Ceylon, a 19th-century Sri Lankan journal published by Charles Lorenz Ambrose and his friends, continues to publish immensely readable, yet well-researched and informative articles on a wide range of topics.

 

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August 14, 2025 · 1:57 am

UNHRO Calls for Investigation of Past Killings in Lanka

 

Tamil and Sinhala versions attached

Sri Lanka has opportunity to break from past – Türk

GENEVA (13 August 2025) – A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office calls on Sri Lanka’s Government to seize the historic opportunity to break with entrenched impunity, implement transformative reforms, and deliver long-overdue justice and accountability for serious violations and abuses committed in the past, including international crimes.

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August 11, 2025 · 1:14 am

Neelan Tiruchelvam: An Appreciation of His Mediatory Politics

Kagusthan Ariaratnam in Groundviews, 8 August 2025, where the title  reads “Neelan Unsilenced …” while highlights here have been added by The Editor, Thuppahi

Photo courtesy of Pitasanna Shanmugathas

NEELAN: UNSILENCED is a compelling and vital documentary that successfully situates the life of Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam within the turbulent history of the Sri Lankan conflict. Its greatest achievement is providing a nuanced entry point into the war by focusing on the non-violent, intellectual and pluralistic dimensions of Tamil resistance – a perspective often eclipsed by the narrative of armed struggle. By foregrounding Neelan’s journey, the film illuminates a leader who dedicated his life to constitutional reform and reconciliation.

   Photo courtesy of Pitasanna Shanmugathas

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August 11, 2025 · 12:27 am

Appreciating Ravindra Randeniya’s Multi-Faceted Career

Uditha Devapriya  in SAPNnews,  August 2025, where the title runs thus: “Ravindra  Randeniya: Sri Lankan Actor, South Asian Artist”

 

 Ravindra (left) & Dilip Kumar (right) in New Delhi…Courtesy Ravindra Randeniya

In South Asia, cinema is more than an art: it is a way of life. Sri Lanka is no exception. Despite its size, the small island-state boasts of a film industry that has won renown abroad, even if it is facing a downturn today. At its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, Sri Lankan films travelled to New Delhi, Tehran, Tashkent, even Cannes and New York.

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