Category Archives: performance

Pablo Neruda’s Excursions in Colombo and Wellawatte … As a Film

Randima Attygalle, in The Island, 24 Octtober 2021, where the title runs thus “The poem Neruda never wrote”

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Island, film maker Asoka Handagama shares the story behind his latest film- Alborada (The Dawning of the Day) inspired by the celebrated poet Pablo Neruda’s stay here as the Chilean Consul. The film is to be internationally premiered at the 34th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival opening on October 30.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, ethnicity, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan scoiety, tolerance, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

An Exemplary Teacher at Ussangoda: Philanthopy topped with Genius

Siri Ipalawatte of Canberra writing in The Island, 23 October 2021, where the title reads An amazing Sri Lankan  – ‘the power of one’ 

From Tidbinbilla to rain forests, red wines to thelijja, cappaccino to kurumba, five-stars to homestay…. Just when I thought I had touched every nook and cranny of Sri Lanka, it sprung yet another surprise. An old Uni friend suggested ‘why not visit the unusual and weird landscape called Ussangoda—the place in Hindu Mythology where King Ravana landed his air machine, dandu-monara? And off came another nugget! He said a batchmate of ours lived in a century-old house in a village called Kiula — an exotic name from the fact that the water in the area is kiul as it gets mixed with an underground seashell bed and salt water —very close to Ussangoda. This chance encounter led to a number of texts and mobile calls, and a few days later, a memorable sleepover in his house located between the 217 and 218t kilometre-post on the A2 highway between the sleepy towns of Hungama and Ambalantota in the southern Sri Lanka.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, heritage, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

A Connoisseur’s Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka

Gehan de Silva Wijeyratne, in Ozlanka, https://www.ozlanka.com/2021/10/10/a-naturalists-guide-to-the-birds-of-sri-lanka/,…… where the title is  A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka”

British company John Beaufoy Publishing has published a significantly revised third edition of A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Previous editions of this pocket guide have served as a first book on birdwatching in Sri Lanka to many visitors and local residents. The third edition has been extensively revised to reflect current taxonomic thinking influenced by advances in molecular phylogenetics. The arrangement of birds to reflect their evolutionary relationship to each other is the science of taxonomy or systematics, which has been in a state of flux for centuries as taxonomists attempt to construct the evolutionary relationship between birds. The new arrangement of families will hold many surprises. For example, consider the familiar Sri Lanka Woodshrike, an endemic bird that is easily seen in popular dry lowland sites such as Yala. Many local birders will be surprised to find that it is now included in the family Vangidae, which comprises birds known as Vangas better known from Madagascar. The exact placement of some bird species still remains unresolved despite significant advances in genome sequencing.

 

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under art & allure bewitching, life stories, performance, photography, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, wild life

Andrew Fernando’s Clinical Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Prospects in T20 World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, October 2021, where the chosen title is “Not a lot is expected of Sri Lanka, and that may free them up to punch big”

If you look at a certain set of statistics, you’d think Sri Lanka were T20 World Cup kings. In the history of this tournament, they have won more T20 World Cup games (25) than any other side, their win/loss percentage of 2.083 unmatched. They have reached the final in half of the six World Cups played. And they have produced some of the World Cup’s most iconic performances. But such has been their rate of decline since 2014 (when they won), that they were forced to qualify for the main draw this time. They arrive in the Super 12s ranked tenth in the world, having won only two of their last 12 bilateral T20I series. Since the last T20 World Cup, they have had at least five captains in the format. Although their ODI and Test cricket has also suffered substantially over the past few years, T20Is have been Sri Lanka’s worst format.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under cricket for amity, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, Sri Lankan scoiety, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes

Comparative Insights: USA’s Failures in Vietnam and Afghanistan

H.D.S Greenway, in Sri Lanka Guardian, 23 October 2021, … where the title runs thus  = Half century long American misadventures

A veteran war correspondent recalls the ignorance, poor judgement, exceptionalism, and hubris in all of [USA’s]  interventions.

Nearly half a century ago I watched the South Vietnamese army, an army that had been trained and equipped by the United States, simply melt away before a less well equipped but better-motivated army of North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese fled in panic before the North’s final offensive. I saw soldiers taking off their uniforms and fleeing in their underwear. Cities were falling before the North Vietnamese had time to get there.

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, education, governance, heritage, insurrections, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, trauma, travelogue, war reportage, world events & processes

Namibia as Lilliput among the Giants in Cricket’s T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda, in ESPNcricinfo 20 October 2021 where her title is Namibia live out their desert dream”

Namibia is a country of 2.5 million people, nine cricket fields, five cricket clubs and 16 contracted players. And they’ve made it to the Super 12s of a T20 World Cup. Along the way, they’ve won their first-ever major tournament match and they’ve beaten a Full Member. Over the next three weeks, they will play against four others and they have automatically secured a spot at the next T20 World Cup too. Their performances will get people talking about the deserts and the desolate landscapes of the country they call home; a place where you can drive for hundreds of kilometres and not see another soul; of Africa’s last colony, with no major cricketing achievements to its name until now.

 

 

Namibia’s captain Gerhard Erasmus top-scored in the game that took them to the Super 12s  ICC via Getty Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, cricket for amity, life stories, performance, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes

DB Dhanapala’s AMONG THOSE PRESENT

Ravindra Wijewardhane, in Sunday Observer, 25 July 2021, where the title readsv “One of Dhanapala’s best books”

This is a collection of newspaper articles on important people who shaped events in Sri Lanka and even made history. Published in 1962, includes 22 articles or biographical reviews on 22 people – Anagarika Dharmapala, Ananda Coomaraswami, D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, John Kotelawala, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Sirima Bandaranaike, Oliver Goonetileke, Philip Gunawardhane, P. de S. Kularatne, G.P. Malalasekera, L.H. Mettananda, Senarat Paranavitana, G.P. Wickramarachchi, Yakkaduve Thero, Nicholas Attygalle, Herbert Hulugalle, Soliyas Mendis, Nittavela Gunaya, Victor Dhanapala, Arunachalam Mahadeva, Ediriweera Sarathchandra.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes, zealotry

Siran Deraniyagala: An Appreciation

Harindu Muthukumarana, in The Island, 16 October 2021, where the title reads  A legend who rewrote Sri Lankan history: Eulogy for Dr. Deraniyagala” +++

On Tuesday, 05 October, 2021, as the sun rose above the horizon it may have felt like a usual day in Sri Lanka. But the morning broke a tragic news as it gloomed the nation and it left a deep void in the field of archeology. It was for none other than to the demise of Dr. Siran Upendra Deraniyagala.Anyone who has an interest in the history of Sri Lanka doesn’t need an introduction to Deraniyagala and his service. I find him, that rather than investing his energy on archaeology he invested his soul. This set an example for every human to work hard with integrity on what you had embarked on.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, sri lankan society, teaching profession, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes

Chandrika Kumaratunge as President: An Unique Amalgam of Graciousness and Toughness

Chandra Wickremasinghe, in The Island, 17 October 2021, where the title runs thus CBK had an impulsive streak but was gracious in admitting mistakes”

With President Chandrika Kumaratunge assuming office, there was once again a flurry of activity in the Presidential Secretariat and in the Ministries, as she was anxious to expeditiously push through various development programmes she had in mind. Although she did not believe in an overly centralized system of Presidential rule, she kept a close tab particularly on the major development projects and programmes of Ministries by having regular review meetings with them.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, democratic measures, female empowerment, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Left politics, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes

Bandula Warnapura passes away: An Appraisal

Rex Clementine  

There are some who always back underdogs. While the winners’ men go places, those who support the underdogs remain at odds with the system. With the larger circle of course, the fans for example, which is what matters, they remain hugely popular. One such breathed his last yesterday after a brief illness. Bandula Warnapura the nation’s first Test captain was 69.

Warnapura, Gamini Dissanayake & JR Jayewardene at Sri Lanka’s first Test Match at the Oval on 21 February 1982 — a historic occasion

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance, unusual people, world events & processes