Photographs and ‘sights’ courtesy of a Muslim Friend
Category Archives: performance
Maaveerar Homage in London: Virtual Reality
Filed under accountability, communal relations, cultural transmission, fundamentalism, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes, zealotry
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan’s Independent Paths and The Point Pedro Institute
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan completed his postgrad studies in Wales and was attached to the ICES in Colombo when I met him for the first time. When subsequently coming to grips with the contentious political issues associated with the ‘liberation war’ pursued by the fascist organisarion known as the LTTE, I found that ‘Sarvi’ sustained his indepenedence. At thatstage he had one foot in Point Pedro and another in Wellawatte (the later being my home base arena) … so I did meet him off and on. When in late 2011 I decided to question Rohan Gunaratne’s absurdly low figures on civilian Tamil deaths (at a talk at the British Council). it was to such personnel as Saravananthan, Narendran Rajasingham and Noel Nadesan that I turned to for alternative estimates in this nebulous arena…. See “The Tamil Death Toll in Early 2009: A Misleading Count by Rohan Gunaratna,” 23 November 2011, http: transcurrents.com/news-viewa/archives/6285 …. Michael Roberts
Filed under island economy, life stories, literary achievements, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
The Despicable. Perfidy Personified. Todays’ Trump in His Dumps
Jolly Somasundram, whose chosen title is “The Banana Republican: A Churl’s Last Stand”
Nothing made him so despicable, as his manner of not conceding.
To concede or not to concede, that is the question.
Whether, ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows
Of a stolen, outrageous electoral scam or, take proactive action against
Big media, Big tech, Big pharma, deep state, trying, by opposing them,
Finally to end their hegemony. Then sleep in the entitled White House
For the next four years, to enjoy pubic governance, heart aches,
And delicious thousand thrills that the flesh is heir to;
‘Tis a consummation devotedly to be wished.
Rail, Rail against egregiously cast of hora votes and the jilmaat.
For who, except I, could attend to the whips and scorns of our times
Oppressors rights, my predecessor’s contumely- he thinks
A Nobel Prize (which I disdained) is everything- the pangs of unrequited love,
The insolence of office. Who would better bear the whips and scorns of these times,
The impudence of NATO, WTO, WHO, living on US subventions but abusing the US?
Show all of them the finger! Only I have the guts to do so.
I am the Greatest, better than Alexander in military matters, superior to Shakespeare,
A more elevated thinker than Plato, by far the better speaker than Lincoln.
I am a stable genius. Why should I concede to a stolen election won by fraud?
Apologies “Hamlet”
In Awe of Cricket. Seeing Bradman at the Colombo Oval in 1948
Letter from Errol Fernando to Michael Wille, 28 November 2020
Dear Michael, ….. Your letter reminds me of one of my most life-changing experiences–the day my father took me to the P Saravanamuttu Oval to see Bradman ! Dad had been talking for months about the traditional one-day match against Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles and my 8-year-old heart was pounding as we entered the stadium and found our seats. There was a roar when we heard that Australia would be batting and we settled in our seats when Barnes and Brown walked out to bat.All this,of course, was simply going through the motions and all we wanted was for one of them to get out. Eventually the umpire co-operated by giving Brown out LBW– a shocking decision because the sharp in-swinger from Sathi Coomaraswamy was missing the leg stump by miles! Nobody cared because this was the instant we were all waiting for.
Coomaraswamy beats Bradman
Filed under art & allure bewitching, Australian culture, British colonialism, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, performance, pilgrimages, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Tony Blair and Family in Galle, Mid-August 2015
Michael Roberts
In August 2015 Tony Blair and family visited Sri Lanka on a private holiday trip[1] and during their stay in Galle resided at the upmarket boutique hotel known as “Amangalla.”[2] When a Sunday dawned on 11th August 2015 they adhered to their Catholic faith and attended mass at the little low-key Catholic Chapel in Lighthouse Street around the corner from Amangalla. So, we now witness a picture of an informal gathering after the service where the Blairs are chatting with Moninna Goonewardena of Parawa Street, Fort Galle, Charmaine Fereira of Galle and Fr. Tharanga Saminathan of the Jesuit Order — a lovely moment etched in ecumenical space.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, conspiracies, devolution, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, power sharing, reconciliation, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, tourism, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
The SIOT Concept: One Foundation for SL Army Success in Eelam War IV
Colonel HP Ranasinghe: “The Eight Man Team,” 17 August 2018, https://lrrp.wordpress.com/tag/special-infantry/.
Sri Lanka builds its future soldier capability around Special Forces, used to great effect against the LTTE insurgency. Sri Lanka is continuing its soldier modernisation plans continuing with the initiatives that it attributes to its success in defeating the LTTE insurgency.
Colonel HP Ranasinghe, Commander Special Forces Brigade, Sri Lanka Army stated, “[The] Special Forces of Sri Lanka rely principally on human skills blended with little equipment and technology. “Skill and will” being the policy due to compelling economic constraints. However, looking into the security challenges of the future, the Special Forces are contemplating upgrading programmes, designed to blend human skill with the “right technology.”
Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, military strategy, modernity & modernization, performance, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes
Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur: A Eleventh Century Marvel
Courtesy of Cyril Ernst in California and Buddy Reid in Melbourne who brought this marvellous architectural feat to Thuppahi’s attention
For DETAILS watch this Video:
Rustic Roots of Talent: Cricket and Otherwise
Michael Roberts
The presence of Lahiru Madushanka in Sri Lanka’s Squad for South Africa[1] has also highlighted his origins in the deep southeast of Sri Lanka after Chaminda Vaas spotted his prospects.[2] In seeking more information about his roots within Facebook I chanced upon another vein of ‘gold’ on the manner in which personnel from indigent circumstances in distant rural areas within Sri Lanka – whether north, south, east or central highland – have circumvented the tyranny of distance and poverty to improve their circumstances.
Filed under democratic measures, economic processes, education, education policy, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, modernity & modernization, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
Henry Jayasena: An Appraisal in Appreciation — with Further Insights from Azdak’s Lore
Nandasiri Jasentuliyana
There was one other leading figure from the cultural world that I came to know very well, particularly through my association with Namel. It was none other than Henry Jayasena, acclaimed as an outstanding stage actor, film star, writer, producer, director, and translator, all rolled in to one. He is a legendary artiste of our times.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, cultural transmission, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, meditations, performance, pilgrimages, plural society, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
