Thuppahi is pleased to offer some of her work in juxtaposition with some classic ‘shots’ of her in life.
Category Archives: pilgrimages
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
Filed under ancient civilisations, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian religions, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, nationalism, paintings, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, Portuguese imperialism, power politics, religiosity, religious nationalism, self-reflexivity, travelogue, world events & processes
Sri Lanka as A Paradise blighted by Extraordinary Political Violence
Razeen Sally, in an article presented in November 2020 at NIKKEI ASIA, with the title “Rediscovering Sri Lanka through a travel memoir” …. & with highlighting superimposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
The Island paradise mixes beguiling charm with an astonishing record of violence. Foreign visitors have for centuries rhapsodized about Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was called until 1972: its seashores and landscapes, its governing religion, Buddhism, and its majority ethnicity, the Sinhalese.
Colombo’s Mount Lavinia Hotel in the 1960s. One of Asia’s legendary colonial hotels, it was managed by the author’s father through the political upheaval of the 1970s. “It was a turbulent time, much of which my father spent in remand and jail.” …… Photo courtesy of Razeen Sally Continue reading
Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, atrocities, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, insurrections, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, pilgrimages, plantations, politIcal discourse, power sharing, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, tourism, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Beckoning: Emma Thompson’s Sri Lankan Pictorials
The photographs adorning Emma Thompson’s travel tale … at …………………………………. https://thuppahis.com/2022/02/21/british-tourists-commence-return-to-sri-lankas-touring-delights/ .….. have been sent to me by Amal Abeywardena of London — circumventing the Sunday Times requirement of a subscription!
Filed under architects & architecture, Buddhism, commoditification, cultural transmission, elephant tales, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, photography, pilgrimages, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes
Revisiting Robert Knox’s Experiences in the Kandyan Kingdom in the 17th Century
Padma Edirisinghe, in Sunday Observer, 2016, where the title runs “That wanderer among the Kandyan hills”.… see note below **
Thirteen miles off Gampola, past sprawling tea estates nestling in the lap of luxuriantly foliaged mountains, lies Legundeniya. Here, the carpet of Lanka’s histRory rolls back and reveals a page of the history of Kande Uda Pas Rata, as it was 300 years ago.
Filed under Aboriginality, ancient civilisations, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, trauma, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Kaffir Traditions: Vibrant Traces at Sirambiyadi off Puttalam
Dishan Joseph, in Daily News, 20 February 2021, with this title “A slice of Africa in Puttalam”
Most Sri Lankans in Colombo city would have caught a glimpse of robust women, of African descent dancing to pulsating drumbeats. We have applauded the performances of the African Manja group. But have we truly understood their origins, displacement and hardships hidden behind their smiles. I firmly believe that after their generations have lived here for 500 years, they too are very much Sri Lankan.
Filed under Afro-Asians, art & allure bewitching, British imperialism, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue, Uncategorized, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
Romila Thapar & Sri Lanka’s Heritage in Today’s Dismal Context
Uditha Devapriya
On Thursday, the 27th of January, Professor Romila Thapar will deliver the Dr Roland Silva Memorial Lecture to the National Trust of Sri Lanka. Professor Thapar will be speaking about the museum in India, charting its evolution from private collections to public displays and placing it in the context of similar institutions from other colonial societies.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, Buddhism, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, paintings, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Greater Flamingoes in Mannar and Sri Lanka
The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is an uncommon migrant bird species found in Sri Lanka, and is a major attraction among avitourists. Jaffna Peninsula, Mannar Island, and the southeastern coastal areas are the known strongholds of this species in Sri Lanka.
Buddhism among Tamils in the Past … and Present-Day Squabbles
PK Balachandran, in The Citizen, 8 August 2021, where the title is “In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Link with Buddhism is Brushed Under the Carpet”
Unsustainable claims put forward by the Sinhalese and the Tamils on language, religion and ethnicity, have muddied Sri Lankan politics in the post-independence era. The Sinhalese loudly proclaim that Buddhism is quintessentially and exclusively, a “Sinhala” religion. The Tamils, on the other hand, claim with equal vehemence, that they have always been unalloyed Hindus, who had never ever had anything to do with Buddhism, which they identify with “Sinhala hegemony.”
Filed under ancient civilisations, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, Buddhism, cultural transmission, economic processes, evolution of languages(s), heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, paintings, photography, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes, zealotry
