Somasundaram Skandakumar

He never lived that down
Somasundaram Skandakumar

He never lived that down
THOMIA …. with the world and the moon in its sights and landing sites
RICHARD’s NOTE, 20 February 2024
Two important Thomia-related things happened yesterday. First, I had a call from Softwave to confirm that the first completed copies of the book would be delivered today, 20 February, as promised. Second, I made a call of my own, to confirm with the proprietors of the Barefoot Gallery Cafe that I shall be holding the official launch of Thomia there on the fourth of March.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
Richard Simon to Michael Roberts, Editor, Thuppahi
Thomia, as you know, is a comprehensive history of S. Thomas’ College presented in the wider context of Lankan history and focusing on the influences between the two. In this sense it resembles my previous history of the Ceylon tea industry, which you were kind enough to praise when it was published in 2017. It is very different from a typical school history and its appeal is certainly not confined to Old Thomians.
Now on sale: Thomia is available for advance purchase from today, 25 November 2024. I hope to finance printing of the book partly through advance sales; I am happy to say I have already received a number of pledges.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, chauvinism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
Kumar David in The Island, 26 May 2024 ….. whre the title reads thus: “G.C. Rodrigo: Friend, Colleague and Comrade”
The phrase “When alone think clearly and when with others speak carefully” is attributed to Gautama Sidhartha. Though that may be apocryphal it certainly does depict his grace. Secondly, you will find that I sometimes refer to GCR as Gerard and sometimes as Chris depending on whether S. Thomas College or our later political comradeship is uppermost in the context.
Filed under accountability, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Michael Roberts
I came across this unusual photograph in loose-leaf form amidst my files and lata pata in my study. David Sansoni in Sydney has rendered it more presentable, while Mevan Pieris has provided me with critical information on this unusual club and pointed me to pertinent data in that classic work by SS Perera reproduced as The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (Colombo 1999).
Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cricket for amity, economic processes, education, Empire loyalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people
Uditha Devapriya & Uthpala Wijesuriya, in https://scroll.in/where the title reads thus: “Cricket, class and baila: The many layers of Sri Lanka’s celebrated Royal Thomian sports encounter”
With an unbroken 145-year streak, the face-off between two of the island-nation’s oldest schools has become a cultural rite of passage for the nation’s elite.
Prefects leading a cheer at the 144th Royal Thomian, 2023. |
Uthpala & Uditha … in match fervour
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, propaganda, Royal College, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, tolerance
Ravi Rudra, whose chosen title for this illustrated essay was “Rupert Ferdinands: A Blazing Tennis Star and Much More” … while the plethora of photographs rendered this item a difficult piece to insert — so that some illustrations will be missing; a or will be inserted over time. The Editor has also inserted highlighting emphasis along the way.
Rupert W. Ferdinands, born April 1936, was an outstanding product of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. He is also a former Head Prefect of the School, a B.Sc. (Hons) graduate, Sri Lanka Davis Cup player and Australian qualified tennis coach (Level 3). Rupert excelled in Tennis for his College and Country, having made his national debut as a young schoolboy.
Teen Rupert in Ceylon Tennis Team at the Hague in 1953 ….L-R: Percy Ernst, Douglas Fonseka, Lionel Fonseka (Manager), Douglas Scharenguivel and 17-year-old Rupert Ferdinands (extreme right).
Trophies Galore! …. 36-year old Rupert Ferdinands with around 150 trophies at his Colombo Residence, just prior to migrating to Australia.
Krishantha Prasad Cooray, in The Island, 7 April 2024, where the title runs thus: “Michael Tissera at 85: Gentlemen’s gentleman” ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Michael Tissera with his children and grandchildren
When people who have the same first name meet up, there’s name-related humour. The more, the merrier, obviously, especially if they are good friends and enjoy friendly banter. Today I am thinking of three people who share the name Michael: Michael Tissera, Michael Sproule and Michael De Zoysa, all three who played cricket for St Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia. The first of course is the bigger name associated with the gentleman’s game.
*Tissera Brothers – Michael with older brother Vernon at the Thomian (Over 65) Fellowship at SSC on 17 Dec 2023. Vernon played 1st XI back in 1949 as an opening bat scoring a solid 30 in the 70th Battle of the Blues. Vernon is currently the third oldest Thomian cricketer after Chandra Schaffter & Bradman Weerakoon.
Q 1: What was the major turning point in your cricketing career?
“At school [S. Thomas College], I hardly scored runs consistently. Those days the school matches were played over two half-days and you looked to push the game along to get results. I got one only hundred while playing for College. The lack of big scores was more mental than technique.
Michael Roberts
St. Peters College in Adelaide is an elite boys public school that has produced several Prime Ministers of South Australia and schooled many prominent figures in Australian life. The school’s cricket team chose to tour Ceylon in the month of January 1928 and played matches against Royal College, S. Thomas’ College and Trinity; and also against a team of planters at the grounds in Darrawella in the hill country.