Item in Daily Ft, 2 March 2022, where the title is “Skal International Colombo holds 68th AGM
The 68th Annual General meeting of Skal International was held recently at the Ramada in Colombo and Travel Talk Asia Managing Director Sk. Dinushka Chandrasena, was re-elected President for the year 2022. World Link Travels Managing Director Sk. Ahintha Amarasinghe continues as the Vice President.
De Mel is seen here betweenVice President Ahintha Amarasinghe and Vice President Dinushka Chandrasena,
Filed under life stories, sri lankan society, unusual people
Item in The Daily Financial Times, 19 March 2022, bearing this title “UDA completes Rs. 210 m beautification of Galle Fort area”
The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has carried out renovations in Galle Fort on the instruction of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who is the minister in charge of the subject. The Urban Development Authority which carried out the renovations has done so in a manner that would preserve the antiquities and heritage of Galle Fort. This was done with the assistance of the Department of Archaeology and the Galle Heritage Foundation.
Filed under ancient civilisations, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, communal relations, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, photography, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Michael Roberts
Computer generated 3D illustration with a Portuguese Caravel of the Fifteenth Century
Abstract of the article below: Two arrival stories in the long span of the island’s history will provide the foundations for reflections on history-making in the modern era. Episode One will pursue my own intellectual trail in the 1980s in fashioning an interpretation of the story of the arrival of the Portuguese and my subsequent confrontations in print with KM de Silva on this issue in the 1990s. Episode Two essays an interpretation of the advent of Vijaya retailed in the Pali & Sinhala chronicles as a genesis story of the same order as the tale of Adam and Eve: contending that it is not a tale with any factual basis, but one that conveys a mythic truth for its authors and ‘faithful’ listeners. It is, thus, a morality-tale about the magical implantation of civilised culture and state-forms within the island. This interpretation, however, has shortcomings and will benefit from the correctives imposed by Godfrey Gunatilleke’s exposition of the multi-faceted symbolism associated with this myth.
Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, education, ethnicity, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, politIcal discourse, Portuguese imperialism, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes
Jayantha Jayewardene, in The Island, 20 February 2022, where the ttile runs thus “The lure and the lore of our jungles” **
Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, and even before that as Serendib and Taprobane, has different types of jungle that are of great interest to naturalists. The island has montane cloud forests, wet and dry zone forests – some of which are secondary forests – and savannahs. The coastal areas have a variety of mangroves. The extent of forest-land in the country has of late reduced to a large extent, mainly due to the demands for land from a rapidly increasing population. With three climatic zones in the island, the jungles have different types of vegetation.
Jon Gemmell reviewing in 2019 a booklet from Michael Roberts pubd in 2006
Sri Lankan academic Michael Roberts has issued a booklet charting the key events in the island’s cricketing history. Forces and Strands in Sri Lanka’s Cricket History starts by telling us that cricket is the one game in Sri Lanka that has penetrated the world stage in a consistent fashion. As the national pastime for a large section of the population its purpose is beyond the mere aesthetics of leather on willow.
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A Professorial Collective in The Island, 3 March 2022, …… deploying this title “Role of solar energy in overcoming Sri Lanka’s energy crisis”
We are writing this article after watching the Derana TV “Aluth Parlimenthuwa” – “Viduliya Mahajana Peminilla” on 26th January 2022, and after reading a newspaper item where the State Minister of Solar Power, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development, Duminda Dissanayake has stated in Parliament that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has not provided the connections for 40MW roof top solar panel systems for almost two years after they were installed on the roofs of homes. It is strange that the Minister has no power to take action against individuals in his own Ministry who block the entry of solar energy to the national grid and provide us with a way to overcome the current power crisis.
Logan Thurairatnam …. with highlighting in black being that from the author, while coloured highlights have been imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
April 14th, 1910 – Prof. Allen Abraham sighted the Halley’s Comet with his naked eye from his home base of Karaitivu, Ceylon. He was the first in the world to do so. His sighting and claim are recorded in the Jaffna College Miscellany, June 1910 edition as “With the naked eye it was first seen by us in Jaffna on the 14th of April 1910.” Professor Allen Abraham was an Astronomer, Professor of Mathematics and Tamil at Jaffna College and a composer.
Prof. Allen Abraham BA, FRAS, 1865 – 1922
He joined Jaffna College as a student in 1884, then [became] Professor of Tamil in 1891. In 1893 he was appointed as Professor of Mathematics. He continued his teaching until his death in 1922. He is considered one of Jaffna College’s greats. He was a poet. He composed lyrics of which ten are included in the Church of South India Song Book. These songs are still sung in churches today.
Ivan Timofeev of the Valdai Club, deploying this title “Russia now has just three options left on Ukraine” … with highlighting imposed by Thuppahi
With Washington rejecting many of Moscow’s security concerns, the prospect of escalation is rising. The US has handed Russia a written response to its proposed security guarantees. While Washington refuses to accept Moscow’s demands for a legally binding pledge that NATO will not expand further towards its borders, it has indicated it is ready to discuss certain issues, including arms control and strategic stability.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, asylum-seekers, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, conspiracies, disparagement, economic processes, energy resources, ethnicity, European history, foreign policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, legal issues, life stories, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, refugees, Russian history, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
A Tribute penned by his grandniece Premila Thurairatnam: one initially published in THE CEYLANKAN magazine Nov 2020 issue …………….. while an abbreviated version appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper (21 Nov 2020) – Revised and published in ‘Closing Time’ book…. while some highlighting has been added here by The Editor, Thuppahi
Alagu Subramaniam (1910–1971) was a barrister-at-law, short story, radio script writer and playwright who hailed from Jaffna. His father was a judge and his grandfather a literary personage. Alagu had successfully combined in himself, his father’s legal career and his grandfather’s literary genius.
Alagu Continue reading
Filed under British colonialism, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Ranjith de Silva, writing from Canada … with PIX ‘imported’ by Thuppahi
I need to get this off my chest. It was on March 6th 1961 (yes 60 years ago) that 11 young more or less school leavers took off from Katunayake airport, as I recall this is how it was then, the facility adjoining the Ceylon Air Force base camp. It was a trip to New Zealand, few of us had heard of the landmass, but hardly knew much more than the name. In fact, a few relatives/friends felt we were going to Switzerland!! Yes, both landmasses had …. “land” …. at the end!! There were 11 of us, and as fate dictated 3 were to get to Palmerston North to be at Massey, 2 to Wellington to join Victoria Uni and 6 to Christchurch to join Uni of Canterbury.
thuppahi
