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Category Archives: sri lankan society
Big Cricket Matches in Sri Lanka: Long-Lasting …. Evergreen ….
Item circulated by Keith Bennett
𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮…………………………………….. It’s fiesta of 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 in Sri Lanka right now, which commenced in February and expected to go on until May this year. Most of the Big Matches are now converted into 03 Days, after a request made by Sri Lanka Cricket and Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association to all the Schools who are playing traditional Big Matches to extend their play from two days to three days. Until this year, it was a norm for schools to opt to play for three days once crossed the 100 years, a tradition set by Royal College and S.Thomas’ College (Royal-Thomian Battle of the Blues) in 1979 with their centenary encounter.
THAT 624-Run Partnership That Remains A Record
A Note From S. SKANDAKUMAR in the hills of Uva, March 2025
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene scored 624 runs in partnership for the third wicket for Sri Lanka vs South Africa at the SSC grounds in 2006. This remains a world record for any wicket. Harry Solomons in Sydney, being Harry, marked this great feat by sending a pictorial MOMENTO to a former ambassador in Australia who was also a cricketer and a cricket commentator, namely, Somachandra Skandakumar.
An Epitaph for Charlie Ramanaden THEN, 13 March 1997
Dushy S. Perera
Jerry ‘Anna’ to his relations, Sir to his numerous subordinates and Charles to his friends, passed away suddenly whilst playing tennis (a sport close to his heart) partnering his son Pravin, at the Annual Darrawela Club Tennis Meet on 15th March, 1997.
He once told a friend that he would like to die playing tennis and also mentioned to me that he would like to see a Trogon (a rare endemic Ceylon bird) before he dies. It was only on the last Poya that Charles along with his good friend Doca drove into the Peak wilderness and had a glimpse of this endemic bird. So, in a sense, his wishes had been fulfilled.
Trimming the Teams & Sharpening Skills: Lanka Cricket
Rex Clementine, in The Island, 16 March 2025, where the title reads “Chandraguptha in the running for a Test spot”
We have just witnessed a fiercely contested First-Class season culminate in Bloomfield being crowned champions – a long-awaited triumph after 15 years in the wilderness. The tournament had all the hallmarks of a riveting contest, but as the dust settles, a significant shake-up has taken center stage.
PIX censored by Malware = Ron Chandraguptha was unstoppable in the First-Class final, delivering a match-defining knock that secured Bloomfield’s first title in 15 years. A strong showing in the NSL could now earn him a Test cap
Remembering Charlie Ramanaden
Dushy Perera
Tomorrow, 15th March marks the 30th death anniversary of J C Ramanaden , Charlie as we all fondly called him. He died literally in my arms when he suffered a hear attack on the court whilst partnering his son Pravin at the Annual Dickoya Tennis tournament where I was the chair umpire.
When he fell attempting to pick up a drop shot at the net, I walked down from the umpires box and told him , Charlie , get up you b….r and play on. Alas , it was not to be . I cradled him in my arms sitting on the ground with him, where he was , gasping for breath.
Filed under heritage, life stories, patriotism, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society
Jaffna Women: Their Hidden Powers
Kenneth David ** whose article in a book edited by Susan Wadley in 1980 (see end) is entitled “Hidden Powers: Cultural and Socio-economic Accounts of Jaffna Women”
The general concern of this volume is the social position of Tamil women and cultural representations about them. This paper deals with both of these issues. The first part is a symbolic account of the life stages and associated ceremonies of Tamil women from the Jaffna region of Sri Lanka. In the course of showing the varying degrees of subordination or of influence that women have during their lives, I focus on two specific strands of symbolism in these life cycle rites: binding and shaving. These are interpreted as a dual image of the woman as slave and renouncer, bound on the exterior but internally powerful. The second part is a socio-materialistic account. It contrasts the public images of female subordination with the practical reality in which women control property and covertly effect productive and other crucial decisions. The third part situates the first two in the context of a general theoretical question. What are the pitfalls in studying a disadvantaged sector of society? My critique is directed towards the theoretical practice of linking pairs of descriptive terms and asserting that such linkage constitutes explanation. This practice is especially problematic when one is trying to understand a disadvantaged sector. Finally, the symbolic account is linked to the socio-materialistic account.
Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, female empowerment, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, unusual people, women in ethnic conflcits, working class conditions
John D’Oyly’s Manifold Skills and the British Conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom
Rajitha Weerakoon in Daily Mirror, 11 March 2025, with this title “How D’Oyly used espionage to conquer Kandy?”
With the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, the Kandyan Convention, ceremonially signed on March 10, 1815, completed the annexation of the island to the British Empire. This brought an end to the rule of Lankan Royalty.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, economic processes, espionage, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, Kandyan kingdom, life stories, military strategy, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Bradman’s Momentous Task in Amparai in 1971: Facing the JVP Insurrection
An Extract from Bradman Weerakoon’s MEMOIRS presented in The Island, 9 March 2025 under this title “The JVP insurrection of 1971 as I saw it as GA Ampara”
In April 1971, there occurred the JVP insurrection which assumed significant proportions in the Ampara district. Rohana Wijeweera, the leader of the JVP at the time, had been arrested in Ampara, at the bus-stand a few months earlier and was in remand in far-away Jaffna. However, the cells he had initiated in the district schools, specially those with selected teachers and some of the best of the senior students continued to thrive — in Ampara those following science subjects were very active specially in the predominantly Sinhala areas.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes
