Category Archives: sri lankan society

September 19, 2025 · 7:38 pm

Sri Lanka’s Economy Now: After A Honeymoon….

Item in THE ECONOMIST, 6 Sep 2025, entitled “The Sri Lankan government’s honeymoon is nearly over” … & sent to me by  Jayantha Somasundaram of Canberra; while the highlights are my imposition

Initial popularity:  OPENED IN AUGUST with the stated ambition of making Sri Lanka “India’s Macau”, the City of Dreams development in downtown Colombo houses a casino, luxury hotels, high-end shops and a champagne-and-cocktail bar “floating amid the clouds”. The gleaming but for now largely deserted halls of the vast complex seem a symbol of renewal: a far cry from the mass civil unrest of just three years ago and the accompanying economic collapse—rampant inflation, fuel shortages, mass poverty and foreign-debt default.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, debt restructuring, democratic measures, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, growth pole, historical interpretation, human rights, IMF, island economy, JVP, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, migrant experiences, outmigration, performance, plural society, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, tourism, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

September 18, 2025 · 2:00 pm

The ManyTourist Attractions along Sri Lanka’s Coast

ITEM sent by Keith Bennett, entitled “SRI LANKA’S BEACHES – The Ultimate Insider’s Guide”

Here’s what makes Sri Lankan beaches absolutely unique – and why timing is everything. The seasonal secret,

 West/South Coast (Nov-Apr): Unawatuna, Mirissa, Bentota East  Coast (May-Sep): Arugam Bay, Pasikuda, Nilaveli …………. tip: Most tourists get this wrong and end up with monsoon rains

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, Colombo and Its Spaces, economic processes, heritage, island economy, landscape wondrous, marine life, nature's wonders, photography, sri lankan society, tourism & travel, travelogue

September 18, 2025 · 3:04 am

Lankan Tamil Migration in Wintry Norway: “Working For Our Sisters”

Oivund Fugleruud in  ???? where the the title runs  thus: ‘ “Working for  Sisters”  — Tamil Life on the 71st Parallel’

The article discusses the phenomenon of migration of Sri Lankan Tamils to Finnmark, the northemmost part of Nonvay. While most other groups of immigrants in Nonvay tend to settle in the larger Cities, this particular group has a tradition of settlement in the fishing villages in Finnmark, facing the Barents Sem.

[t is argued fhat there is a continuity in this pattem from the early migration workers in the 1970s ro present•day asylum-seekers. The “imicrohistory” of Tamil migration to one particular village is presented and discussed. It shows an overlap from one type of  migration to another.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, demography, economic processes, education, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, LTTE, migrant experiences, outmigration, politIcal discourse, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, transport and communications, travelogue, war reportage, working class conditions, world events & processes

September 16, 2025 · 11:55 am

Hong Kong Give Sri Lanka A Scare in Asia Cup

ITEM in The Island, 16 Septmber  2025 with this title “Nissanke helps Sri Lanka edge sloppy Hong Kong in a thriller”

A Pathum Nissanka fifty at the top of the innings, and a Wanidu Hasaranga cameo at the end saw Sri Lanka survive a scare from the group’s lowest-ranked team, Hong Kong. .

In two disciplines, Hong Kong were valiant. Anshy Rath batted with determination to score 48, and Nizakat Khan with verve to make 52 not out off 38, the pair driving Hong Kong to a total of 149 for 4.

Pathum Nissanka anchored Sri Lanka’s innings [Cricinfo]   ... PIX rejects copying

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under cricket selections, life stories, patriotism, performance, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, world events & processes

September 15, 2025 · 9:29 pm

Pursuing World-Class Creative Writing in Sri Lanka

Dr Sasanka Perera, in The Island, 15 September 2025, with this title “Writing with passion and conviction” 

My intention [here] is to reflect on writing with passion at a time Sri Lanka is producing writing, at least in the Sinhala language, that is worthy of being introduced to the world. When I say this, I am thinking of creative writing. There is no such promise by and large when it comes to academic writing. And it does not seem to me that the idea of promoting our writing, ways of writing, and reaching to the world, are issues seriously addressed by our universities, despite their focus in training young people in language and literatures. Unfortunately, however, the idea of writing, though central to all disciplines in social sciences and humanities, has been under-emphasised to the extent of being made almost invisible in academic, professional and popular discourses today in our country.

 A Set  of Pix of  Martin wickremasinghe,  Sarachchandra, Tambiah, Obeyesekera. Sir-Gurusinghe THAT was not amenable to easy  reproduction]

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, heritage, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people

September 15, 2025 · 12:40 pm

Advanced Lighting Systems for Two Cricket Stadiums in Lanka

News Item in The Island, 15 September 2025… with this  title “DIMO Installs Sri Lanka’s first ICC-compliant LED floodlights for stadiums”

Advanced features include zoned lighting control for partial stadium use … [with activation  here  in  TPS  made possible  by  KK de  Silva,  of  St Aloysius College  cricket  in the mid-late  1950s  and the SL Admin-Service]

Reinforcing its leadership in sports infrastructure development, DIMO has successfully completed the installation of Sri Lanka’s first and second LED floodlighting systems at two of the country’s most iconic cricket stadiums. The first installation was completed at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS) in 2023, followed by the second at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo in 2025.

This milestone builds on DIMO’s historic achievement in the 1980s, when it made global headlines by installing Sri Lanka’s first and the world’s second floodlighting system at RPICS, cementing its legacy as a pioneer in sports lighting technology.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, architectural innovation, Colombo and Its Spaces, cricket for amity, governance, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, world events & processes

September 14, 2025 · 11:50 am

Tony Peries: First Lankan Director of George Steuarts

Being  CHAPTER ELEVEN of The George Steuart Story  1835-1985 ++

THE FIRST SRI LANKAN CHAIRMAN

When a young Sri Lankan walked into the office of George Steuart on February 1, 1953, no one is likely to have imagined that he would become not only the first Sri Lankan Chairman of what was then essentially a British firm, but also the youngest man to hold that important office.

The young man, whose name was John Francis Anthony Paul Peries, and was generally known as Tony Peries, had been edu cated at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, and had applied for a post as a trainee Tea Taster. His father, ·W. Peries, a Director of Mackwoods, was held in the highest esteem in agency circles.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, land policies, life stories, performance, plantations, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes

September 13, 2025 · 9:46 pm

Cartesian Commonalities: New Amsterdam & Galle Fort, II

Bunchy Rahuman, whose preferred title is “Galle Fort, New York City and the Cartesian Legacy” ** … with  the highlights being impositions by the Editor, who also had the privilege of being a resident within the Fort for twenty or so years from 1938-1960

ESSAY TWO

 Do I exceed myself? Cartesian? The Big Apple? – surely not! But I insist, I am here, not to tweak the truth. In Essay One, I said, the street I lived [most of] my Galle, Fort life in was Lighthouse Street. Discerning readers [for a moment I thought to add if any – but my life insurance policy has lapsed!] would note that I said Lighthouse Street formed a ‘Y’ axis line for the [Galle] Fort. Now even math allergic types, have heard of X axis and Y axis as [perpendicular] lines that cross at right angles and sit in the middle of paper sheets populated by tiny squares arranged 10 x 10, within larger squares, all sitting above, below and at each other’s sides in sheets known as graph paper.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, architectural innovation, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, Dutch colonialism, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, travelogue, world events & processes

September 11, 2025 · 12:34 am

Sri Lanka ‘Besieged’ by Foreign ‘Settler Tourism’

Dr Asoka Bandarage, in The Island, 5 September 2025 where the title reeads, “Sri Lanka: The beautiful, besieged island”

“Israelis are coming to Sri Lanka, and they’ve done what they do best — taking over the place. They’ve occupied it and made it feel like Tel Aviv. They host parties advertised as ‘no locals allowed.’ The Israelis have come to Arugam Bay, throwing raves and refusing to let Sri Lankan people attend.”

In July 2025, the influential global travel website Big 7 named Sri Lanka the “most beautiful island in the world,” stating that the “teardrop-shaped island off the southern coast of India has it all—golden beaches, terraced tea plantations, timeworn temples, colonial towns, misty mountains, and wildlife safaris … elephants and leopards.”

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, racism, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, taking the piss, tourism, travelogue, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, world events & processes

September 10, 2025 · 4:19 pm

East & West: Cross-fertilisation in Sri Lanka, 1940s et seq

Michael Roberts

An EMAIL Exchange with Vinod Moonesinghe recently prompted me to search for relevant literature and I came across this text from my hand in People Inbetween (1989, Sarasavi Publications, page 111).

“In brief, in the 1900s and 1910s the literati who engaged themselves in English drama developed no synthesizing link with the Sinhala theatre which was flourishing at the same time in and around the Tower Hall in Maradana, Colombo. The latter, as we know, had some awareness of the Western theatrical traditions [81]. Our speculative point is that the fertilizing influence, such as it was, moved in one direction only.      Pathiraja

 Sarathchandra 

Ludo
 Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, teaching profession, theatre world, unusual people, world events & processes