Category Archives: sri lankan society

January 10, 2016 · 1:20 pm

Lavish Five-Star Picture of Sri Lanka as Travel Destination in traveller.com

Lee Tulloch, 8 January 2016 in http://www.traveller.com.au/sri-lanka-island-paradise-reborn-glx7uf

It may not be a case of ‘bye bye backpacker’ – they will still come for the beaches and inexpensive lifestyle – but this island nation now offers some of the finest small hotels and resorts in the world. The first time I visited Sri Lanka, four years ago, I was smitten by the sensuality of this tear-shaped island of terraced tea plantations, dense jungles, empty beaches, vine-covered ancient ruins, king coconut groves, cinnamon forests, and the fragile beauty of its dilapidated colonial-era architecture. I was not so smitten by the roads. Those days (and these) it could still take several hours to travel from Colombo to the highland tea plantations, a relatively short distance by Australian standards, on terrible thoroughfares, clogged with tuk-tuks, known as “three-wheelers” here, local buses blaring jangly music and trucks conveying elephants to new owners. There are new highways, built by Chinese chain gangs, but the hilly terrain still makes single-lane roads the norm. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, economic processes, elephant tales, heritage, landscape wondrous, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tourism, transport and communications, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

January 10, 2016 · 10:39 am

P Saravanamuttu in Q and A: Overview on the Past Year

Courtesy of the Daily News, 8 January 2016 …. http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/01/08/features/seeing-believing

pP SARA

January 8, 2015 saw the courage of one man and the bold initiative of another, triumph over a regime that was marked by corruption – President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Great expectations are placed on this new regime though only a year old. January 8, 2016 marks one year in power that has seen the faith of their voters not disappointed with certain promises kept such as implementation of the 19th Amendment. Daily News speaks to Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu on how the country is being gradually moulded by the forces at work.

Q: January 8, 2016 marks one year in power for President Maithripala Sirisena. Looking back at the past year, how do you evaluate his performance? Has Maithripala Sirisena’s leadership proven to be different from that of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa? Or is he simply another ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa’?

A: Maithripala Sirisena is certainly not another Mahinda Rajapaksa in terms of his style of governance and politics and the substance of both. It has been a tremendous year for him and a challenging one and on balance I think he has done well enough to ensure that the governance agenda, though still to be realized in full, has not been replaced. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society

January 8, 2016 · 12:23 pm

National Geographic features “Wild Sri Lanka”

National Geographic recently screened three documentaries on wildlife and landscape in Sri Lanka –each 45 minutes of total absorption in the opinion of Tissa Wellapillai to whom we are indebted for this referencing  

Coast of Giants = https://youtu.be/tF1x6waLjs8 

Land of Lakes = https://youtu.be/Gn2wMLqc9sQ

Forest of Clouds = https://youtu.be/FgQ7sxAJa_U

These video documentaries seem to have different sites and titles. For instance, the first of these appears as

The magical Island of Sri Lanka HD | Documentary Film…… Published on May 26, 2015, =   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmGiD1xVYxc

Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The bird life of Sri Lanka is very rich for its size and about 433 species have been recorded. In addition to the many resident birds, a considerable number of migratory species winter in the country to escape their northern breeding grounds. With varying climates and Geography packed into a small island Sri Lanka offers a range of adventures from the top of the mountains to the depths of the oceans.  Other than taking a dip in the oceans or snorkelling, scuba diving and surfing are the most popular beach sports in the country. Scuba diving has long history in the country. Today the oceans filled with coral gardens, multitude of exotic fishes and ancient wrecks Sri Lanka offers one of the best diving experiences in the world. 

Watch, Best Places to visit Sri Lanka | 8 Wonders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4WDG…
…….http://www.goplaces.lk

Follow us : 
https://www.facebook.com/goplaces.sri…
https://plus.google.com/+GoPlacesSriL…
https://twitter.com/goplacessl
https://lk.linkedin.com/in/goplacessr…

More video : https://www.youtube.com/user/GoPlaces…

 **

 

Leave a comment

Filed under landscape wondrous, life stories, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tourism

January 8, 2016 · 7:33 am

Cecil Balmond: Architect with Many Attributes and Accolades

Tina Edward Gunawardhana.  whose preferred title is  “Cecil Balmond. Sri Lankan born internationally renowned architectural maestro”

Cecil Balmond OBE of Sri Lankan origin is feted as one of the world’s leading thinkers on form and structure and widely considered to be one of the most significant creators of his generation. Pioneering a new approach in the crossover between advanced art and science Cecil heads Balmond Studio in London, a research led practice of architects, designers, artists and theoreticians who apply Cecil’s revolutionary non-linear, generative methods to create extraordinary designs that fundamentally reorganise space. Responsible for creating spectacular buildings and public art works, which appear to defy gravity such as the renowned ArcelorMittal Orbit for the London 2012 Olympics, Pedro e Ines footbridge in Coimbra, Portugal and the CCTV Tower in Beijing to name a few, Cecil Balmond remains one of Sri Lanka’s honoured progeny. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under cultural transmission, landscape wondrous, life stories, sri lankan society, unusual people

January 8, 2016 · 6:21 am

Silence that leaves Women at Peril .. Via Prasanna Vithanage’s SILENCE IN THE COURTS

Lalith Gunaratne, courtesy of  Groundviews 01/07/2016 …….. where  the title is different and where comments will be found

prasanna v -filmFeatured image courtesy The Justice Project – South Asia 

As I watched “Silence in the Courts“, a documentary movie by award-winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage aired at the  University of Ottawa Human Rights Film Festival on 3rd December 2015, the narrative was all too familiar – the powerful man and the powerless woman – showing man’s unchecked reptilian indulgence for power, pleasure and to procreate, being played out.  In this case, if not for a couple of more enlightened men who believed the woman’s story enough to share it with the world, this too would have gone unnoticed like many other violations and crimes that some men in power commit with impunity.

“Silence in the Courts” was a part of a series of international films highlighting compelling human rights issues focusing on the theme of violence against women. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under cultural transmission, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, education, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, meditations, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance, unusual people, world affairs

January 8, 2016 · 2:09 am

High-Brow Economic Forum in Lanka Now

ONE. Press Release

On the threshold of entering into an era of unprecedented economic growth, spotlight falls on Sri Lanka in 2016 with the much awaited Sri Lanka Economic Forum 2016. Under a theme of “Steering Sri Lanka towards Sustainable & Inclusive Development”, the Sri Lanka Economic Forum is held in Colombo at the Cinnamon Grand on the 07th and 08th of January 2016 under the patronage of His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka and Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The Forum will be graced by the likes of international investor and Founder Chairman of Open Society George Soros and Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stieglitz, in addition to a glittering line up of internationally acclaimed experts and other distinguished visitors.
The findings of the preliminary study on Sri Lanka carried out by The Harvard University’s Centre for International Development, would be addressed at the Sessions. The study identified four key areas of risk and opportunity that are believed to be strategic in supporting sustained and an inclusive long-term economic growth for Sri Lanka.

Ranil--300x280 Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under economic processes, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, rehabilitation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

January 5, 2016 · 2:16 am

Australia beats Sri Lanka …. as Travel Destination Par Excellence

Item in Daily Mirror with title “Lanka second best place to visit” …. http://www.dailymirror.lk/101473/sri-lanka-second-best-place-to-visit#sthash.0euzNf4D.dpuf

 A tourist couple paying homage to Buddha in a temple situated in Southern Sri Lanka, which is a recommended place to visit by the Condé Nast Traveller magazine–Pic by Pradeep Pathirana 

Sri Lanka is ranked second among the top 16 places recommended by the world famous travel and life style magazine Condé Nast Traveller to visit in 2016. Endorsing Sri Lanka as the second ‘Top 16 Places to Go in 2016,’ Condé Nast Editor, Traveller’s Associate Digital Editor Katherine LaGrave said, Sri Lanka remains “affordable, uncrowded and relatively unexplored.” Specially mentioned were Colombo and Galle, where former was described as “undergoing a cosmopolitan change,” the latter was said to have welcomed a new luxury design hotel called Tri Lanka.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under life stories, modernity & modernization, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tourism, transport and communications, world events & processes

January 4, 2016 · 11:54 am

American Trojan Horses penetrating Sri Lanka Now?

Michael Roberts

George Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, takes part in a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual fall meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011. The IMF said it is ready to "strongly support" European nations in their efforts to resolve the region's sovereign debt crisis. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** George Soros

George Soros –Pic by  Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

George Soros and Prof. Joseph Stiglitz will be visiting Sri Lanka in the next few days for discussions on economic and political paths at the highest levels. Their visits are a consolidation of American ‘patronage’ of the Yahapalanaya government marked by preceding visits from John Kerry and Samantha Power, heavyweights in the USA government. Both Soros and Stiglitz are controversial figures, subject to searing criticism from right-wing currents in USA as well as (2) left-wing intellectuals with grounded insights into the operations of the US government and (3) nationalists in the old colonized countries who are wary of the machinations of those so-called ’international’ agencies’ who espouse R2P interventions in support of human rights in ways that seem to complement USA’s agendas.

The line of protest voiced by those pressing allegation 3 above is presented below in Item B by “Patriot” taken from Lankaweb on 2nd January. It is preceded by Item A, a short MEMO on the run (Blackberry) from the Canadian lawyer-intellectual Christopher Black in response to my query inspired by Item B. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, democratic measures, doctoring evidence, economic processes, energy resources, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, Left politics, life stories, LTTE, modernity & modernization, news fabrication, NGOs, politIcal discourse, power politics, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

January 2, 2016 · 1:55 am

A Classics Man on The Depressing State of Lanka’s Politics

Diogenes in The Island, 2 January 2016, where the title is “Politics: The inelegant art of ‘immoral ‘suasion!”

article_image

Percipient readers of The Island would expectedly be dismayed, when they look around and observe the intriguingly disturbing developments taking place in the local political scene. The much-vaunted aspects of representative democracy, which basically lay stress on the elected representatives reflecting the will of the people in formulating and implementing policies which live up to the pledges made during election time, have over the years, been cleverly and imperceptibly turned into increasingly self-centred, aggressive endeavours to augment the individual and collective power of politicians, all done of course, in the name of the ‘will of the people’! We have witnessed the monolithic aggrandizement of hegemonic power by the former Executive President, which seemed totally unwarranted, particularly after the LTTE terrorists had been totally crushed and vanquished! This hegemonic dominance over the Legislature and the Cabinet facilitated the further strengthening of the numerical predominance of the ruling party in Parliament. This was accomplished by offering irresistibly attractive perks and other inducements as largesse, to members across the divide, to cross over. The public at large however, took a dim view of all these extravagant blandishments of power and dominance. This was a huge faux pas which the then incumbent President was never able to live down. Despite the magnificent victory won facing innumerable odds ,the people remained wary of the acquisition of unbridled power by the Head of the State, as they saw in it, a deliberate enervation and emasculation of the ‘will of the people’. The die was cast for the tide to turn decisively against him! Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, sri lankan society, world affairs

December 30, 2015 · 8:43 am

Mahela: At the Epicentre of Many a Crisis

Wright Thompson, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, October 5, 2012, where the title is “A man who speaks for a nation” … apparently an old essay penned in 2012

Three years ago, the Sri Lankan cricket team rode through the streets of Lahore, Pakistan, on the third day of a Test match. Captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is to his country what Derek Jeter is to the city of New York, rode near the back of the bus. The convoy, with a police escort, rolled through the streets outside the stadium. Mahela, known as MJ, took out his phone to call his wife, and that’s when they all heard what sounded like fireworks. Someone shouted, “They’re shooting at the bus!” They heard the bullets, marching down the side exposed to the terrorist gunmen, sounding like rain on a metal roof. Mahela dived for the floor, and the first 30 seconds of what happened next ended up on Christina Jayawardene’s voicemail. An RPG flew over the bus. A grenade rolled under it. It was a blur: policemen being shot in the street, dying on a Tuesday morning, bullets striking the tires, players screaming. When she played the message for Mahela’s oldest friend, tears flowed down her face as he listened.

31a--lahoregunmenAFP_608x325 TV image of attackers –reproduced in Roberts: Incursions 32b--HELICOPTER_45528386_006965739-1 Sri Lankan team being evacuated from Gaddafi Stadium

“I got hit,” her husband shouted, and she heard the fear in his voice. Next his friend and fellow star Kumar Sangakkara, also a cricket legend, got hit with shrapnel, too, then another and another. Six in all were wounded, only one by a bullet. Soon, the bus driver would heroically drive them to safety, and Mahela would call the president of Sri Lanka on a private number, flexing for the first time anyone could remember, telling the politician to get him and his boys home. But on the floor of the bus, wounded by shrapnel and bleeding, Mahela felt sure that he’d die outside a stadium, killed for the crime of being a cricket star in a part of the world where the games seem to matter way more than they should. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under fundamentalism, historical interpretation, Islamic fundamentalism, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes, zealotry