Category Archives: sri lankan society

February 6, 2024 · 1:23 am

Ganeshananthan’s & Karunatitilaka’s Novels Reviewed by Anjum Hasan

Anjum Hasan:  “Even As A Ghost”  in The New York Review of Books, 18 January 2024 … reaching me via a tennis-mate Ralph Schlomowitz who is a ‘religious’ adherent of the NYRB and matters highbrow;while Amaasiiri De Silva in New York sent me the whole text in Worsd File –thereby ‘undermining’ the NYR’s effing barriers.

Hasan reviews two new books relating to Sri Lanka in this essay: Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Random House, 348 pp., $28.00; $18.00 (paper) …. & The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, Norton, 388 pp., $18.95 (paper)

In their new novels, V. V. Ganeshananthan and Shehan Karunatilaka use the “distance of time” to dramatize large chunks, if not the whole, of Sri Lanka’s recent past.

 

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, historical novel, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, language policies, life stories, LTTE, nationalism, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes

February 5, 2024 · 11:51 pm

Sri Lankan Cricketers in Hard-fought Win Against Afghanistan at Home

Andrew Fidel Fernando, reporting in ESPNcricinfo on 5 February 2024, where the title reads “Jayasuriya, Asitha and batters lead Sri Lanka to comfortable win in one-off Test ….. Afghanistan’s top order fought back in the second innings, but they lost 9 for 82 to collapse on fourth day.”

Sri Lanka 439 (Mathews 141, Chandimal 107, Naveed 4-83) and 56 for 0 (Karunaratne 32*, Madushka 22*) beat Afghanistan 198 (Rahmat 91, Vishwa 4-51, Asitha 3-24) and 296 (Ibrahim 114, Jayasuriya 5-107, Asitha 3-63) by ten wickets
Sri Lanka’s use of the second new ball sent Afghanistan tumbling to a ten-wicket defeat on day four. Having begun the day with only one wicket down and within striking distance of the lead, Afghanistan crashed, losing their remaining nine for 82 runs. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the primary destroyer, taking five wickets in a devastating spell either side of lunch. Asitha Fernando claimed two more wickets to add to his one from yesterday, and Kasun Rajitha also struck twice.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, cricket for amity, cricket selections, life stories, patriotism, performance, photography, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society

February 5, 2024 · 1:09 am

Wild Animals & Luxury at Yala National Park in Sri Lanka

Jeremy Bourke: “The new Sri Lankan resort where wildlife roam free,” in The Weekend Australian Travel + Luxury Magazine, 3/4 February 2024 …….

Buffalos in pools, elephants on footpaths and an escort needed when you leave your pavilion – the fenceless Hilton Yala is quite the experience.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, elephant tales, island economy, landscape wondrous, leopards in the wild, life stories, modernity & modernization, nature's wonders, photography, sri lankan society, travelogue, world events & processes

February 4, 2024 · 9:04 pm

Virtuosi Varied: Count De Mauny, Wendt, Paynter & Raman

Hugh Karunanayake of Melbourne now … whose title for this essay in The Island, 4 February 2024 is “LIONEL WENDT, COUNT DE MAUNY, DAVID PAYNTER, AND RAMAN” … here presented with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The self-styled “Count”. De Mauny was born as Maurice Marie Talavande on 21 March 1886. The circumstances under which he left for Ceylon were controversial, some writers suggesting that he was compelled to leave France for misbehaviour with young men in his charge. None of these rumours have ever been established, and to this day remain as rumours. According to William Warren, author of the book ”Tropical Asian Style”, de Mauny was first invited to Ceylon in 1912 by Sir Thomas Lipton the tea magnate.

Wendt with a sketch of a young man by Paynter on the wall?

 

 

 

 

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, paintings, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

February 4, 2024 · 2:28 pm

Sri Lanka in IMF-Western Stranglehold

Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake in The Sunday Island, 4 February 2024, where the title runs thus: “Of Elections, Bond scams, and Money Politics:  The IMF and the Anatomy of Default @ 75 …. Default as Hybrid Economic Warfare” … with the highlights in purple being impositions by The Editor of Thuppahi and those in red Darini’s very own.**

With the wisdom of hindsight, the Root Causes of Sri Lanka’s first ever Sovereign Default, staged three years ago on the eve of 75 years of ‘Independence’ from the British Raj are clearly discernible.

Political cartoon _ Satire, Humor, Criticism _ Britannica

Ancient tree roots wrapped around a large boulder in the French alps Stock Photo – Alamy

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, electoral structures, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, IMF as monster, island economy, life stories, modernity & modernization, NGOs, parliamentary elections, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

February 2, 2024 · 2:03 pm

Lessons for Life: Dr Buddy Reid in Q and A

THE MAKING OF AN ALL-ROUNDER: A Conversation with Dr Buddy Reid …. Sunday Island, 28 January 2024 …. https://island.lk/the-making-of-an-all-rounder-a-conversation-with-dr-buddy-reid/   ….  Correspondence to Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha = Sanjivasw@gmail.com

Dr Buddy Reid – one of the finest all-around sportsmen Sri Lanka has produced – recently celebrated his 83rd birthday. During his University days, Buddy won the National Table Tennis championships of Ceylon three times, played Cricket for Ceylon, sang in the University SCM choir, and played clarinet in a dance band called The Neurones.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, heritage, life stories, meditations, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people

January 30, 2024 · 8:07 pm

UNMASKING THE EMPIRE in British Ceylon: The Post 1915 Riots Campaign

Unmasking the Empire: The campaign for justice following the 1915 Pogrom and the collaboration of British Christian humanitarians at the beginning of Sri Lanka’s struggle for Independence, …. Prabodith Mihindukulasuriya

Social Scientists’ Association, No. 380/86, Sarana Road, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, 2023, 312 pp, ISBN: 978-955-0762-47-7,

Printers: Karunaratne & Sons (Pvt) Ltd., 65 C, Thalgahawila Road, Midellamulahena, Horana, Sri Lanka.

EW Perera 

DB Jayatilaka

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, disparagement, Empire loyalism, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, racism, religiosity, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes

January 23, 2024 · 11:40 pm

John De Silva: Aloysian, Sri Lankan, Australian

Michael Roberts 

John was one of my class generation at St. Aloysius College, Galle and we represented the College in cricket, soccer, athletics and swimming. …. yes swimming …..  and were recipients of training in life-saving at the little harbour of Galle. He was “Johnny” not a “John” in our minds then.

Alas, on one occasion a bad call for a run by me resulted in Johnny being run-out when he was batting well — in a match under my captaincy that we eventually lost. But in a previous year St. Aloysius had won all its matches under Mohammed Anwer’s astute captaincy and the quiet guidance of coach Marcus Jayasinghe.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people

January 18, 2024 · 10:46 am

Searching for Familial Roots: An Odyssey …. with Lamentations

Bernard Van Cuylenburg ….. presenting an essay penned in 2020 – one which has had highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi … and pictorial additions

This is the story about a family – a personal story which I wish to share with a wider world. This family consisted of four brothers who lived in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. They were the Eagars and one day, following catastrophic events in the land of their birth, they set their sights on far horizons and left their motherland for a little island still known today as the ‘pearl of the Indian ocean’. One of them was my great grandfather, Halley Eagar.

A partial map of Ireland with a miniature crate of potatoes depicting the potato famine of 1845 – 1852

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under British colonialism, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, pilgrimages, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, travelogue, world events & processes

January 15, 2024 · 8:20 pm

A Jewish Virtual Library on Sri Lanka

Jewish Virtual Library on Sri Lanka ………….. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/sri-lanka-virtual-jewish-tour  … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi**

Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is an island nation south of India…………Legend and tradition, Islamic and Samaritan in origin, connect Sri Lanka with biblical personalities and events. Adam is said to have descended on the island after his expulsion from Paradise, and Noah’s Ark allegedly rested on the mountains of Serandib, which tradition equates with Mount Ararat. The Sri Lankan city of Galle is said to be the city of Tarshish, to which King Solomon sent merchant ships.       

  NOTE  …… Al-Idrisi’s Masterpiece of Medieval Geography ………….

  Posted by: Carissa Pastuch, on 13 January 2022 ………………… https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2022/01/al-idrisis-masterpiece-of-medieval-geography/

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Filed under communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, Jews in Asia, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, population, sri lankan society, travelogue