After a remarkable feat of batsmanship on one leg that brought him 200 runs and secured an Australian victory against Afghanistan at the World Cup match in Mumbai, Glenn Maxwell went on his knees in puja to the all-time Indian great Sachin Tendulkar …… 
Michael Roberts, reproducing an article written in early December 2003 and presented with the same title in Roberts, Essaying Cricket. Sri Lanka and Beyond, Colombo, Vijitha Yapa Publishers, 2006, pp 107-111 …. with the title inspired by Lord Superior aka Andrew Marcano’s famous calypso line in praise of the marvellous West Indian spin-twins Ramadhin and Valentine: viz, “Cricket Luv’ly Cricket”
In stressing the antithesis to that ditty, I am directed by two awful acts of sportmanshp recently: namely, (A) Mohammed Siraj’s verbal intimidation of Charitha Asalanka with implicit support from skipper Sharma; and (B) skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s position in sticking to the technicalities so as to dismiss Angelo Matthews.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, cricket for amity, cricket selections, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, governance, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, taking the piss, world events & processes
Richard Simon has produced “A definitive social, cultural and political history of S. Thomas’ College, Sri Lanka”
S. Thomas’ College, founded by the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo in 1851, is arguably the greatest and most influential boys’ school in modern Lankan history. An acknowledged nursery of the country’s elite, this tropical facsimile of an English public school has produced four Prime Ministers and hundreds of other figures of national importance, wielding an enduring influence on the society, culture and politics of the country.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, patriotism, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
Dyan Seneviratne … [1]
“Dear Cricket Lovers,
Understandably ….. [after the recent debacle in Mumbai in the World Cup match vs India] …. the inevitable cacophony will ring to a crescendo demanding the resignation of all and sundry tagged to SL Cricket – the head coach, batting, bowling, fielding coach and who ever agitated fans feel have contributed to the present debacle as shown in WC 2023 in India.[2] Let’s however pause a bit. Over-reacting by taking a ‘bull in a china shop’ stance will cause more damage!
Siri Gamage
A recent article published on Groundviews by Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda titled “Re-inventing the idea of University: Some Reflections and Proposals” deserves wider attention. Given the fact that the university education sector has not been the subject of critical reviews instituted by the government or universities themselves and there are wide ranging criticisms of the way universities are managed as well as about the university academic culture, the critical assessment of Sri Lanka’s universities and their directions is a timely contribution.
Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
Item circulated by Ranjith Sirimanne, a Royalist
If the pipers were playing “Green Hills of Tyrol”, then a group of Sri Lankans would be playing a tune about a Swiss gentleman fighting against the Austrians, composed by an Italian and played on an instrument proliferated from Scotland but left behind by the Romans as a joke…… using Bagpipes possibly made in Pakistan.
Can’t get much more International than that?
Corridors of Time – Artistic Narratives of Heritage and Nature …. at … the Harold Peiris Gallery at the Lionel Wendt, Col-7 ,,, Opening: 2nd November 2023 @ 6pm …. continuing from 3rd-5th November … with Paintings from Royden Gibbs & Joseph Rodrigo
Michael Roberts
Percy Abeysekera has passed away recently …. carrying the Sri Lankan flag and reams of cricketing memories with him to an abode in the skies: memories that encompassed at least 70-72 years of cricketing cheer. Yes, that long a span. To me, Percy was first and foremost, an Aloysian. When I joined the St. Aloysius cheering squad as a 14-to-16 year old at the Galle Esplanade during our cricketing matches against Richmond, Mahinda and other schools, Percy was one of our cheerleaders. So, his patriotism and his crazy cricketing virtuosity was nurtured in Galle …. at our school.
Paddy Hintz in The Weekend Australian, 25 October 2023, bearing this title “Jungles, curries and wild elephants: why Sri Lanka is a ride”
We’re just in time to climb into Kandalama’s beautiful infinity pool and be” mesmerised by fireflies as monkeys sift through the trees beside us.
The morning tour is spectacular. Sigiriya Rock Fortress features cascading water gardens, a vertigo-inducing climb to find the remnants of a paranoid and murderous king’s domain (complete with ancient swimming pool) and a cliff-face cave full of frescoes of scantily clad concubines.
Sigiriya rock fortress, Sri Lanka. Photo: Dylan Shaw
Rohini Hensman, in a commemorative essay about her politically committed parents in the SSA journal POLITY in 2023 where the title runs “A Hundred Years of Pauline And C. R. (Dick) Hensman”
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, British imperialism, caste issues, citizen journalism, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, nationalism, patriotism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, press freedom, racism, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, tolerance, unusual people, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes
thuppahi
