Category Archives: sri lankan society

October 27, 2023 · 12:05 am

Severe Food Insecurity on the Horizon for Sri Lanka because of MONLAR’s Programme

Chandre Dharmawardena,  in The Island, 25 October 2023,  …. with this title “Monlar, a force for food insecurity, now blames 70-years of government! 

Image courtesy CGIAR Research Programme on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE

According to newspaper reports (Island 16th October [1]),  the NGO carrying the acronym MONLAR has presented the accusation that “the agricultural policies of successive governments have rendered millions of Lankans insecure”. It claims that “As of today, 5.3 million people in Sri Lanka are food insecure. This proves that what the government has been doing for more than 70 years to this date to feed its people has failed”.

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October 24, 2023 · 7:14 pm

The Sea Tigers at War: Innovativeness married to Experiential Art

 Rear. Admiral Y.N. Jayarathne …. whose preferred title for this article is “Principles of the Swarming Concepts” …. and where the black highlights are his work

Situational awareness

The Sea Tiger, enemy we fought at sea, was a ‘worthy enemy’ as I recall! This enemy (when I say enemy it is not an individual that I am referring to but the group or the collection of individuals) evolved from a fisheries background: thus they knew the ground (the sea, the marine environment and the marine weather.  In any fishing community there always will be weather forecasters who would say whether it is going to rain or sea is going to be rough by simply looking at the clouds and environment), new the trade of seafaring; how to manoeuvre/navigate the boats and new how to repair, modify and manufacture boats! All these were passed down the generations through experience and wisdom, and not by formal education at school. So, they were psychologically empowered, physically fit by knowing how to swim at sea (a tremendous self-confidence factor in personal capacity) and professionally competent for the trade!

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October 23, 2023 · 7:54 pm

Talking about Oral History Work on Ceylon in the 1960s

Adilah Ismail in the Sunday Times,  7 June 2015,  where the title is “Colourful history of a historian” … with highlighting imposed by the Editor Thuppahi viz, Roberts himself

Looking back on his ‘going-down memory lane interviews’ with retired Britishers and Sri Lankans who served mainly in the Ceylon Civil Service, Michael Roberts who was in Sri Lanka recently, talks to Adilah Ismail about the beginnings of a passion.

In Colombo last week: Michael Roberts. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
It’s the late 1960s: On most Fridays, Michael Roberts would make his way towards Colombo from Peradeniya, [1]  recording equipment balanced at his feet and his bag filled with assorted clothes strapped to the back of his trusty scooter. Navigating the sharp curves and turns on his two wheeler, once in Colombo, he would spend his weekend sprinting from one interview to another.

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October 18, 2023 · 5:43 pm

Vale Felix Perumal: A Leader of Cricketing Men

Merril Gunaratne

Standing from left: F.A. Fernando, A.T. Fonseka, V. Narendra, M. Guneratne, F. Burke, M. Siriwardene D. Rajaratnam …  Seated from left: H.C. Perera, N. Weerasinghe, F. Perumal, B.A. Jayasinghe (President GSCA) Minister of Health E.L. Senanayake, E. L. Abeygunewardene (IGP), T.B. Werapitiya, S. Kuruppu (Secretary GSCA), D. Weerasinghe, T.B. Kehelgamuwa

We go back in time to 1968, some 50 years ago, when the Police led by Felix Perumal who passed away recently, won the Govt. Services ‘A’ Division Cricket Tournament, a feat not achieved for eleven years before. Another aspect of interest was that until about 1970, a large number of renowned cricketers played for the Police. Much lesser-known players formed teams that took part in the ‘A’ Division tournaments thereafter, in an environment where the quality of cricket had suffered irreparably in government institutions. The drift of talent away from the public service, beginning in the mid-60’s, accounted for such decline.

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October 18, 2023 · 12:56 pm

Lionel Sirimane at 103: The Last of the Mohicans

Capt Elmo Jayawardena, … AN ESSAY that is borrowed from elanka = https://www.elanka.com.au/the-last-of-the-mohicans-by-capt-elmo-jayawardena/

Lionel Sirimane  … navigator

The lane down Nugegoda which is in the outskirts of Colombo, is named Mudaliar Avenue. Two left turns after that would bring you to number 1/8. This is Uncle Siri’s and Aunty Olga’s domain. Sadly, she passed away. As Uncle Siri says, “she went to heaven in 2021”, a sentiment whispered softly, sounding more like a person finding it impossible to fill the huge empty space she left. Perhaps painful heartstrings may be tugging when he mentions her. 68 years is a very long time to share a blissfully happy life and lose your soul partner.

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October 17, 2023 · 2:17 am

Naledi Pandor in Severe Critique of Israel & the West

Naledi Pandor,….., speaking at 

VISIT the site AfrikaNowAfrika T …. and listen to her in  this VIDEO-CAST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC_lfJMaWn0

NOTE the title: “She Spoke With No Fear! African Politician Slams Israel & The West”

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October 17, 2023 · 1:55 am

The Senanayakes at Cricket in Ceylon: Anecdotal Lore

KKS Perera in E-Lanka,  15 October 2023 , where his title is “More on Senanayakes and Cricket”

Dr. Michael Roberts’ enthralling exploration of the Senanayake family and their ties to cricket in last week’s E-lanka provided the inspiration for me to craft this anecdotal script.

Don Spater Senanayake, was the son of the lesser-known Don Bartholomeus, a native of the picturesque town of Mahiyangana. According to family lore that has been passed down through the generations, the Senanayake family’s roots can be traced back to an ancient era—the Anuradhapura period, specifically between AD 253 and 266. The tale recounts that during this time, a benevolent King dispatched a delegation from Mahiyangana, entrusted with a sacred Bo sapling. Their mission was to plant this revered sapling at a hallowed location in Attanagalle. The delegation journeyed toward their destination, they decided to rest for the night and carefully placed the Bo sapling in a specially chosen spot. The next morning, to their astonishment, they discovered that the sapling had taken root, defying all expectations. This miraculous event led to the christening of the place as “Bodhi-tale,” signifying the spot where the Bo sapling had firmly established itself. Over time, this name evolved into “Bothale.”

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October 16, 2023 · 11:36 pm

Learie Contantine Featured in Thuppahi in 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chandra Schaffter .…. 7 January 2022 …………https://thuppahis.com/2022/01/07/learie-constantines-cricket-coachng-stint-in-ceylon-1953/

Michael Roberts …… 7 Jan 2022 ……https://thuppahis.com/2022/01/07/constantines-coaching-spell-in-ceylon-in-1953-assorted-notes/

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October 12, 2023 · 7:37 pm

Canada’s Muddled Pro-Tamil & Pro-Tamil Tiger Policies Remain

 Padma Rao Sundarji, in Asian Age, 29 September 2023 where the title reads “Two-faced Canada is on a re-run of its LTTE policy”

https://www.asianage.com/opinion/columnists/280923/padma-rao-sundarji-two-faced-canada-is-on-a-re-run-of-its-ltte-policy.html

Is India guilty of assassinating a terrorist in Canada? At least to one of India’s neighbours, Ottawa’s accusation will come as a boring re-run of Ottawa’s inglorious policies, of which it has long been a victim.

For 30 years, one of the world’s bloodiest civil wars had raged in Sri Lanka. What began as a separatist movement in the north and east, quickly escalated into a full-blown armed conflict led by the terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Thousands of frightened Tamils sought asylum in the affluent countries of the West.

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October 11, 2023 · 9:08 am

Royal College in Colombo: Its History

Lam Seneviratne, whose preferred title is “100 Years of Royal College at Reid Avenue”

A centenary in the life of an Institution is a very long period and calls for much celebration. However, for Royal College, now 188 years old, a grand celebration to mark 100 years at Reid Avenue may not be appropriate.

 

 

 

 

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