Category Archives: teaching profession

March 31, 2025 · 5:39 pm

Reflections on Gananath’s Wide-Ranging Corpus of Work

Professor M.W. Amarasiri de Silva, about 3/4 years back in … … where the full title of the essay reads thus: “Sinhalese Society Through The Prism Of Religion: An Appreciation Of Gananath Obeyesekere’s Work On Sinhalese Buddhism”

This article celebrates the remarkable scholarly contributions of Gananath Obeyesekere, specifically in the field of popular Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Obeyesekere, now aged 93, embarked on his anthropological career at the University of Ceylon (now University of Peradeniya), where he earned his undergraduate degree in English. Subsequently, he served as a lecturer and professor in the Department of Sociology from the 1960s to 1972, before moving on to the United States. He was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University from 1980 to 2000.

 

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March 29, 2025 · 11:28 am

Launching the Book THOMIA … in Colombo

IN  PICTURES   

     the author speaking ….. and signing books

… with Suresh Navaratnam in this  picture

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March 26, 2025 · 10:05 pm

An Epitaph for Gananath Obeyesekere

Chandra R. De Silva, … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

I write to add a few words to the outpouring of appreciations of Gananath Obeyesekere, a scholar whose research in anthropology, religion, myth, and cultural practices  has won him accolades across the world. I will not comment on the advances in knowledge and the discussions he provoked by his many scholarly works of which among the best known are Land Tenure in Village Ceylon, The Cult of the Goddess Pattini, Buddhism Transformed (co-author), The Work of Culture, The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific, and The Doomed King. There has been much written on this world renowned scholar, and there will undoubtedly be more comments by experts in the years to come.

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March 23, 2025 · 11:54 pm

Sustaining Mahinda College in Galle: E. A. Wijesooriya

A Mahindian in Facebook … with Malware blocking the photo displayed from deployment here … but see below

The following is a write-up appeared in the book the “Century of Memories” edited by the Late Tiddy Wijeratne, Percy Samara-Wickrama and my friend Duleep Dantanarayana, which was published in 1993. The article I am uploading is written by the Late Professor Vinnie Vitharana and I hope it will be read by the present day Students of Mahinda College. Duleep, one of the Editors was very kind in giving me permission to upload this for the benefit of the Mahindians who have not read this.

Born on 23rd March 1905, Mr. E.A. Wijesooriya would have been 120 years today.
Edgar Albert Wijesooriya …….. On a wet morning in May over five decades ago a lad from southern village, characteristically awkward and unpolished, approached the gates of a school in Galle. And at the sight of the elephants in bas-relief on the stone posts, his rustic feet faltered. Within, a broad pathway fringed with slanting Araliya trees in bloom meandered up a hillock marked by imposing buildings and taller flowering vegetation. Halfway up on the right was flight of steps in stone clinging to an arbour ed slope that showed the way direct to the summit.

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March 23, 2025 · 12:06 pm

Simon’s THOMIA sways Sri Lanka

Rohan Pethiyagoda, reviewing the new book THOMIA written by Richard Simon, in The Island, 16 March 2025

As schools go, St Thomas’s College Mt Lavinia has, since its inception in 1851, had a disproportionate influence on the affairs of Sri Lanka. In ways both good and bad, it created the modern incarnation of this country. After all, four of our first five prime ministers were Thomians (‘Thomian’, by the way, is a Latin diminutive of Thomas, like Tom in English).

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March 21, 2025 · 4:45 pm

The THOMIA is Flying ….

A Note from Richard Simon, 21 March 2025

It’s taken longer than I expected – just like everything about this project has – but I’m happy to say the first batch of overseas orders was posted via Expedited Mail Service yesterday. We have to do them in batches for reasons of practical logistics: (a) there’s just Lionel the Cat Herder and me to carry these 3.3kg bubble-wrapped and manila-swathed bricks about, and (b) only so much room on the post office parcels desk to accommodate them; not to mention (c) other customers in the place staring daggers at us and our time-consuming transactions. But we got them off anyway, after sacrificing one to the nice lady behind the counter who wanted it opened so that she could see what was inside. Obviously that one did not go off yesterday, so my apologies to Mr T.A. of Castle Hill, NSW, whose nude and blue-bushing copy we brought back home for rewrapping. It will go off in the next batch, sir, I promise.

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March 15, 2025 · 9:04 pm

In Memory of Mark Cooray, Sri Lankan Scholar & Patriot

Michael Roberts 

One of my batchmates at Peradeniya University when I entered in 1957 was Mark Cooray. He resided at Arunachalam Hall and not at Ramanathan Hall where I was. But both of us were churchgoers and attended the Anglican Chapel where Fr Lakshman Wickremasinghe led the flock in charismatic manner.

The various modes of Christian fellowship and the activities organised by the Student Christian Movement – both within Pera-Uni and in island wide conferences – brought Mark and me into frequent interaction. On occasions I even lodged at his parental residence in Kollupitiya [aka Colpetty] within Colombo during visits there for this or that [even though I had two sisters living in the city]. His mother was as sweet and supportive a figure one could ask for.

In brief, we were buddies – a friendship made all the stronger when he and Noreen Fernando fell in love and tied the nuptial know at some point. Noreen had been part of the Peradeniya SCM and was one of the sweetest women one could ask for.

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March 5, 2025 · 10:05 pm

The Royal-Thomian: A Message from Revd Marc Billimoria

A Message in Facebook from the Retd Warden, Fr. Marc Billimoria. early March 2026 

It is one year this week since I was part of organizing this spectacular sporting event – the blue ribbon and quintessential Big Match, the Battle of the Blues, the Royal-Thomian Cricket encounter, for the last time as Warden. The run up to the event and its aftermath, (particularly in the face of a loss) are equally or even more stressful for those in the ‘hot seats’ at both Mount Lavinia and Reid Avenue, the Warden and the Principal, due to so many ‘behind-the-scenes goings-on’ as well as the expectations of so many different individuals and groups, such as the unfair and unrealistic expectation that amateur schoolboy cricketers will play like professionals or the undue pressure on them to win at any or all cost.

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March 1, 2025 · 2:03 am

Biographical Inspirations in Life: Examples within This Site

An EDITORIAL NOTE, 27 February 2025

Items within this site have drawn over 780 hits each day of this week, ranging from 986  on Wednesday 26th February to 000 on the Monday 24th……  A fair sprinkling of visitors looked at biographical tales honing in on individuals — in some cases on what we call “Vales”. Readers may derive insights from a listing of these items: …. after all, friends matter and many famous personalities evoke tales of achievement that inspire.

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February 22, 2025 · 9:04 am

Richard Simon’s THOMIA …. On The Launching Pod Now

THOMIA …. with the world and the moon in its sights and landing sites

RICHARD’s NOTE, 20 February 2024

Two important Thomia-related things happened yesterday. First, I had a call from Softwave to confirm that the first completed copies of the book would be delivered today, 20 February, as promised. Second, I made a call of my own, to confirm with the proprietors of the Barefoot Gallery Cafe that I shall be holding the official launch of Thomia there on the fourth of March.

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