Category Archives: teaching profession

February 10, 2025 · 6:26 pm

Dr Hilali Noordeen’s Lessons From Life

Thuppahi introduces the Amazon.com FLIER for the book by Dr. Hilali Noodeen entitled Letters to a Young Doctor, 2021 whitefox …

https://www.amazon.com.au/Letters-Young-Doctor-Exploring-Surviving-ebook/dp/B08VWVTVLB

 

Letters to a Young Doctor: Exploring and Surviving a Career in Medicine,  …….. by Dr Hilali Noordeen, 2021, Kindle Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars    8 ratings

Part manual and part manifesto, Letters to a Young Doctor is a timely and passionate book to help future medical students and young doctors navigate and survive medical education and practice, presenting an unvarnished depiction of the profession as it is today and the challenges it faces.
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February 9, 2025 · 2:50 pm

An Inspiring Sri Lankan Anthropologist: Gananath Obeysekere

Laleen Jayamanne & Nammika Raby, in The Island, February 2025

“People were nourished by stories….” (Kathandarawalinne minissu jeewathwune) Gananath

“Man does not live by bread alone” Matthew 4:4

Dimuthu Saman Wettasinghe’s film Gananath Obeyesekere: In Search of Buddhist Conscienceopens with a bravura tracking shot moving past trees, water, a splash of saffron robes. These sunlit images are enfolded in a non-religious, rather melancholy male choral chant, but soon the singular voice of Professor Gananath Obeyesekere cuts through with a kind of Dionysian intensity. He tells us a story about Gauthama Buddha, as the camera encircles, at speed, what turns out to be the Kandy Lake. His tale is about a devastating war waged by the king of Kosla against the Sakya kingdom but of the Buddha’s unshakable belief that if folk get together and discuss matters in good faith (call it diplomacy), all wars could be averted. This carefully and deeply researched, imaginative, ‘Educational Film’ of 142 minutes, with its exhilaratingly dense overture and its subtle montage, is a loving tribute to an exemplary Lankan scholar/teacher and his life work (of some 70 years) as an internationally renowned Anthropologist.

The film shows Gananath’s empathetic ability to pay careful ethnographic attention to a variety of gendered states of mental distress and trauma and their traditional ritualised ecstatic expressions, especially with regard to women, well before some feminist scholars in the West began to be interested in the topic of ‘Women and Madness’ from a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective. Psychoanalytic theory became methodologically important for Feminist Film Theory, which I used in my doctoral thesis on ‘Female Representation in the Lankan cinema’.

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February 5, 2025 · 1:12 pm

A Place for Puppetry in the World Today

Sulochana for PUPPETRY !  …. Sulo now resides in Adelaide and is therefore a resource within reach for All Australians …

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January 23, 2025 · 4:59 pm

In Apprecation of Professor H.A. de S. Gunasekera

Sumanasiri Liyanage, … His Prologue to An Academic Appreciation of Professor HA De S Gunasekera

Prologue …. Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Head, Department of Economics, Members of Prof. H A De S Gunasekera family, colleagues, Friends and students.

It is indeed a pleasure to be in Peradeniya once again, and I felt honored and privileged when I was asked to deliver the Prof H. A. De S. Gunasekera memorial oration 2025 for which I thank Prof Sri Ranjith, Head/Economics and members of the H.A. De S. Gunasekera Memorial Committee.

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January 19, 2025 · 5:17 pm

Mind-blowing Choreography From 11-Year Olds at Hirana, Panadura

Mayura Botejue

HIRANA KANISHTA VIDYALAYA CONCERT: I attended this concert on Friday (Jan 17) staged at the Panadura Town Hall and it literally blew me away!

Hirana (where I live) has emerged from a village status to a small town that adjoins Panadura. I have befriended many of the locals and occasionally stop by to chat with a couple who live with their extended family (home by my walking trail). During a recent visit, one of the granddaughters (cute kid) asked me to come to her school concert that she and her siblings were taking part in. I said sure, thinking that the matter would be soon forgotten. Not so! The talk spread that I was coming and they notified my ‘man Friday’ that they had bought a ticket for me. Okay, so no big deal. It will be at the Hirana Primary School located nearby and I could make the time to attend this small concert staged at the school premises. I received the ticket and it indicated location – Panadura Town Hall.

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January 6, 2025 · 1:20 pm

Meeting Professor Hilali Noordeen in Galle via Karen Roberts

Michael Roberts

In late 2003 or early 2004 I was privileged to receive an invitation from Nazreen Sansoni of Barefoot to participate in the Galle Literary festival where the central events took place within the precincts of the Galle Fort — a familiar spot replete with memories of my childhood and youthful experiences.

Dr Hilali Noordeen

Karen Roberts

As it happened one of the literary stars featuring in the manifold ‘events” of the GL Festival was Karen Roberts, whose background and literary work was known to me. She was, I stress, no relation, though she had been educated in a school in Wellawatte that was a stone’s throw away from my sister Estelle Fernando’s abode in Hampden Lane Wellawatte.

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December 22, 2024 · 10:09 am

Chandra Schaffter Features in the TPS Website

https://thuppahis.com/2023/03/30/a-cricketing-saga-extraordinary/

March 30, 2023

A Cricketing Saga Extraordinary

Chandra Schaffter … responding to an earnest request from Michael Roberts**

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December 19, 2024 · 3:37 pm

Beyond Imagination – Chandra Schaffter’s Life of Service

Ravi RUDRA has composed an extensive web-item describing Chandra Schaffter’s services to Sri Lanka,  S. Thomas College, cricket, hockey, the Tamil Union CC’, insurance services in the island and humakind in general. The account includes photographs and is so extensive that it is best presented in segments. THIS is the first instalment. As this segment includes heaps of photographs, it will take me time to insert all of them…. so the present version is incomplete .…. Editor, TPS 

Compilation by Ravi RUDRA …. with this title ‘The Phenomenal Journey of Mr. CHANDRA SCHAFFTER 94* Story of Vision, Resilience, Disappointments and Success” …. 1 December 2024 

Mr. Chandra Thomas Adolphus Schaffter (born 3 April 1930) ‘The Father of Sri Lanka Insurance & Much, Much More’

“If you cannot do something for those who work for you, but you seek to get the best out of them and not worry about them, then, I don’t think life is worth living. What I am today, I owe it first to God and then to my School”– Chandra Schaffter

 Legendary Thomian (Jan 1937–March 1950)

“I was very fortunate to attend S. Thomas’ College because I had a good education and a good foundation. I lost my mother when I was only 3 and my father when I was 11, so I never had real parental guidance in that sense.But my school masters, especially in my early years, and some of my relatives were very helpful in making me find my way around.

S. Thomas’ was a great place to be in, as you learnt a lot of good values which you don’t see in the outside world. This up-bringing has stood me and many Thomians in good stead.”– Chandra Schaffter

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November 25, 2024 · 1:25 pm

THOMIA now on Sale: A History of S. Thomas’ College in Colombo

Richard Simon to Michael Roberts, Editor, Thuppahi

Thomia, as you know, is a comprehensive history of S. Thomas’ College presented in the wider context of Lankan history and focusing on the influences between the two. In this sense it resembles my previous history of the Ceylon tea industry, which you were kind enough to praise when it was published in 2017. It is very different from a typical school history and its appeal is certainly not confined to Old Thomians.

 Now on sale: Thomia is available for advance purchase from today, 25 November 2024. I hope to finance printing of the book partly through advance sales; I am happy to say I have already received a number of pledges.

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November 20, 2024 · 9:35 pm

Gerald Peiris: A Lifetime of Wide-Ranging Research & Service

These are but some of his publications over a career spanning the 1950s to 2020s — with eyesight deterioration blighting his last platform of life. No more table tennis, but much to remember. So, here. let me doff my cap to thee, Gerry Machang, …. Mike

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