Category Archives: tourism

White Racism Penetrates Beach Resort in Southern Sri Lanka

Kelly Ng, in BBC News  ………………. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68421131with highlighting emphasis imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

An organiser of a “white party” in Sri Lanka has apologised after the event sparked a backlash online. The event’s advertisement specified a white dress code, but also had a line saying “Face control: White” – which was largely interpreted to mean the event was open only to white people.

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Hasthihailapura or Elephant Rock City in Lanka Today

Text & Pix by Mahil Wijesinghe, at ………..  on 24 February 2024 …with this title “A Journey to the Elephant Rock city”

The stone Bodhigaraya at Nilakgama The stone Bodhigaraya at Nilakgama

Kurunegala, the capital of the North Western Province, (Wayamba) has a historical name ‘Hasthihailapura’ (Elephant Rock City). It was the royal capital of Sri Lanka from 1293-1241 A.D. and is full of legend, romance and history Continue reading

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African Wiild Life in John de Silva’s Lens

John De Silva  is an Old Aloysian like the Editor Thuppahi.  He resides now in Melbourne and is a key member of the small crew sustaining the Old Aloysian Magazine.

 

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The TSUNAMI Hit on Sri Lanka, 26 December 2004 on Video & Camera

The Video is courtesy of Felix Sirimanne and apart from its awesome pictorial display indicates that 35,322 lives were lost. All of us will be aware of friends or acquaintances whose sojourn on earth was rudely obliterated on that day….

For my part I deploy this recollection of a sad moment to doff my cap to Sujeeva Kamalasuriya, a young man who represented Sri Lanka in its Under 19 tour of Australia in the 1980s and then migrated to Adelaide where he was part of out Lankan cricketing circle. He was holdiaying at Unawatuna near Galle …. as it happens one of my favourite spots for snorkelling from years past to the present — when the tsunami hit and swallowed his life.

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Slanted News, Fake News on the Ukraine-Russian War in the Western Press

A Sri Lankan American, whose choice of title was different: viz: “Western Media fake Headlines on Russian Losses in Ukraine to Promote more war funding.”

Note the attached fake Western media headlines

Impeccable timing: Zelensky meets with Biden and lawmakers in push for more Ukraine aid …………. CNN – December 12, 2023 ……………. “90% Russian army in TATTERS”

“Ukraine cannon fodder helps to keep Europe safe from the marauding Putin!” …  Meanwhile Russian tourists are travelling in large numbers overseas.

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Another Time, Another World: Social Science in Postwar Sri Lanka

Uditha Devapriya & Uthpala Wijesuriya, … with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Background:  In Sri Lanka, social science research witnessed an expansion in the 1950s. Various scholars, including Stanley Tambiah and Gananath Obeyesekere, found their calling in anthropology, and went on to introduce and popularise the subject in local universities. This period also witnessed an increasing interest in Sri Lankan and specifically Sinhala society from Western scholars, including Edmund Leach, James Brow, and Richard Gombrich. While many local scholars active in that period have commented on how social science research evolved at Sri Lankan universities, no proper study of this has been done yet.

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Revelations within Colonial Photographs of Ceylon: “Veins of Influence”

Veins of Influence: Colonial Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in Early Photographs and Collections, by Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra

 [This book is a pioneering monograph that brings a rich array of early and previously unpublished images of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) into the global discourse of photography, pairing a striking lens of visual appreciation with distinctly humanizing perspectives.

 

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Heavenly Bliss in Sri Lanka: Holidaying in Galle & Colombo, 24 July–4 August 2023 

Ron Slee of Flinders University & Adelaide, ……  with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi and some End Notes added

My interest in visiting Sri Lanka has been building for decades, generated by my friendship with two Sri Lankan nationals with whom I play tennis, Michael Roberts and Justin La Brooy. Justin had written me a very helpful short history of the country and added his recommendations of where to see wildlife and scenic beauty and Michael had sent hundreds of photos and personal stories that helped me plan my visit.

Unexpectedly this year,[1] I was able to spend 11 memorable days in their country of origin, including two days visiting Galle Fort where Michael had grown up in the 1940s and 50s.

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Savouring Sri Lanka Today, 2023: A Glorious Ride

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

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EA Hornell’s Photographs Revealed & Scrutinised

Antonia Laurence Allen

EA Hornell 

 

 

The National Trust Sri Lanka is holding its 154th session of its Monthly Lecture Series on Reversing cultural erasure: looking again at the photographs of E. A. Hornel” by Antonia Laurence Allen, ….. The lecture will be held via ZOOM this Wednesday  at 6.00 PM

Zoom Link  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87283573525

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