Category Archives: travelogue

The Pros & Cons of T20 Cricket Today …. Six-hitting Sleepiness?

Ian Chappell, in  ESPNcricinfo, 5 May 2024 where the title reads “Will T20 get to the point where it becomes wearisome?”

Over the years I’ve learnt that for every upside in an idea – no matter how good – it’s guaranteed there’ll also be a downside. Consequently there’s some disillusionment with the growing amount of six-hitting involved in the T20 game and particularly in the highly successful IPL tournament.

Travis Head hammers a six — AFP/Getty

…. Take this and multiply it some. Still a spectacle? 

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Some Striking SNAPs

God GANESH  ‘holed’ by cannon shot ……. a classic ‘shot’  during the course of the Eelam Wars by that intrepid cameraman Dominic Sansoni 

 

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Roman Szechowycz: A Discerning Eye for Past & Present in the Gal Oya’s History

This is a presentation of an article entitled “The “Rock River” Story” by Roman W. Szechowycz in the Loris Magazine, Vol. 8 No. 6  December, 1960. Page 348. Its presentation here has been made feasible by my Aloysian pal KK De Silva.  I have underlined aspects of this account with highlights.

Let me stress here that Roman Szechowycz’s searching eye and mind leaves me amazed. This essay links the landscape to its medieval and ancient history and dwells on the history of Sinhalese civilization in revealing manner. 

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Accidental Cameraman: My Best Shots

 Michael Roberts as a Cameraman …. seeing to emulate that genius the late Nihal Fernando

A Shoreline Fish-hunter south of Wattala at twilight where a small inland canal meets the sea …. the photo was shot in a snap decision from the prow of a padda boat about to land our touring-party on the beach …..

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An Intriguing Challenge: Deciphering a Photograph of Ceylonese Elites at Tennis

Mevan Pieris & Arun Dias Bandaranaike decipher and debate the identities and location of personnel within an intriguing high-society photograph of a tennis cluster in British Ceylon at some point in the 1920s/30s. The suggestion that JR Jayawardene is part of this cluster is challenged by Mevan : a claim presented within Thuppahi: see https://thuppahis.com/2016/10/29/when-jr-and-banda-batted-for-ceylon-together-in-1926-a-piece-of-social-history/

 

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Galle: So Bewitching …. with Aid from the Work of Norah Roberts

R. Simmington, whose article bears another title

Sri Lanka has a special place in my heart because I lived here for a few
years in the early 1980’s and returned in 1986, armed with a camera.
Although the photographic phase of my life was short and sweet, I still have
all my negatives, which I can now convert into digital images. I hope this
piece, together with the photographs that accompany it,*** bring back some
happy memories for the members of this group. I realise that there will be
many who know this story, but there will be some that don’t, in any event, I
think it is worth sharing.

Amangalla exterior & front verandah

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From Karaithivu, Jaffna to Buckingham Palace

Premila Thurairatnam

Mr. Sabapathipillai Rajanayagam O.B.E was a wise man who lived till he was 104 years old (1908–2012). He was alert to the end when most of his contemporaries had passed on.

His achievements are exemplary: coming from humble beginnings – his London diaries (attached) state how he grew up in a mud hut in a remote island called Karaithivu1 off Jaffna, Ceylon. From there his career culminated in being invited to Buckingham Palace! He studied hard and was awarded the University Telegraph Engineering scholarship to Imperial College, London in 1930. His article written for the Imperial College centenary when he too hit a century, can be found here: ………………………………………………………………… https://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/memories/Rajanayagam.shtml

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Idyllic Explorations: Sri Lanka’s Marvellous Ruins & Monuments

Bernard VanCuylenberg, whose chosen title for this essay was  “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage” …. with pictorial illutrations selected in arbitrary manner by the Editor, Thuppahi

Pursuant to the articles which I wrote last year, “An Odyssey – A Search for Heritage, parts 1 and 2 “) following a foray into the cornucopia of ruins buried in deep jungle well off the beaten track, I embarked on a similar venture in March this year. I am passionately moved by the treasure trove of what could be the best in ancient Sinhala civilization, possibly the life force of Sinhala culture which remains buried in the sands still awaiting the archaeologists spade, and I wish to share my experience with a wider circle of lovers of history. Parting the veil of time, an unknown sculptor, architect, engineer, master craftsman, even a poet reached out to me and held my hand leading me across the centuries in my quest.
 Degaldoruva …. off Kandy

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Percy Abeysekera as Large as Life

Percy Abeysekera aka “Pissu Percy” has, alas, passed away; but, as we celebrate good cricket this week pursued in Bangladesh where Sri Lanka was led by a man from the south nurtured in Richmond College, we can savour the world of cricket with Percy of St. Aloysius and Sri Lanka.

http://www.islandcricket.lk/photos/somebody-stop-percy-abeysekera

Somebody stop Percy Abeysekera ….. Submitted by Hilal on January 7, 2009 – 18:48

Taken at the 5th and final one day match between Sri Lanka and England at the R Premadasa stadium on the 13-Oct-2007. A bespectacled, 62-year-old grandfather, Percy Abeysekera is perhaps Sri Lanka’s most exuberant supporter.

Photographer/Owner:  Chamil Thanthrimudalige

Source…. 

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Ancestral Genealogy and the DBU’s Marvellous Service

Nick Van Der Hoeven, whose choice of title was “The Dutch Burgher Union “………………  while highlights have been imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi …………………………………………………………………………… snSpedtoorh3fi1c80a115m1h307g3u8i82016f0i28a6c396l64390307fi  ·

I have been reflecting on how lucky we are (as a group) to have such incredible access to the history of our ancestors. Yes, its very interesting: the diverse biological backgrounds (Dutch, British, Prussian, French, Portuguese, local etc). I am, however, a second generation Australian-born Burgher on my father’s side (plus Hungarian on mothers) and no doubt have a different reading history than those who ‘lived it’ back in Ceylon for those 500 years of colonisation.

 

For me the greatest gift is knowing the names and some of the stories of ancestors dating back 22 generations — regardless of where they are from. This is unique and is in my opinion one of the greatest legacies of the DBU. The shipping manifests, the Dutch churches, the British churches, the various journals and off course the DBU records themselves. Continue reading

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