Category Archives: travelogue

May 19, 2024 · 10:57 am

A Shortage of Tamed Elephants constrains ESALA PERAHERA

Item in the Daily Mirror, 18 May 2024

A situation has arisen where getting the participation of elephants at both peraheras has become a problem due to the holding of the Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya Perahera and the Kandy Esala Perahera on the same day, Sri Dalada Maligawa Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela said.

He told the Daily Mirror that at least 60 elephants will be able to participate in the Kandy Esala Perahera this year. During previous Kandy Esala Perahera seasons, 75 elephants participated, he said.

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May 18, 2024 · 12:32 am

Galle Cricket Grounds as Best in This Our World

Michael Roberts

It appears that the Test cricket grounds at Galle has been voted to be the BEST of the Test-featuring grounds in the world. THAT is quite a mark—considering the picturesque setting of some other grounds. Since this was the municipal arena where St. Aloysius College pursued all its sports activities every evening in the 1940s and 50s; and an arena which featured hockey and soccer matches besides cricket …. and even the occasional hackery or elephant race on special occasions, these heights are quite a TRANSFORMATION.

SO, let me spice and flavour this moment with a pictorial history: when it was not a sports arena; …. when its pavilion was as confined as unremarkable; … when Nihal Fernando, cameraman extraordinary snapped a cricket match in the 1980s; … and thence to the tumultuous present day scenarios – with a horrifying pause after the tsunami shattered the grounds and neighbouring bus-stand.

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May 14, 2024 · 9:08 pm

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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May 6, 2024 · 8:35 pm

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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April 19, 2024 · 8:55 pm

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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April 18, 2024 · 8:12 pm

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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April 17, 2024 · 12:46 am

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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April 11, 2024 · 7:29 pm

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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April 11, 2024 · 12:54 pm

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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April 10, 2024 · 3:26 pm

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 illustrations 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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