Category Archives: travelogue

August 24, 2025 · 2:03 pm

Reviving Australia’s Convict Past via AI

Tomos Morgan, BBC News, 19 August 2025, where  the title runs thus: “Faces of Welsh convicts sent to Australia recreated by AI” ++

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has helped researchers generate what they believe could have been the faces of Welsh convicts sent to Australia in the 19th century. The lives of 60 criminals deported from Anglesey for crimes as small as stealing a handkerchief have been traced by a team of volunteers and researchers.

 They have used detailed prisoner records from the time, historical sketches and, where possible, photos of the prisoners’ modern day descendants to create a profile of what they may have looked like.

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August 22, 2025 · 11:12 am

Sanjiva’s Silken “SILK ROAD” Launched Today

Sanjiva Wijesinha

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August 22, 2025 · 2:18 am

Drs Yasodhara & Vimukthi Kumaratunga in Britain

DATA secured from Internet Sources by The EDITOR, THUPPAHI

News Item presented by Walter Jayawardena

The wedding of London educated daughter Yasodhara of Sri Lanka’s former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and a Consultant medical practitioner Roger Walker was announced in London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper in a paid advertisement about three weeks ago.

Following the British tradition of calling Consultant level medical practitioners as Mister the Telegraph advertisement called the groom as Mr.R.H.M. Walker and the just passed out young doctor bride as Dr.M.Y.S. Kumaratunga.

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August 21, 2025 · 4:51 pm

Yasodara Kumaratunga’s Inventive Mind: Free Verse from London

Michael Roberts in Adelaide, August 2025

Among a small pile of photgrpahs, letters and papers left by my departed elder sister, Estelle Fernando, is a printed ‘pamphlet’ published by Yasodhara  Kumaratunga, the  eldest daughter of Vijaya Kumaratunga and Chandrika Bandaranaike.

It presents thirteen brief  poems coined by Yasodhara when she was “in exile in  London” — as  the Foreword by an unknown person  tells us. These were “written by Yasodhara between the ages  of 8 plus 1/2 years – 11 years” during a period when she  was beginning to learn English after an education in Sinhala.”

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August 18, 2025 · 9:23 pm

Lankan Migrants to Australia in Limbo

Lisa McGregor in ABC.Net.Au,  15 August 2025, bearing this  title “Former immigration minister Alex Hawke calls for action on bridging visa backlog with thousands left in limbo”

Rathy Barthlote and her two daughters live in fear of their future. (ABC News: Simon Winter)

A former Coalition immigration minister has joined calls for the government to resolve the status of thousands of asylum seekers on bridging visas. A group of around 8,000 asylum seekers who arrived between 2012 and 2013 and whose claims were rejected under a now abolished system remain in legal limbo. The Department of Home Affairs says people with new, credible claims relating to their asylum applications may request ministerial intervention.

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August 18, 2025 · 7:12 pm

Seeking …. Travelling As A Goal ….

Fazli Sameer, … The Compass Café …… If you donno where you’re going, then, any map will do

It was the sort of café people stumbled into without planning. A little crooked building on a side street that never seemed to appear on Google Maps. The hand-painted sign above the door read: “The Compass Café, Directions Served Daily.” Situated in the heart of Kollupitiya, on Green Path, the ambience was amazing and many young people made it a regular place to hang out in the evenings.

Inside, the air smelled of strong coffee and cardamom buns. A jumble of maps covered the walls: ancient parchment, subway diagrams, star charts, even children’s doodles of treasure islands. Every table had a globe, most of them cracked and faded.

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August 18, 2025 · 3:41 pm

Reaching Across the Skies: Young Avishka

Ifham Nizam ✍️in The Island, August 2025… with this title “From Skies to Scripts: A young editor taking Sri Lanka’s stories to the world,”  Published

At just 26, Avishka Mario Senewiratne has already done what many spend a lifetime trying to achieve. A trained pilot, published author, historian, and now Editor-in-Chief of The Ceylon Journal, Senewiratne is fast emerging as a defining voice in Sri Lanka’s literary and historical landscape. But behind the titles lies a story of deep passion, quiet perseverance, and an unwavering love for history – and the written word.

 

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August 15, 2025 · 9:18 pm

My Decision to leave Ceylon in 1981

Sachi Sri Kantha      

Sachi examining a winged bean pod in 1981

Prelude

Willingly, I opt to use the ‘Ceylon’ word, because I was born in the blessed island Ceylon in May 1953. The place of my birth was Chilaw, solely for the reason it was the then work location of my father Sachithanantham, then employed as a clerk in the hospital services of the Department of Health. He was 30, but my mother was only 17. My parents are from Point Pedro, and it was an arranged marriage among the kin in Point Pedro’s adjacent regions.

From 1961 to 1971, I had primary and secondly schooling at the Colombo Hindu College (Bambalapitiya, Ratmalana) and Aquinas University College. I entered the University of Sri Lanka (Colombo Campus) in January 1972, at the age of 18 years and 8 months. This entry was delayed by months, due to the JVP insurrection in April 1971. Ceylon was re-named as Sri Lanka in May 1972.

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August 13, 2025 · 10:07 pm

A ‘Refreshing’ Mountain in Portugal: Pico del Areeiro

A cinematic mountain backdrop

Pico do Areeiro, the third-highest point on the island of Madeira, is located at an altitude of 1,818 metres. From this elevated spot, the ample view allows observers to extend their gaze over the unique grandeurs of Madeira’s Mountainous Massif, with the Atlantic Ocean in the background.

Besides the wide view over the central mountain range, from Pico do Areeiro you can also see Ponta de São Lourenço, Curral das Freiras and, on clear days, the island of Porto Santo.

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August 13, 2025 · 9:21 pm

Turbines at Mannar are A Threat to Vital Bird Corridor

Dilum Alagiyawanna, in Daily Mirror,  August 2025

Local-based renewable projects, unlike Adani’s mega 5.2 MW high-efficiency turbines, show that cleaner energy is possible, without harming Sri Lanka’s sensitive bird habitat. 

The Central Asian Flyway is one of the most significant bird migration corridors globally, stretching from Siberia and Central Asia to the Indian Ocean.

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