Category Archives: unusual people

February 2, 2022 · 12:16 am

Farewell Tulsi Karunanayake …. A Sri Lankan Heart as Warm as Capacious

Nihal Seneviratne: “The loss of a lady with a genteel personality” ..………… A tribute from the  former Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka) Colombo – 12 August 2021

I did not have the privilege of knowing Hugh at Royal College as I was senior to him at our alma mater. I joined in the mid-forties, and Hugh, a year later. On my frequent visits to Sydney, to see my elder sister, I started my association with Hugh and Tulsi. The bonding grew stronger and stronger over the years. I found him to be a person with an intimate knowledge of Sri Lanka, its history, culture and its antiquities, which is rare to find these days. During these long conversations I began to learn so much, and which I enjoyed so much. It was on these occasions that I got to know Tulsi for the first time. I was struck by her simplicity, graciousness, and the affectionate way she looked after her visitors on every such occasion.

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February 1, 2022 · 11:29 am

Vanni Hope: Furthering Education of Poverty-Stricken throughout Lanka

“Enhancing Access to Education for Disadvantaged Children in the Rural Areas of Sri Lanka”

Thank you once again for helping Vanni Hope to serve under privileged individuals and families in the very remote communities in Sri Lanka.  The power of education is what binds the nation, lets come together & contribute to Education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 1, 2022 · 9:58 am

Darkness to Light in the Midst of Covid in Hambantota

Sarath Wickremasinghe of LIONs CLUB to ANDUREN ELIYATA

Dear Mr. Chandra Fernando, Project Officer, Anduren Eliyata – Darkness to Light Inc., Australia.

Dear Sir, …………………Our expected projects in Hambantota had to be postponed several times due to the health regulations prevailed in the country, and  finally we were able to implement the project on 05.01.2022. 50 Solar Power Units donated by “Anduren Eliyata” were given to 50  families recommended by Col. Jayarathne.  Recipients of Solar Units were very grateful to your organization and requested us to thank you on their behalf. Thank you very much for the services you do for the needy people.

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January 31, 2022 · 1:07 pm

Conflicts in Sri Lanka reviewed in 2009 by Muralidhar Reddy

Muralidhar Reddy, in Frontline, vol. 26/20, Sept 26-Oct 09, 2009 where the title reads “Analytical Anthropology”

Michael Roberts’ collection of essays on Sri Lankan identity is a breath of fresh air in an atmosphere polluted by callous accounts.

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January 31, 2022 · 12:33 am

The Black Fort and the Many Gems within Galle Fort

Juliet Coombe, in Daily News, 28 January 2022, where the title reads thus “Santa Cruz – The Portuguese Black Fort Of Galle”

Walking along the ancient walls it is easy to distinguish the black smoke covered walls of the Portuguese from the lower walls with the cannon positions built by the Dutch and later added to by the English.

 

 

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January 30, 2022 · 2:39 pm

The Coup d’etat of January 1962 … The Plotters and Its Failure

 Jayantha Somasundaram in The Island, 29 January 2022, where the title runs thus: ” The  Sixty-Two Coup. How the Plot would unfold” …. http://epaper.island.lk/

A group of senior Police and Military officers attempted to overthrow the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government. They were driven by three critical events in the years leading up to January 1962. The coup participants belonged to the Westernised urban middle class who were alarmed at the undermining of the secular plural state and government.

 

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January 30, 2022 · 12:19 pm

Extra! Extra! Living with Omicron in Australia

Maani Truu, in ABC News, 29 January 2022, where the title runs thus: “After the peak: What’s in store for Australia now that the Omicron wave has turned?“

The end of 2021 was meant to herald the arrival of Australia’s “hot vaxxed summer”. Despite concerns over a slow start, vaccination rates were high, marathon lockdowns had ended, and international border closures — the country’s first line of defence against COVID-19 — had finally started to lift after nearly two years.

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January 29, 2022 · 6:32 pm

Revisiting Robert Knox’s Experiences in the Kandyan Kingdom in the 17th Century

Padma Edirisinghe, in Sunday Observer, 2016, where the title runs “That wanderer among the Kandyan hills”.… see note below **

Thirteen miles off Gampola, past sprawling tea estates nestling in the lap of luxuriantly foliaged mountains, lies Legundeniya. Here, the carpet of Lanka’s histRory rolls back and reveals a page of the history of Kande Uda Pas Rata, as it was 300 years ago.

 

 

 

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January 29, 2022 · 11:36 am

Kaffir Traditions: Vibrant Traces at Sirambiyadi off Puttalam

Dishan Joseph, in Daily News, 20 February 2021, with this title “A slice of Africa in Puttalam”

Most Sri Lankans in Colombo city would have caught a glimpse of robust women, of African descent dancing to pulsating drumbeats. We have applauded the performances of the African Manja group. But have we truly understood their origins, displacement and hardships hidden behind their smiles. I firmly believe that after their generations have lived here for 500 years, they too are very much Sri Lankan.

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January 28, 2022 · 5:55 pm

Sarojini Jayawickrama’s Book on Robert Knox

Nira Wickramasinghe: reviewing Sarojini Jayawickrama’s Writing that conquers. Re-reading Knox’s Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon, (Social Scientists Association, Colombo 2004)

 

Among academic historians in many parts of the world there exists an almost pathological fear of contamination by literary studies via the linguistic turn which manifests itself in the display of fierce criticism of authors of postmodern or cultural studies especially those interested in ‘discourse’ or textual analysis. This is an indication of how centred professional historians still are in the historicist and implicitly empiricist models which are responsible for their material and political hegemony in academia as well as in the public sphere.

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