Item in The Island, 31 December 2023 ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Dasun Shanaka’s reign as Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain has come to an end as Sri Lanka’s new selection committee appointed Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga to lead the ODI and T20I sides, respectively. With Dimuth Karunaratne currently leading the Test side, this is the first time Sri Lanka have three different captains in the three formats.
Filed under accountability, cricket selections, life stories, performance, Sri Lankan cricket
Asiff Hussein, in Elanka, 23 December 2023, …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Filed under art & allure bewitching, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, education, ethnicity, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tolerance
Michael Roberts …. presenting a talk which he delivered at the National Trust in Colombo in June 2018 following a brief to the effect that he should present motifs from the book People Inbetween. The Burghers and the Middle Class in the Transformations within Sri Lanka, 1790-1960s, (Ratmalana, Sarvodaya Book Publishing Services, 1989) and more specifically its first chapter viz. “Pejorative Phrases: The Anti-colonial Response and Sinhala Perceptions of the Self through Images of the Burghers.”
Many think People Inbetween is a history of the Burghers. Not so. It is multi-faceted. It describes (a) the rise of the middle class in British times, an influential force within which the Burghers were a critical element and a vanguard in the questioning of British rule; (b) the initial strands in the development of Ceylonese nationalism and (c) the development of Colombo into a metropolitan hub that became the island’s hegemonic centre.
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Professor Amarasiri De Silva in Book Review in Daily Mirror, 27 December 2023, of Lokubanda Tillakaratne: Rata Sabhawa of Nuwarakalaviya – Judicature in a Princely Province: An Ethnographical and Historical Reading, 2023, 322 pages, ISBN 9798218157654, …. with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
In antiquity, Sri Lankan Kings wielded authority not only as sovereigns, but also as architects of legal frameworks and systems of justice. Their edicts [were] often articulated verbally or inscribed on enduring rock surfaces, [and] gave rise to fields of law and administration that permeated the kingdom. However, the distant corners of the country, secluded from the immediate influence of royal decrees, presented a different reality.
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Sri Lanka did not secure ICC cricket status till mid-1981. An important step in the progress towards this entitlement was the tour of England in mid-1975 with KMT Perera as Manager and Anura Tennekoon as skipper. The details of this tourcan be found in Michael Roberts & Alfred James: Crosscurrents. Sri Lanka and Australia at Cricket, Sydney, Walla Walla Press & Mobitel, 1998, pp. 88-94.
Seated l-to-r
David Heyn, Anura Tennekoon, KMT Perera. Mihael Tissera, Ranjit Fernando
Standing l-to-r Duleep Mendis, Lalith Kaluperuma, Sunil Wettimuny, Tony Opatha, HSM Pieris, DS de Silva, Dennis Chanmugam, Anura Ranasinghe, Bandula Warnapura
Mevan Pieris … whose article has received highlighting emphasis from The Editor, Thuppahi
The historic lunch of Thomian legends held at the SSC in Colombo on the 17th December 2023 was hosted by the Rudra brothers of whom Ravi Rudra residing in New Zealand is a livewire who has reminisced a lot on athletics and cricket recently. His research is praiseworthy.
Of those who attended the lunch the Tissera brothers were the oldest. Vernon Tissera opened batting for STC in 1949, and at 90 years was a delight to have with us. I was invited to speak, and mentioned that I entered STC in 1954, after two enchanting years at Ladies College, not to mention a few naughty stories I related. Continue reading
Dilmah Night of Plantation Veterans” .. …. in The Island, 24 December 2023… with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Jayantha, Anura & Vernon
Anura Gunasekera
The elegant Dutch Burgher Union premises was the venue for the annual Planters’ Christmas Dinner, hosted by Dilmah, following a tradition set in place in 2017 by its patriarch, the late Merrill J Fernando. A man with a life-long passion for Pure Ceylon Tea, which contributed much to the success of Dilmah, the hosting of this gathering was his way of honouring the contribution to the industry made by the men, often convenientl
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Daniel Arkin, in NBC News, 26 October 2023 where the title runs thus: “Israel-Hamas war continues to roil American colleges, sparking walkouts”
The war has raised the temperature on some campuses, giving rise to social environments that mirror the country’s similarly polarized politics. Dozens of U.S. colleges and universities are increasingly riven by tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas, offering a window into how a rising generation perceives the conflict in the Middle East and the U.S. government’s foreign policy in the region.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest at Columbia University in New York on Oct. 12… Yuki Iwamura / AP
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Uditha Devapriya, in The Diplomat, December 2023, where the title runs thus “Political and Electoral Uncertainty in Sri Lanka Ahead of the 2024 Elections”
Wickremesinghe wants to keep his job; the SLPP wants to mount a comeback. Sri Lanka voters seem to want radical change.
In Sri Lanka, political parties are getting ready for presidential elections scheduled for some time next year. Many of them have named their candidates; others are preparing to do so. The country is constitutionally mandated to hold presidential polls in 2024, and the president himself has hinted that he will go ahead with them.
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Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka, in Daily Mirror, 20 December 2023, where the title reads thus: “Longest mountain in Sri Lanka: How Saliya-Asokamala shaped the history of Galgiriya Mountain” ….
The Galgiriya mountain seen from afar
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