August 14, 2023 · 12:33 pm

RIP …. Daya Sahabandu: Outstanding Spinner, Dogged Tailender

Sukumar Shan, within a site that says “Ceylon — Sri Lanka / Then & Now! ….  “Sri Lanka cricketing star Daya Sahabandu dies”

Daya Sahabandu, became the first Sri Lankan and only the third Asian in cricket’s history to surpass the four-figure mark (1000) wickets in Sara Trophy Cricket. The other two are India’s Bishen Singh Bedi and Pakistan’s Intikab Alam. You must not forget the fact, that both of them played in English county, cricket whereas, tall, lanky, unassuming, soft-spoken, Daya Sahabandu, did not get the opportunity to play county cricket in England.

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August 14, 2023 · 12:10 am

The Expulsion of Muslims from the North by the LTTE in October 1990: Raison Détre

DBS Jeyaraj, whose chosen title is “How and Why the LTTE Evicted Muslims from the Northern Province in “Black October 1990,” when placed in DBSJeyaraj.com on 22 October 2020, …… This article was written in 2015 to mark the Twenty–Fifth Anniversary of Muslim Mass Expulsion From North by the LTTE. It is being re-posted without any changes to denote the 32nd annivrsary of the tragic event.

The Investigation launched by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has in accordance with its terms of reference probed the period of time from the 2002 February ceasefire until the end of the war in May 2009 to ascertain whether war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations occurred in Sri Lanka during the final phase of the war as alleged. The focus on these particular years has naturally led to the overlooking of many other terrible incidents which happened in the years preceding 2002. Notable among these horrors is the mass expulsion of Muslims from the North by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE).

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August 13, 2023 · 6:39 pm

A Maiden’s Prayer …. Set in Sri Lanka

A Notice sent by Charles Schokman of Melbourne

Srianthi Perera, a journalist and former reporter at The Arizona Republic in the USA, has authored a whimsical and endearing literary novel based on her native Sri Lanka. 

 

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August 13, 2023 · 2:11 pm

“Sinhabahu” in Adelaide for Roshan Mahanama Trust

A NOTICE ciruclated by ASLA and Nayan Perera in Adelaide, August 2023

Dear Friends,

Adelaide Lakhanda with the Nalanda Old Boys Association of South Australia & Sri Lanka Cricket South Australia is excited to invite you to a meaningful event with an entertaining and purposeful evening. On 26th August, at the Regal Theatre Kensington, we will be screening the movie “Sinhabahu” for a noble cause.

 

 

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August 13, 2023 · 1:40 pm

Surviving the Aging: Transforming Oneself

An Email Circular from Lorenz Pereira in Melbourne, 13 August 2023 …. with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The surprise has arrived! The Director of the George Washington University School of Medicine maintains that the brain of an elderly person is much more practical than is commonly believed. At this age, the interaction of the left and right hemispheres of the brain becomes harmonious, which expands our creative possibilities. That is why among people over the age of 60 you can find many personalities who have just started their creative activities.

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August 12, 2023 · 3:40 pm

Kissing Frolics at Peradeniya University: Now …. & Then

News item:- Daily News, 20th March 2023:  “No Bar to kiss at Peradeniya” .…  Suranga Dilhan, Gampola Corr.

“Peradeniya University is a place filled with love and there is no prohibition for kissing at the university premises,” Peradeniya University Vice Chancellor Prof. M. D. Lamawansa and Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Terrance Mudiyith said.

 

 

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August 12, 2023 · 2:25 pm

A “Shelf Cloud” — A Rare Manifestation

Captured   and presented in todays Weekend Australian Magazine, 12 August 2023

… with Item by Ross Bilton entitled “Heart of the Nation”

 

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August 10, 2023 · 1:55 am

Study, Fellowship & Sport at Peradeniya Campus, 1956-60

Michael Roberts

PERADENIYA CAMPUS and UNIVERSITY is etched deeply into my soul: with diverse memories of places, events and personnel.  Many of the friends I met within its spaces have, alas, passed away; but remain as alive as afresh in my mind.

I had been placed in Ramanathan Hall as a freshman in mid-year 1957 and shared a room with Ranjit Samaraweera. His conviviality aided my adjustments to the new ‘terrain’.  So did my interest in sport. The skills in cricket, soccer and athletics that I had developed at St. Aloysius in Galle were now expanded to encompass rugger, while the indoor facilities at Peradeniya also encouraged my participation in basketball, table tennis and badminton on the odd occasion.

 Karl Goonewardena & Hussain Miyya in left pix& Sirima Kiribamune, CR De Silva & KM De Silva iamong the lot in the right pix

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August 10, 2023 · 12:29 am

The Mulacari of Peradeniya University: Shirley De Alwis

KNO Dharmadasa, in Hanthana Night, produced by the Üniversity pf Peradeniya Alumni Associatio Western Australia Chapter, August 2023

 

Shirley De Alwis — photo kindly provided by Mevan Pieris ….. thereby correcting a prvious error which presented another gent with the same name in same age cohort

The word Mulacari in the Kandyan period of Sri Lankan history meant “the chief architect”. These would have been the great architects of yore like the one who designed the “Brazen Palace” (Lovamahapaya) during the Anuradhapura period. But we have no information about their titles or names. Shirley De Alwis (1898-1952) who was appointed the “University Architect” in 1946, was the man who designed the eight original Halls of Residence -Marrs, Jayatilaka, Arunachalam, Hilda Obeysekara, James Peiris, Marcus Fernando, Sangamitta and Ramanathan.  He also designed the Senate Building — which was modelled on the Brazen Place, although on a modest scale.  The Science and Arts Faculty buildings as well as the Geography Building are also creations of Shirley De Alwis.

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August 9, 2023 · 8:53 pm

Enjoying Peradeniya Campus Life in the Late 1960s

Sumangalika Dharmadasa, in  the booklet HANTHANA NIGHT , produced by the University of Peradeniya Alumni Association Western Australia in 2023 … where her title reads “Campus Life of Yore: Through the Eyes of a Fresher”” 

6th October, 1965 is a land mark date in my memory, as it surely must be in the memory banks of all the Freshers who entered the hallowed portals of the university of Peradeniya all those years ago. The sense of freedom and independence I felt after the cloistered life in school hostels was truly exhilarating.  For the first time in my life, I was free to do just as I wished!  I did not know then that I was destined to remain in that wonderful place for over 50 years.

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