The Machinations of Vellala Lawyer Leaders that Deepened Tamil-Sinhala Divisions from the 1920s-to-the-1960s

Sebastian Rasalingam, reproducing an article presented in 2008 in The Sri Lanka Guardian in October 2008 with this title “An Excellent and Timely Feature on the Tamils” **

 Please permit me to make some comments on the recent article on the “Sri Lankan Identity” by R. M. B. Senanayake, continuing a discussion in a previous article by Anne Abeysekera. Both these articles, written by authors who are familiar with the English-educated Sinhalese point of view, deal very inadequately with the issues of Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka and in erstwhile Ceylon. In fact, the modern generation, even the Tamils, are on the whole unaware of the true nature of the present conflict and the role of Tamil nationalism. They are misled and mesmerized by simplistic histories concocted by the great political agenda set in motion by the Tamil leaders of the pre-1956 era. In fact, I will outline below how the battlelines were drawn in the Donoughmore days, by G. G. Ponnambalam (GGP) and others who followed.

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Galle Fort Today: Its Dutch Legacy

Mahil Wijesinghe, in Sunday Observer Epaper, 23 October 2022, with this title “Dutch Legacy of Galle fort

The Galle city is home to a population of around 100,000. Easily reached via the Southern Expressway, the A2 Highway or the coastal rail track, Galle is indeed a place worth a stop. A quick walk through the chip-stone laid busy streets, you will discover the rich history of the colonial period and the natural beauty of the seascape.

 

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Galle Face Green in Colombo Over the Decades

Ismeth Raheem and Angeline Ondaatjie, in Elanka, 10 October 2022, where the title runs as “The Changing Face of Galle Face Green”

Galle Face is Colombo’s most-prized open-aired public space, extending over a mile along the Fort oceanfront in Colombo. Over the course of Sri Lanka’s history, it has been the de facto stage for landmark public gatherings. Most recently over the months of April to July 2022, the Galle Face Green was the centerstage of the People’s Aragalaya, a protest movement that arose from economic hardship in Sri Lanka.  During those weeks the protestors renamed it GotaGoGama (GGG) and even had a Google marker to prove it.  On July 9th 2022, unprecedented crowds from all parts of Sri Lanka gathered in the Galle Face Area breaking attendance records of Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake funeral in 1952, the 1953 hartal, and Pope Francis’s holy mass in 2015.

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Enhancing Protection in the Face of Pandemics

Dr. Laleen Jayamanne:** in The Island, 19 October 2022, where the title reads thus: “An Insider’s Guide to Pandemics and Biosecurity”

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”  ….
The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”

The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

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The City of Bath in England Today: Its Attractions … & Travails

Michael Patrick O’Leary, in …………………………………………………. https://pcolman.wordpress.com/2022/10/16/customer-service-in-a-septic-isle-part-one/ .… where the title is “Customer Service in a Septic Isle: Part One”

Mellifluous Amiability: During our lengthy visit to the UK from Sri Lanka, my wife and I went to the Walter Sickert exhibition at Tate Britain. I bought Matthew Sturgis’s hefty biography of the painter from the Tate shop and found it an absorbing read. Sickert was a handsome, witty and charismatic figure, friend of Degas and Whistler, with more female conquests than a rock star of today. Sturgis authoritatively dismisses crime writer Patricia Cornwell’s absurd notion that Sickert was Jack the Ripper.

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Monga & Fernando on Sri Lanka’s Win Against Netherlands

ONE: Sidarth Monga: Mendis’ pragmatism helps wounded Sri Lanka survive banana-peel beginning,” ESPNcricinfo, 20 October 2022

They’ve battled injuries and unexpectedly slow pitches, but they’ve scrapped their way into the Super 12s

As far as banana peels go, Sri Lanka found themselves on a big one, which in turn was placed on an oily surface. Playing the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup, after coming in as Asia Cup champions, they struggled to adjust to a slow, two-paced Geelong pitch and ended up paying for it with a defeat to Namibia. Add to it a soft outfield that can leave you vulnerable to injuries.
Five of the Sri Lanka players have been injured so far. Dilshan Madushanka tore his quad during training on the eve of the first match. Dushmantha Chameera did his calf during the second game. Pramod Madushan and Danushka Gunathilaka injured their hamstrings. Pathum Nissanka has now gone for a scan of his groin.

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Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup Preliminary Matches  

Michael Roberts

In forecast to myself I thought that the Sri Lankan Squad that had snaffled the Asia Cup in the Gulf arena would face a difficult situation in Australia notwithstanding the lower-placed teams in their initial round of matches. For one, the Australian playing conditions would be quite different, both in terms of climate, pitch conditions and the size of the playing fields. For another, the Namibian team is made up of tough outback country Boer-types who do not take a backward step; while the Dutch have many experienced campaigners.

 

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A Film that charts New Vistas for Sri Lanka: Malwatu Oya Soyaa

Uditha Devapriya, in Newswire, 19 October 2022, where the title reads “Factum Special Perspective: Culture as diplomacy in Sri Lanka” …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi and the title rendered as a long aa

The Malwatu Oya is the oldest and most important of the rivers in Sri Lanka. Its history is woven into the history of the country and its culture. Malwatu Oya Soya, in that respect, is a documentary not merely about the river, but the lives of the people and the society that it touched. Directed by one of Sri Lanka’s leading historians and intellectual voices, Malwatu Oya Soya made the rounds at several film festivals, in Pondicherry, Rome, and the Hague, winning awards and accolades at them all. It will have its first international screening on the 28th of this month at the India International Centre, in New Delhi.

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EFC Ludowyk’s Inspirations in Theatre in Lanka marked by A Peradeniya ‘Set’ in 2019

A Note from Michael Roberts: “EFC Ludowyk was from my home town in Galle and a close family friend of my elder sisters. About 5-8 days back, some spark led me to initiate a scheme to promote a set of appreciative assessments on his influence on learning, scholarship,  historical studies and theatrical life in Ceylon and Sri Lanka during the span of his adult life. In setting out thus I came across a memorial to his theatre work initiated by my old friend Haig Karunaratne, as effervescent a person and performer as you can ask for…..

So, here are some ‘snaps’ from that performative encore to Lyn Ludowyk in 2019 set up by PERABEAT

 

 

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Hopeless Dreams: Those Weighed Down by Poverty in Sri Lanka

Elmo Jayawardena in Elanka and in The Island, mid-October 2022,where the title runs “What colour is your parachute?” … presented here with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

A few years ago there was an extremely popular book in North America called “What Colour is Your Parachute?

 

 

 

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