February 7, 2022 · 10:28 pm

A Crunch Situation at Nandhikadal, April-May 2009: The Stark Realities of War

Michael Roberts, reprinting an article entitled “Realties of War” and drafted in late April or early May 2009  following an invitation from Muralidhar Reddy (the Frontline correspondent in Colombo).… and now retrieved for me by my old schoolmate KK De Silva *** 

WITH the LTTE cornered and restricted to a tiny patch of isthmus beside Nanthi Kadal Lagoon ever since April 6 [2009], the world has witnessed a menagerie of world leaders playing the game throw egg on my face.

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February 6, 2022 · 11:36 pm

Remembering DS Senanayake on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day

Senanayake Foundation, Item in Daily Mirror, 4 Feb 2022

The first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) D.S. Senanayake entered the National Legislature in 1924. He was relatively unknown in the country and was pushed into prominence by his elder brother F.R. Senanayake, who was a very popular and active figure in the social and political arena. Many were surprised and taken aback to see D.S. entering the political field, as they were expecting his brother F.R. to fit the role. Perhaps the only person who had faith in D.S’s capability at that time was none other but F.R. Senanayake himself. 

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February 6, 2022 · 10:43 pm

The Pioneering Planters of Maskeliya

Hugh Karunanayake, with highlighting and spacing imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The economy of Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was then known, was basically a peasant economy which through the nineteenth century transformed into a plantation economy. The change commenced with the introduction of the first commercial crop, coffee. Commercial cultivation of coffee as a crop was introduced and encouraged during Governor Sir Edward Barnes’ tenure in the 1830s and by the 1860s had covered most of the upcountry areas. Maskeliya District  opened up in the late 1860s, the first estate to be cleared and planted upon in the district being Bunyan Estate.

View of Adam’s Peak (Sri Pada, Sri Paadaya) from Maskeliya, Central Province, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Date: circa 1910

 

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February 6, 2022 · 12:03 pm

Trishelle …. So Multi-Talented

Item in The Island recently,

We all know Trishelle as the female vocalist of Sohan & The X-Periments, so, obviously it came to me as a surprise when it was mentioned that she is a highly qualified Bharatanatyam dancer, as well. What’s more, she has been learning the skills of Bharatanatyam, since her kid days!

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February 5, 2022 · 6:08 pm

Lakshman Kadirgamar’s Witty ‘Chat’ with Sri Lankan Cricketers in 2004

Thevivanthan Krishnamohan, in The Island, 9 June 2016, reproducing “A Witty Speech by the Late Lakshman Kadirgamar in 2004”

Lakshman Kadirgamar was an eminent statesman and a humanitarian in Sri Lanka who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs twice. Here is the transcript of an after-dinner speech made by him during a function for the Sri Lankan cricketers in September 2004 in England. It is noteworthy that he captained Trinity College, Kandy’s first XI in 1950.

Captain Atapattu and members of the Sri Lankan team; Members of the Sri Lankan community; Friends of Sri Lanka; Ladies and Gentlemen…………

 

 

 

 

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February 5, 2022 · 5:39 pm

History of Ceylon Tea … Vignettes

Courtesy of Victor Melder in Melbourne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 5, 2022 · 1:01 am

IF Only ……

This example of  trans-ethnic amity and fellowship was/is spread through our island-land, THEN, we Lankans could smile and sleep well — however poor and limited in our resources

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February 4, 2022 · 11:47 pm

Lanka’s Independence Day Highlighted in Brisbane

BRISBANE

 

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February 3, 2022 · 7:56 pm

Anuk Arudpragasam’s Book reviewed by Ru Freeman

Ru Freeman, reviewing Anuk Arudpragasam’s “The Story of a Brief Marriage,” published: 6th July 2017, …. ISBN: 9781783782383, pp 208

War is a constant wellspring of literature, and the best of it looks not for the obvious and sensationally violent, but instead searches for the subtle ways that life unfolds regardless. WhileSri Lankans writing in Sinhala and Tamil have long borne nuanced witness to the country’s three decades of civil war, writing in English has been much slower to respond. And too much of it hastaken the easy route, giving a foreign readership what it desires: a voyeuristic, and ultimatelyunengaged, affirmation of what it believes is true of savage peoples in other countries.

 

 

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February 3, 2022 · 6:15 pm

Evaluating the Rajapaksas’ Seeming Leanings Towards China

Uditha Devapriya, in The Diplomat, 1 February 2022 where the title runs thus  “Is Sri Lanka Under Gotabaya Rajapaksa Really Tilting Toward China?”

Simplistic narratives fail to account for the complexities that have defined foreign policy in Sri Lanka since its independence.

By July last year, it was clear that Sri Lanka was running out of foreign exchange, and fast. From more than $7.5 billion in January 2020, reserves came down by $3 billion 12 months later. The next six months recorded a much more alarming decline of $2 billion. By November 2021, reserves had reduced to a paltry $1.6 billion.

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