Hobson’s Choice in Lanka …. The Same Again Manikey! Kota Uda!

Capt. Elmo Jayawardena, whose preferred ttile is “Hobson’s or “Homben Yana” Choice?” 

Way back in the 16th century there lived a man in Cambridge by the name of Thomas Hobson.

He rented and sold horses and was the proud owner of a stable that had 40 stallions of all colours and breeds. Anyone who wanted to rent a horse from him to ride the paddock or journey into the far horizon, paid money and got a horse. There was one condition, the renter was not allowed to select the horse. The ‘wanna be’ rider had only one choice. He had to take the horse that was in the stall nearest to the door. It was a simple matter of either ‘take it or leave it.’  When the word spread about this, it became known among possible horse renters that what they got was ‘Hobson’s Choice’.

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Addressing History: Sri Lankan Identities over Time

HistoricalDialogue.lk

Dear Friends of HistoricalDialogue.lk, …. We’re happy to announce the launch of our new podcast series, ‘Witnesses to History’. Hosted by Smriti Daniel, the tri-part series is now live on our website and takes you on a journey through Sri Lanka’s history as living memories. Listen to the first episode ‘Holders of History’ which gives an insight into our shared understanding of identity and our shared past – Episode 01 ( 28 mins). Follow the link to also view some exciting bonus material that is archived on the page.

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Dry Zone Peasantry and Chēna Transformations in Sri Lanka

Gerald Peiris [i]

Chēna is an anglicized rendition of the Sinhala term hēna. Chēna cultivation is widely regarded as being equivalent to ‘shifting cultivation’ which is described as a form of agriculture engaged in by people living in sparsely populated areas with easy access to scrubland or forest that could be used as venues for rainfed farming which may, depending on circumstances, constitute their only, main, or supplementary source of livelihood. In conventional perceptions, moreover, ‘shifting cultivation’ is a subsistence-oriented economic activity of poverty-stricken peasant communities. It should, however, be noted that in most parts of Sri Lanka, the term hēna connotes a plot of land devoted to rainfed cropping, regardless of whether the farming practices pursued on the plot involves “slash-and-burn” and/or “land rotation”.

  Precipitation & Irrigation Map of Lanka — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Sri_Lanka

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Leonard Woolf’s Weliwewa Terrain: Gerald Peiris’s Profound Expertise 

Michael Roberts

I have sustained a friendship and interacted with Gerald Peiris from Ramanathan Hall days at Peradeniya University beginning in July 1957. The formal discussions organised at the Ceylon Studies Seminar from 1968-1975 on the one hand and, on the other, casual, but occasionally dynamic, conversations at the Senior Common Room or the Campus Pub in those halcyon years deepened our cooperation …. and continually sharpened my brains.

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Leonard Woolf’s WELIWEWA and Its Terrain

Gerald Peiris**

After getting the article in Thuppahi on Leonard Woolf and Silindu presented by Ernest MacIntyre, I read Village in the Jungle (for the second time since long ago) and found it difficult to connect the essence of the Woolf narrative with what the producers of the play referred to as an attempt to portray village like in a remote setting in the interior of the ‘deep south’.

Leonard Woolf in his aging years & glimpses of village women gathering tank-water in 2oth century Ceylon

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In Appreciation of Brendon Gooneratne

Hugh Karunanayake: “OBITUARY: Dr, Brendon Gooneratne, 28 March 1938-22 June 2021)”

Dr Brendon Gooneratne, an acclaimed physician, entrepreneur,  author, antiquarian, collector, environmentalist and all round sportsman, passed away in Welimada where he was receiving treatment after a fall. The news of Brendon’s demise was communicated by his daughter Devika just a day following his death.

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The Old and Sturdy Dutch Fort in Galle

“Everyman” writing for The World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka, with this title “The Old Dutch Town of Galle” 
  Cricket in the 1980s –Pix by Nihal Fernando
Volleyball, it is claimed, is our national sport. However there is no doubt that Cricket is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka. That popular West Indies calypso ‘Cricket, lovely cricket.’,’ will always be ringing in our ears. From the villages where youngsters from around 16 to 26 or maybe even older, use ‘polpithi’ bats, to the towns where more sophisticated young men use willow bats, it is cricket, cricket and more cricket. Little wonder then that we have been correctly described as ‘ a cricket crazy nation.’ And when it comes to grounds for international matches the Galle International Stadium is the most favored by our cricketers, our coaches and our spectators. The reason is that as at today (03. 05 .21), 34 Test Matches [have been] played on these grounds of which Sri Lanka won 19 and lost only eight. In addition to this, in a press release datelined June 8, 2020, Yash Mittal an avid lover of cricket has listed five of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. And yes – you have guessed it – the Galle cricket grounds, cradled between the Galle Fort and the Indian Ocean, heads the list!

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Vicious Victimization of Dr Danielle by the Western Cabal and THE AGE

Fair Dinkum

For telling the truth about Wuhan as she knew it, this Australian virologist Dr Danielle Anderson has been  attacked, smeared and had her life threatened because her statement did not align with American Australian narratives about the origins of covid19. She was sent a threatening email that read, “Eat a bat and die, bitch.” The threatening emails continue and the Singapore police are taking it seriously  The anti-China campaign has become hysterical, insane and extremely dangerous as it spreads around the world,  with the help of Western governments.

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Captain Cook Symbolically Demolished in Canada

A Pseudo-Filipino named “Sir” Roger O’Neil

I can well understand why some Canadians knocked Captain Cook’s statue of its perch into a harbour in British Columbia.  

The only reason the Canadian PM has given a token apology about colonial crimes against indigenous peoples in Canada is because Canada has just been caught with its hands in the cookie jar with the discovery of mass graves. The Canadian government pursued a genocidal policy against indigenous peoples for 150 years — depriving them of language, forbidding the use of their indigenous birth names, medical neglect, sexual abuse, to name a few of their crimes. The government knew of it and were responsible for it for 150 years.

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An Instance of An Efficient Process of Vaccination at Sugathadasa Stadium

EDITORIAL in Sunday Island, 4 July 2021, entitled ” A Success Story” 

We are happy to publish today a reader’s letter unreservedly complimenting the ongoing covid vaccination process at Colombo’s Sugathadasa Stadium last week where people over 70-years old received their second AstraZenecca jab which they had been long waiting for. There have also been similar anecdotal reports from elsewhere in the Colombo Municipal area. Readers are very well aware of earlier vaccination trauma in many parts of the country having been “treated,” if we may use that expression, to television pictures of long snaking queues, rows over preferences accorded to a favoured few, ugly displays of political muscle including that of a suburban mayor intimidating a medical officer of health (MOH) doing her best to enforce the rules. Sadly, policemen standing by did little to control the politician. The resultant bad publicity triggered a belated arrest and the matter is now before court.

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