Harry Solomons, FOG and Cricketing Philanthrophy Down South
Ashen Bandara of St. Aloysius strides Forward
From The ALOYSIAN, April 2021, edit. by Johnny De Silva
Ashen Bandara the promising cricketer is the latest addition to the Sri Lanka team as a brilliant fielder at any position and a useful middle order batsman who also bowls right arm leg spinners. The 22-year old player from St. Aloysius’ College in Galle has already proved his ability during the current West Indies tour and made 44 in the second T20 match that Sri Lanka won and then become the fifth batsman from the island to make a half century on debut in an ODI when he achieved the feat in the first match against the same opposition last Wednesday. Bandara was at home playing the sweep shot like a seasoned pro and scored most of his runs on the leg side in reaching his half century in 60 balls as Sri Lanka were all out for 232.
An Appreciation of Avishka’s Illustrated Tale of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo
Jeremy De Lima of Melbourne … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
When Avishka asked me for an opinion of his book, I thought of presenting this to him in a review, but was hesitant, as this has been done before, at greater literary levels that I can ever aspire to. All these have been so comprehensive, there doesn’t seem to be anything left to write without resorting to plagiarism i.e. reproducing the words and ideas of another without attribution. However, not wanting to stoop to this and/or to refuse this genuine request, I thought I will instead, accompany the young author on the rocky road he has journeyed in publishing this book on the story of St Joseph’s College, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Mathematics: Islamic Mainsprings Magnifique
Adrienne Bernhard, in BBC.Com, 7 December 2020, where the title reads thus: “How modern mathematics emerged from a lost Islamic library”
Centuries ago, a prestigious Islamic library brought Arabic numerals to the world. Though the library long since disappeared, its mathematical revolution changed our world.
The House of Wisdom in Wikipedia …. 
Kudurai Madiri Pona … Ride It Like A Horse: That is the first Principle of Flying
Captain Clmo Jayawardena
The big jumbo has come from the French land and as the French themselves say it is ‘annus mirabillis’ the miracle year, finally and finally the wait is over. The world will now see the Big-Bus that we all awaited for so long to see. As the years roll, none would talk of delays on delivery dates and how late the bird flew in. These would be like words written on a blackboard, erased forever. But the aeroplane will grace the sky and perhaps re write all the records of commercial aviation when the mega-miracle A380 dominates the international air-routes.
Subhas Chandra Bose: Indian Nationalist with Fascist Links
Wikipedia Account distilled & re-shaped by Capt. Kumar Kirinde, with this title: “Subhas Chandra Bose: Leader of the Indian Independence League (IIL) and Indian National Army (INA)” ….. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subhas_Chandra_Bos
Subhas Chandra Bose (January 1897–18 August 1945) was an Indian nationalist whose defiant patriotism made him a hero in India, but whose attempts during World War II to rid India of British rule with the help of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a troubled legacy.
Bose meets Adolf Hitler
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, communal relations, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, life stories, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes, World War II
IPL Kayoed …. KnockeD OUT!
HEADLINES
- IPL postponed amidst Covid-Surge
- Australian players set for IPL exodus to the Maldives
Rendering Agriculture in Lanka ARID with Silly Science & Mad Economics
Chandre Dharmawardana, whose preferred title is “Political Rhetoric, or Sounding the Death Knell of Sri Lanka’s Agriculture?”
A quote attributed to the Greek play write Euripides says that “ Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad”. Reading the news from Sri Lanka, one can only wonder if a prescient Euripides had Lanka’s successive rulers since 1970 in mind.
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Tamils in Ancient and Medieval Sri Lanka: The Historical Roots of Ethnic Identity
Sirima Kiribamune, in Ethnic Studies Report, vol IV/1, January 1986, pp. 1-23 … article retrieved via meticulous work by Iranga Silva of the ICES, Kandy — in a committed labour of love
“The past is intelligible to us only in light of the present; and we can fully understand the present only in the light of the past.” E.H. Carr.[*]
Professor Kiribamune
The current ethnic problems of Sri Lanka form the backdrop to this paper. The present tension lies between the majority Sinhalese who speak an Indo-Aryan tongue and the Tamils who use a Dravidian language. The two groups claim distinct racial antecedents, the Sinhalese styling themselves Aryans from north India and the Tamils tracing their origins to the Dravidians of the south. (The use of the terms ‘Aryan’ and ‘Dravidian’ to denote racial groups is considered totally unscientific. This terminology can only be used in a linguistic context. Sinhalese is included in the Indo-European or Aryan group of languages and Tamil belongs to the Dravidian group. The division of people speaking these two groups of languages into distinct racial types is not valid even for India and less so for Sri Lanka.) This division is further marked by religious differences, the Sinhalese being largely Buddhist and the Tamils, Hindus. Interested parties on both sides of the conflict have tried to use the past to legitimise different standpoints. It is the responsibility of the historian to set the record straight and that is the aim of this paper, but one is all too aware of the fact that complete detachment in the writing of history is hardly ever achieved. It is an ideal towards which one strives and needs to strive.
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Biden and USA stray into Untenable Territory
Jean-Pierre Page, in New Cold War, 27 April 2021, where the ttile runs thus: “The Longer War and Sleepy Joe in Wonderland,”
The Biden Administration appears to be implementing most of the recommendations in the Atlantic Council’s Longer Telegram: Toward a new American China strategy, an important strategic document about US policy towards China published in January 2021.
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