Thuppahi's Blog

Interesting food for thought on recent Gen Z colour revolutions in South Asia, from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh and Nepal.  The BBC loved them all and expected India to be next for a colour revolution which would sweep Modi and his government from power. But to the BBC’s great disappointment,  it didn’t happen.

There are some very complex and intriguing geopolitics taking place in South Asia. Unpacking these complexities is not easy and those attempting to do so without care are likely to make mistakes and form wrong conclusions. But this article makes a good start.

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Michael Roberts

Victor  Melder was a Sri  Lankan railway officer who migrated to Australia way back in the third  quarter of the last century. But his  deep roots and affection  for his homeland inspired him to launch a paper journal entitled  Rhythm of the Wheels. I was among those who profited from this venture whenI  reached Australia in 1978;  while his stock of Sri Lankan material also assisted me during my occasional visits to Melbourne. The VICTOR MELDER LIBRARY will remain as a Memento marking Victor’s love affair with his homeland when this  good man departs to meet his maker.

It is just reward for such services that has seen VICTOR receive a Lankan Fest Luminary Award received on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

ALSO NOTE

https://www.vmsl-library.com/

Gamini Goonetilleke, in JAFFNAMONITOR …. https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/inside-the-siege-a-sinhala-doctors-account-of-jaffna-fort-1990/

Item in THE ISLAND, November 2025

A book covering the entrepreneurial ability and other matters pertaining to the well-known Abeyesundere family from Galle, Sri Lanka, authored by scientist of repute Dr. Nirmala M. Pieris, will be launched on November 14 at 6 pm at the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo 7.

‘The book traces the 220-year history of the Abeyesundere family of Galle and centres on Pemyano William Abeyesundere, a respected ship chandler, landowner, and philanthropist. It weaves together archival research, family records and oral histories to present a detailed account of heritage and community, the publisher says in a brief write-up.

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A NOTE From Michael Roberts, November 2025

The Abeyesundere  family household in the  mid-twentieth  cenuty was in Kaluwella, the suburb where  St. Aloysius ] College served all and sundry.  Sushila and  Lakshman Abeyesundere both  attended  St. Aloysius and Lakshman played for the  cricket team when I was also in the team. He was  one of our  more fallible fielders, but pulled off two brilliant catches at cover  when we had only three fielders in the off for one of our  left-arm bowlers (Nizam? Vanderputt?) in the course of a strategic bowling programme called “leg-theory!” … a policy which won us that match as far as I can  recall.

Leg-Theory!! Therein lies a MAJOR STORY….. that went into the history of  Aloysian cricket as a team known as “The Invincibles” guided by Marcus  Jayasinghe  and led by Anwer Jawath. lakshman  is  seated on  the Csrl extreme left next  a  bloke named roberts, while anver is seated at centre enxt to our  revered Marcus coach, while Vernon  Regis and Carlyle Rodrigo are seated to his right.

Madhuka Wickramarachchi

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Siddarth Mongia in  ESPNcricinfo, November  2025,  where the  sub-title reads;

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Nostradamus II, … with highlighting added by The Editor, Thuppahi

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Danny Byrne

Dear Friends, I am in Calcutta for the India vs South Africa Test Series. I have a few issues with technology at the moment as I bought a new laptop a few days ago at the duty-free shop at Panama Airport and the settings for Windows 11 were exclusively in Spanish. Some wonderful friends in the Beehive pub in South London have helped to get a new version installed in English but the keys on the computer are a mess and do not correspond to the symbols displayed in front of me. I cannot find the apostrophe or the question mark and several other useful keys.

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A GENERAL NOTICE  …. ALAS!

From  The Organisers of the GLF

We have taken the difficult decision this week to postpone the 2026 edition of Galle Literary Festival.We know that this will be disappointing news for many of you, and we can only apologise for the impact this may have on your plans for January.

Since its founding in 2007, the Festival has played a huge part in establishing Galle as a hub for arts, culture, and thought-provoking conversation. We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors, supporters, and the community of Galle Fort for their continued faith in us.

  A Scene from the 2024 Gathering

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Visvalingam Muralithas   NOW

The Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka are historically and strategically important regions that contribute significantly to the country’s economy, social development, and cultural heritage. Despite decades of conflict and disruption, these provinces possess immense potential due to their land resources, human capital, and emerging economic sectors.

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