Nadika Hapuarachchi, Tamara Fernando, Thilak Jayaratne, Janaka Gallangoda in MANNAR UNBOUND 2018
Mannar Unbound is a photographic documentation of wildlife and archaeological ruins of Mannar. The book is the result of over five years of fieldwork stretching across various seasons during which places were visited and then revisited in order to get the perfect shot……………………. .Dec 16, 2018
An Item in ba-bamail edited by Natalia J.
Bronwyn Hickmott took a beautiful garden paver from her late parents’ home and installed it at her own home in Devon, England. In an interview with BBC, Bronwyn said she had been fascinated with the beautiful detailing and the curious shapes of the stone ever since she was a child, which is exactly why she decided to keep it. Little did she know, the curious stone was one of the only seven existing Sri Lankan Sandakada Pahana, which are temple moonstones that date all the way back to the late Anuradhapura Period (10-11th century).
The Moon-stone found at the entrance of Uda Viharaya of Ridhi Vihara Sri Lanka Image Source: Reddit
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Jeremy Liyanage
Mannar is a sand island perched on a limestone base. The hydraulic pressure of the groundwater in the kulams keeps the sea water from intruding. As significant areas of Mannar Island are targeted for mineral sand mining, working to a depth of 12 metres, the result will be widespread sea water intrusion which will then contaminate the groundwater supplies –promoting the destruction of agricultural livelihoods.
Filed under accountability, australian media, democratic measures, economic processes, education, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, unusual people, world events & processes
Christopher Knaus and Josh Taylor, in an essay in 2019 which gains relevance in the light of the recent events in Capital Hill in Washington …. This essay was entitled “Revealed: the QAnon conspiracy theorist who is friends with Australian PM Scott Morrison”
A significant Australian proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory is a family friend of Scott Morrison, and his wife is on the prime minister’s staff. The sprawling, disjointed and incoherent QAnon conspiracy variously claims that Donald Trump is leading a behind-the-scenes fight against a shadowy deep state, that powerful forces are hiding and protecting satanic paedophile rings, and that a secretive individual named Q leaves clues for his followers to decipher on internet forums.
Filed under american imperialism, Australian culture, australian media, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, conspiracies, disparagement, economic processes, fundamentalism, historical interpretation, life stories, modernity & modernization, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world affairs, world events & processes
Group Captain Kumar Kirinde, SLAF (Retd)
Clarence Shelton Anthony Perera was a member of the 1st batch of Ceylonese to join the RAF. As per the only ATA record available he has first served in the RAF from September 1941 to January 1943. He has left the service as a LAC. He then in April 1943 joined as a Pilot Cadet in the Air Transport Auxillary (ATA), a civilian organisation ferrying aircraft for the RAF and Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy ” — Charles Amarasekere Continue reading
Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, patriotism, performance, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Ahimsa Wickrematunge, courtesy of Groundviews, 8 January 2021, where the title reads “The MIG Deal: Why My Father had to Die”
Twelve years ago today The Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was brutally murdered in broad daylight within a high security zone. His killers have never been punished. Here is why.
When I first heard the phrase “MiG deal” as a kid in 2007, I never expected that less than two years later, the printing of those two words in my father’s newspaper would lead to my standing over his open grave on the darkest day of my life. It has long been clear to me, and to all those familiar with the evidence, that had my father not exposed the MiG deal in The Sunday Leader, he would still be alive today, still writing, still exposing wrongdoing, still standing tall against the powers that be. He knew the risks of exposing a man who cherished his holier than thou public persona, but the risk did not stop him from doing his job.
Nicholas Brookes …. with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
On February 1947, a Ceylon Cricket Association XI was invited to play Southern India in Madras. It was a great moment for Ceylonese cricket. Everyone scored runs: Makkin Salih made 98, de Saram 42, Jayawickrema 52 and Heyn 66 – but no one remembers these innings. They were blown out of the water by a sublime 215 from Sathasivam, a new record at Chepauk and according to many, the best innings ever played at the ground. Bertie Wijesinha, who made his first-class debut in the game, later wrote ‘Sathasivam wafted his magic blade and carved out a work of art’. Sport is often described as performance, but rarely has the term been more apt. Satha played for the crowd. His was a batsmanship elevated beyond the mere making of runs.
thuppahi
