Thuppahi's Blog

Asiri  Fernando  in The Morning, 5 October 2025

The 12th Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference kicked off in Colombo last month, drawing participation from 37 nations. Amongst the many naval officers, diplomats, and subject matter experts gathered for the key regional maritime security event was a French delegation led by Rear Admiral Hugues Lainé, Joint Commander of the French Forces in the Indian Ocean.

He joined the Plenary Session of the conference featuring high-level insights from a distinguished panel including Indian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Russian Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Vorobev, and Sichuan University Institute of South Asian Studies Deputy Director Dr. Yunsong Huang.

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James Marriott, in The TIMES, 27 October 2025, where the title is “Why elitism is key to democracy’s survival”

It is unfashionable to favour a superior expert class, yet its destruction has flooded our society with misinformation

I am inclined by temperament towards the innocuous middle ground of most issues. So, I was pleased to discover, on a panel discussion a couple of weeks ago, that I had embarked on an inadvertent brush with the glamour of contrarianism. Lauding the virtues of that much-despised institution the “mainstream media”, I noticed my remarks were being met with … perhaps booing oversells the drama of the occasion. Let us call it a dark and audible murmur of dissent.

I should not have been surprised. Few nowadays are sympathetic to the notion of a superior expert class. Anti-elitism is the fashionable pose of our time, adopted almost as readily by desperate technocrats (Sir Keir Starmer is prone to the odd disapproving bleat about Westminster) as by populists.

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Rajan  Philips in Sunday Island 26 October 2025, where the title reads thus: “Susili Wilson (1928-2025): A Woman of Stature, Strength and Purpose”

Suseelavathy (Susili) Wilson, formerly of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and later the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, passed away on October 8, 2025, in Toronto, Canada. She was 97 years old. Born in Thellipalai, on June 2, 1928, she was the oldest child and only daughter of Samuel James Velupillai and Emily Grace Chelvanayakam. Her father, SJV Chelvanayakam Q.C., became the accredited Tamil political leader in 1956, and the following year entered into a historic agreement with the country’s Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike – the celebrated B-C Pact that enshrined the Sri Lankan government’s agreement on the minimum demands of the Tamils.

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Dodwell Keyt … with Siersa Keyt as the SINGING VOICE

My new song ‘Drums of Kandy’ …. https://youtu.be/rU9NWC9qGg8

Drums of Kandy …. (Verse 1)
Through the hills where hearts leap,
Echoes rise from the valley deep.
Barefoot hearts and burning eyes,
Dancers call where the spirit flies.

Red as flame, their sashes gleam,
Twisting fire through the dream.
Every step, a sacred cry,
Drums like thunder split the sky.

(Chorus)
Beat the drums of Kandy high,
Let the rhythm shake the sky!
Silver bells and red attire,
Hearts of flame, feet of fire.
Oh Lanka, hear your sons proclaim —
Drums of Kandy call your name.

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“Celebrating the Graduation of Sri Lanka’s Newest Doctors, Lawyers, Physiotherapists and Scientists” —  A Circular from Vanni  Hope … https://vannihope.org/education-support/student-sponsorships/celebrating-the-graduation-of-sri-lankas-newest-doctors-lawyers-physiotherapists-and-scienti

Vanni Hope proudly celebrates the graduation of four remarkable students whose journeys symbolise resilience, determination, and the transformative power of education. Through our Student Sponsorship Program, each of these graduates has overcome significant financial and personal challenges to achieve their dreams and begin professional careers in medicine, law, physiotherapy, and science.

Kajeeban

Dilanjani

Vijayakumar & Pirabashini

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Sachi Sri Kantha, in an original essay … with  highlighting  in blue  &  red imposed  by The Editor, Thuppahi …

Introduction:  Leonard Woolf (1880-1969) was the husband of influential British novelist Virginia Woolf nee Stepehen (1882-1941), who committed suicide. November 25^th marks his 145^th birth-anniversary. He is one of the few writers of the 20^th century, whose contributions were eclipsed by their wives. Still, five volumes of autobiographies, written by Woolf after he reached 80, remain fascinating books. These five volumes were, in chronological order, ….

Sowing:Years 1880-1904. – published in 1960

Growing: Years 1904-1911 – published in 1961

Beginning Again: Years 19111-1918 – published in 1964

Downhill All the Way: Years 1919-1939 – published in 1967

The Journey not the Arrival Matters: Years 1939-1969 – published in 1969.

 Young Leonard Woolf and his dogs in Jaffna

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Hiran De  Silva in Facebook, where  the title was different  [& has  disappeared ..FB style]

Fresh  Serious consideration for the president’s attention: [given  that] both attempts at extensive reforms by PM Harini, although noble in thought, are extremely premature.

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Courtesy of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon & Sean Amos: Three rare works from R. L. Brohier’s personal collection have been digitized and made publicly accessible for the first time.

This project was made possible through a collaboration between the  Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Rev’d Perry Brohier (Administrator of the Estate of the late R L Brohier), and the American Institute for Lankan Studies (AILS).

• Genealogies of Dutch-Burgher Families (1910) – A fascinating compilation of handwritten genealogical records tracing Dutch Burgher ancestry in Ceylon.
• Speeches and Minutes of Sir Henry George Ward (1864) – Speeches and administrative papers from Ceylon’s 11th Governor, detailing reforms in irrigation, agriculture, and infrastructure.
• The Lees of Lanka (1934) – Arthur N. Ohnimesz’s critical study of the Dutch Burgher community, exploring social reform, religion, and identity.

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Brian Daizen Victoria, at Buddhist.Door.net 21 August 2025, with thits title:  “How should a Buddhist face War?”

Readers of my previous two articles on the relationship between Buddhism and war (or violence in general) will be aware that the historical examples I highlight represent what the Japanese call hanmen kyōshi, or “teachers by negative example.” If the warmongering of these allegedly Buddhist teachers was mistaken, the question naturally arises as to what the Buddhist attitude to war is, or at least ought to be.

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Michael Roberts

I miss PERCY ABEYSEKARA aka Pissu  Percy. His  presence in  cricketing arenas was a shot in the arm ….and maybe elsewhere corporeal too  … for ardent cricket watchers. He  was  more than that: Percy was a friend, an Aloysian mate who had been one of the school cheerleaders when  I participated in  the cheering ‘troupes’ in the early 1950s.

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