Hugh de Kretser, “An Early Burgher Migrant Family to Australia in 1952”
It’s Australian Citizenship Day. This is my dad’s family along with their citizenship application and certificate. They emigrated from Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) to Australia in 1949 and became Australian citizens in 1952.
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Captured at a Momentous Meeting in Nugegoda This October 2025 ,,, by That Dushy Perera of Ruk-Rakaganno Fame
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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 25th marks his 145th birth-anniversary. He is one of the few writers of the 20th 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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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).
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thuppahi
