September 19, 2018 · 3:08 pm

Preserving Heritage in Romania: The Hand of Prince Charles

During a recent holiday with a touring group by bus in Romania Shona and I came across several  interesting facets of Romanian history. Among these were (A) the imprint of medieval German Saxon settlements in particular localities dating back to the 12th century and thereafter; (B) the imprint of French architectural and town planning patterns in the capital city of Bucharest -dating back to the mid 19th century and the friendship between the respective rulers of the two countries: and (C) the deep interest shown by Prince Charles in preserving the architectural heritage and life-style of specific Romanian villages and localities, notably Viscri and Valea Zalnului.(information conveyed by our guide Adrian Buracu). SO: here we go with illustrated items on

A = The Prince of Wales’s Foundation Romania …. &

B = The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation (PWCF) 

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, education, landscape wondrous, life stories, rehabilitation, travelogue, welfare & philanthophy, world affairs

September 19, 2018 · 1:39 pm

The Bengal Tiger: Face-to-Face

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under landscape wondrous, tourism

September 19, 2018 · 9:58 am

The Lion Symbol in British World War Two Propaganda in Ceylon

This item was discovered in REDDIT by a friend of mine with roots in Uva, England and Germany –who sent me this note: “Another interesting WW2 poster I found on Reddit. Amazing to see the Brits using the Lion symbol! 

Note, too, the deployment of the term LANKA.

Leave a comment

Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, military strategy, politIcal discourse, propaganda, sri lankan society, world events & processes

September 19, 2018 · 9:40 am

Anagārika Dharmapala’s Anti-Colonial Mission

Kamal Wickremasinghe, in Island, 19 September 2018, with this title “Anagarika Dharmapala needs no rescuing” … reproduced here with highlights by The Editor, Thuppahi

Social scientific study, for better or for worse, is the only available method of gaining insights into social structures including aspects of social organisation, governance and rituals, as an aid to solving problems in social relations. Social science, however, often yields erroneous results originating from prejudices associated with the frame of embedded cultural assumptions within which evaluations take place.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, British colonialism, British imperialism, Buddhism, cultural transmission, disparagement, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, life stories, nationalism, patriotism, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes

September 19, 2018 · 12:16 am

Sivatheeban charged as an LTTE Killer in Germany

ONE: News Item in Derana, 4 August 2o18, taken from Associated Press. …. entitled ”

German authorities have arrested a Sri Lankan man suspected of involvement in killing captured government soldiers as a member of the Tamil Tigers rebel group a decade ago. Federal prosecutors said a judge ordered Thursday the 36-year-old, identified only as Sivatheeban B. because of German privacy rules, detained pending a potential indictment.

ri Lankan-born German man Yogendran G. (C), seen on January 18, 2016 in Hamburg, raised more than 81,000 euros ($88,000) for combat and terrorist activities ©Christian Charisius (Pool/AFP/File) 

Pic in Derana

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, conspiracies, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, legal issues, LTTE, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power sharing, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

September 18, 2018 · 5:49 am

Visvakarma’s Celestial Manifestatations in Asia and Sri Lanka

Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai, in newsin.asia, 17 September 2018, where the title reads “Vishwakarma, the celestial architect who built Sri Lanka”

The Vishwakarma puja, which was observed on September 17, is not restricted to India but is observed in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The puja closely follows the celebration of the Ganapati festival. In some places, it is performed the day after Diwali in October or November.

Vishwakarma puja or Kanya Sankranti is celebrated in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand in North India; Karnataka in the south; and Assam, West Bengal Odisha and Tripura in the east, in honour of Vishwakarma – the celestial architect.

Vishwakarma idols of Bengal made of clay

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, cultural transmission, elephant tales, female empowerment, heritage, Hinduism, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, pilgrimages, psychological urges, Saivism, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, world events & processes

Image

A Sinhala Cartoon depicting Lanka’s Present Situation

Leave a comment

September 18, 2018 · 1:37 am
September 17, 2018 · 2:18 pm

DEMONS IN PARADISE renders filmmaker Ratnam as a Tamil Traitor

Item in MSN.COM, 17 September 2018, with this title  “I wanted ‘my side’ to lose the war”

By his own admission filmmaker Jude Ratnam is a “traitor”. A Tamil himself, he blames the Tamil Tigers for many of the atrocities carried out in Sri Lanka’s civil war. The director told the BBC’s Nalini Sivathasan why feels the way he does.”When the war was coming to an end, I wanted the [Tamil] Tigers to lose the fight. I wanted it to end, even if my own people had to be killed,” Ratnam says.

Warning: This story contains graphic details that some readers may find upsetting.

© Getty Images Formed in 1976, the Tamil Tigers said they were fighting for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, atrocities, education, ethnicity, historical interpretation, human rights, life stories, LTTE, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

September 17, 2018 · 12:19 am

Umpire Ramos was on the Mark — A Consummate Professional Umpire

Steve Flink, in Tennis.Com, 12 September 2018 in  where the title reads “Carlos Ramos was Correct– and A Consummate Professional at the US Open

Lost in the swirl of controversy surrounding Serena Williams and her altercations with umpire Carlos Ramos during her final-round loss at the US Open to Naomi Osaka is this: despite the fact that Williams felt so aggrieved by the way Ramos applied the rules in penalizing her, he is an outstanding umpire. He was well within his rights to make hard decisions that did not meet with the approval of Serena or the multitude of fans who wanted so fervently to see her tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles, as well as break a tie for the women’s US Open singles title record she shares with Chrissie Evert. Both Williams and Evert have garnered six crowns.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, atrocities, democratic measures, disparagement, education, gender norms, governance, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, trauma

September 16, 2018 · 2:18 pm

Rejuvenating Lanka: A Good Governance Plan for 2020

SWR de “Sam” Samarasinghe, in Sunday Island, 16 September 2018, where the title reads “A strategy and programme for Yaha Paalanaya 2020″”

Many Sri Lankans are frustrated with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for having failed to deliver good governance (Yaha Paalanaya – YP) and competent economic management. But lack of success with YP2015 is not a reason to abandon the concept of Yaha Paalanaya. We need a YP2020 to make a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka.

  196f06652faecd1245738c009b28844a

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under economic processes, education, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes