October 19, 2018 · 4:20 am

Closed Minds at Peradeniya University throttle Photographic Exhibition

ITEM in Colombo Gazette 18 October 2018, with this title “PA condemns censorship of ‘unframed’ at the University of Peradeniya

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) condemned a decision taken by the authorities to block the showcasing of a compelling collection of photography at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy. ‘Unframed’ is a compelling collection of photography, curated by Vikalpa, the Sinhala civic media platform anchored to the Centre for Policy Alternatives. The exhibition highlights and places in context critically acclaimed photography featured on the site or taken by editorial staff over ten years.

“My door is always open. My mind, not so much.”

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, heritage, landscape wondrous, legal issues, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, war reportage, world events & processes

October 17, 2018 · 1:24 pm

Sujit Suvisundaram = Director of The Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge University

Sujit Sivasundaram is the Director of the Centre of South Asian Studies, Reader in the Faculty of History and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. He works on the Indo-Pacific world, with a deep commitment to South and Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. His last book was ‘Islanded’, on the makings of Sri Lanka. He is co-editor of ‘The Historical Journal’ and a Councillor of the Royal Historical Society.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes

October 16, 2018 · 7:01 am

The Western World’s Cumulous Clouds of Deception: Blanketing the Sharp Realities of Eelam War IV

Michael Roberts, Courtesy of Colombo Telegraph , October 2018

 

This is a provocative piece on the last stages of Eelam War IV in 2008/09 and on its aftermath of Reports and You Tube cut-and-thrust. It makes specific claims in assertive style. These assertions are founded on lengthier articles with their supporting evidence. So, it is by assertion that I proceed. Continue reading →

14 Comments

Filed under american imperialism, australian media, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, doctoring evidence, fundamentalism, historical interpretation, IDP camps, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, truth as casualty of war, Uncategorized, unusual people, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes, zealotry

October 15, 2018 · 2:01 am

Ehaaa. Mehaa. Presidential Manouevres in Sri Lanka

Rajan Philips, in The Island, 13 October 2018 where the title reads “Checkmate Politics II: Diminishing Options for MS, MR and RW

There is no presidential checkmate after all as many of us were alerted to last week. President Sirisena is in no position to checkmate anyone. No surprise there. He has burnt his boats with the UNP, and even Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot rally everyone in the JO to support a new political arrangement with the old defector. It is now reported that Maithripala Sirisena first approached the UNP to canvass for a second term as President with UNP support, and only after being rebuffed by the UNP that he sought an alliance with the Rajapaksas. It is also known that there were quite a few meetings between Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa, which would only confirm that the former President has been quite serious about pursuing a deal with the current incumbent. And obviously because a second term Sirisena presidency is the only way to secure a path for the now underage Namal Rajapaksa to become president in 2024. That the former President could not get others on board for this scheme shows how tenuous and tentative are the loyalties within the Joint Opposition. Be that as it may.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under authoritarian regimes, conspiracies, constitutional amendments, economic processes, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, parliamentary elections, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real

October 15, 2018 · 1:25 am

Service Across the Length and Breadth of Sri Lanka: FOG

 the Matara  VHE  …

and the Jaffna VHE

The Foundation of Goodness’ 10th Village Heartbeat Empowerment (VHE) Centre opened its doors on Sunday 1st July, 2018. Situated in Bindunuwewa- Bandarawela District, this marks the Foundations’ first VHE Centre in the central region of the island, following the establishment of three Centres in the South, three in the East and three more in the North, in steady progression, with plans to establish 15 more in addition to our flagship model in Seenigama (The MCC Centre of Excellence and Sports Academy) the one of a kind holistic rural community initiative encompassing 30 empowerment activity sectors wish serve 15,000 beneficiaries from 300+ villages monthly, free of cost.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under charitable outreach, cultural transmission, performance, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, tolerance, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

October 14, 2018 · 3:12 pm

Remembering EOE Pereira: Engineer, Guru, A Man of the People, For the People

Mahinda Wijesinghe in Sunday Island, 14 October 2018

I had the privilege of attending Vidya Jyothi, Professor E.O.E. Pereira’s 111th annual memorial birth anniversary lecture on September 13, 2018, conducted by the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium. There was a packed audience. Not being an engineer of any sort I had to cadge an invitation for this event though I did have a fleeting acquaintance in my youth with this nonpareil legend. It was an experience I still carry with fond memories. However I was fortunate enough to play cricket for our College with two of his sons, namely Lorenz and his younger brother Bryan. Their father and mother, Mavis, never did miss any matches their sons were playing in. I treasure those friendships. Alan, the youngest of the brothers left for Australia before I made his acquaintance.

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under cultural transmission, education, life stories, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy

October 12, 2018 · 8:52 am

Where a Drunken Binge generates a Beach Hotel in Tangalle

News Item in Daily News, 10 October 2018, with this title “Newlyweds on honeymoon in Tangalle buy their own hotel”

Gina Lyons and Mark Lee from London, decided to purchase a rustic hotel after drinking rum on the beach while on holiday – and have renamed it ‘Lucky Beach Tangalle’ A pair of newlyweds got so drunk on their honeymoon they bought their own hotel.

Gina 33 and Lee, 35, wed in June 2017 and went on a three week backpacking honeymoon to Sri Lanka in December.During their trip, the London-based couple checked into a rustic hotel on the beach and immediately hit it off with some of the staff members there. On their first night, they took to the beach with several bottles of rum and drank with one of the hotel’s bartenders, where they were told the current lease on the hotel was almost up.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, British imperialism, economic processes, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, tourism, travelogue, unusual people

October 12, 2018 · 12:46 am

The Voices of Tiger and Army Infantrymen: Sarah Kabir’s Journey towards Reconciliation

Sarah Chatta in Daily News, 9 October 2018, where the chosen title reads thus “Faces of the war” …Stories from both sides of the barbed wire tell of the pain of ordinary lives

German native Nicolas Lamade leaned over and expressed his amazement. The auditorium of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute was packed with a mixed audience: army generals, clergymen, politicians, activists, journalists, and lawyers. Lamade, Deputy Program Director of the German reconciliation project GIZ, first came to Sri Lanka in the early 2000s when he said no one dared to question official versions of wartime events in public, let alone speak out about misconceptions of those events. A decade later, he marvelled at how far Sri Lanka had come.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, patriotism, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

October 11, 2018 · 12:48 pm

Cappadocia in Turkey: As Wondrous as Unique

UCHISAR in Cappadochia

SEE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, heritage, landscape wondrous, travelogue, world events & processes

October 10, 2018 · 7:33 am

Majestic Compassion

An ELEPHANT assisting a Lion Cub and Its Mother

Courtesy of Dr Mervyn De Silva whose headline was “Displaying Love & Compassion, Really the best Photo – What better message can I send for a great weekend”

correction, Mervyn:  ” ... for the year”

Leave a comment

Filed under landscape wondrous