October 29, 2016 · 1:49 pm

When JR and Banda ‘batted’ together for Nomads Tennis Club in 1926: A Piece of Social History

A Tennis Gathering at Nomads, 1926

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Young J. R. Jayewardene is standing second from the left (facing); while young SWRD Bandaranaike is seated.

NOTE from Arun Dias Bandaranaike: “This image of SWRDB with his ‘golf cap’ and sports jacket et al, matches other pics of him in that period shortly after his return to Ceylon from his sojourn at Oxford. In fact, there is in the family collection a photo of Solomon in a group photo of 1935 as a member of the Nomads Tennis Club, assembled in the garden at the home of Walter Dias Bandaranaike which was on Silversmiths Street off Armour Street, Colombo 10.  The image there is pretty much the same as this, which appears to be taken either in Nuwara Eliya (most likely) or Bandarawela. Continue reading →

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October 28, 2016 · 2:36 am

Pictorial Misappropriations!

A FIST-Buggering Act?

caught-fisting UGH !!!

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October 27, 2016 · 2:16 am

Intimidating Assault Tactics behind Phil-Hughes’ Death by Bouncer

Michael Roberts

Background information known only to a few has emerged during the coronial inquest into the tragic death of Phil Hughes after he was felled by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott of New South Wales (NSW) at the personal score of 63 runs on 25 November 2014 – with the revelations produced by the Hughes family in response to the coroner’s approach fueling this new fire. From my particular political position on the practices that prevail on the cricket field, let me summarize the conclusions that I draw from this corpus of data.

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A. Phil Hughes was regarded as one of the most potent batsmen in the South Australian side and the game plan fashioned by the NSW team management and leaders was to subject him to a short-pitch bowling barrage – as blurted out by Trent Johnston, NSW bowling coach to Matthew Day (a cricketing mate of Hughes) in the immediate aftermath of the accident during hospital vigil.

B. This tactic was supplemented by the verbal badinage and abuse that is a standard practice in Australian cricket[1] – a practice referred to as “sledging” and regarded as legitimate by all-and-sundry in Australia.

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October 26, 2016 · 4:34 am

Tony Donaldson to introduce Sunil Santha and His Sinhala Music to Contemporary Lankans

Tony Donaldson will be presenting the inaugural Guru Devi Sunil Santha Memorial Lecture  at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 14 December 2016. The talk is entitled “Sunil Santha: The Man who invented Sinhala Music for a Modern Age” …  Dr Ruvan Ekanayake will give a Sinhala translation of the lecture.

sunil-shantha sunilshantha

ABSTRACT OF TALK: Since the arrival of Sunil Santha on the music world in 1946, there has been a great deal written and talked about his music. People have listened to his songs. His songs have been sung in films, on the concert stage and television, or at parties, picnics and weddings. His music has been played by military bands, at state occasions or cricket matches. I too have listened to his music but somehow I have never penetrated to his core to really understand him, and I dare say that except for his close supporters and those who care about his music, nor has anyone else. I say this advisedly because much of what has been said and written about Sunil Santha and his music by academics and critics has been wrong, and so this gives me the chance to get it right this time. It is time to crack his DNA.

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October 25, 2016 · 1:43 pm

SBS Travelogue boosts Sri Lanka’s Animal World and Traveller Joys

Neha Kale introduces “Wild Sri Lanka,” a three-part documentary series that explores Sri Lanka’s sublime natural beauty and diverse local wildlife is full of humbling moments you won’t soon forget… beginning this Friday evening at 7.30 pm on SBS …. via an introductory article entitled “Five Times I was blown way by Sri Lanka — Paradise in the Indian Ocean”

neha-11Few places are a canvas for traveler’s fantasies quite like Sri Lanka. Although the island country has long been associated with crumbling Dutch forts and empty beaches, the civil war, which ran between 1983 and 2009, has seen it largely avoid attention from a tourist invasion. Unlike nearby India (ground zero for Eat Pray Love devotees) Sri Lanka retains an air of mystique. Sri Lanka – Paradise In The Indian Ocean, a three-part National Geographic documentary series that airs on SBS on 28 October, is less interested in this version of Sri Lanka as an unspoiled tropical playground than it is in zoning in on the natural rhythms of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. The first episode introduces viewers to a cast of leopards, elephants and jackals that play larger-than-life characters in an age-old, primal drama. Here are five times it reminded me that nature is so much smarter than we give it credit for and that pausing to appreciate its majesty will blow you away every time.
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October 24, 2016 · 3:09 am

Leopard Family on the Road — at Yala, Sri Lanka

Courtesy of JANAKA GALLANGODA and the YALA ADVENTURE TEAM… perhaps no longer on site

ALSO SEE  https://www.facebook.com/YalaAdventureTeam/videos/1840466172899200/ … for SLOTH BEAR, ELEPHANTS AND A PEACOCK DANCE

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October 23, 2016 · 3:33 am

In Anguish. The Hughes Family nail Cricket Australia to the Mast

The AUSTRALIAN divulges the full text of Their Evidential Letter to the Coroner, 15/16 October 2016

I am Gregory Bruce Hughes. I am the father of Phillip Joel Hughes; the late Test, One-Day and 20/20 international player for Australia. Husband of Virginia Hughes and father of Jason and Megan ­Hughes. I’m a humble farmer who believes I have successfully taught my children the meaning of life alongside (my) wife Virginia. With these values I also believe I have given my children the ­desire to succeed in their own indiv­idual way. An example of this would be the feeling I had seeing my son Jason and daughter Megan on stage at Phillip’s funeral service speaking so highly of their loved brother and our family. I am truly very proud to be their father.

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October 21, 2016 · 9:55 am

Q and A with the Legendary Hussein Cassim

marinne-davidMarianne David for Daily FT, 14 October 2016, under title “Hussein Cassim;’s Legendary Journey”

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Q: Could you tell us about your childhood – your family, where you were born and where you grew up?…….A: I was born on 9 September 1925 and turned 91 last month. I was born the eldest in a family of six children, in Galle Fort during the Great Depression. My father was a wealthy bachelor who went bankrupt. Then the war followed. It was hard times with food and other essentials being rationed and sometimes even suffering the ignominy of not having a decent place to live. My mother’s strength and piety was what united our family and gave us courage. Our house was near the old lighthouse where a cannon had been installed. One day when they fired the cannon, one of the walls in the house cracked from top to bottom. The next morning the captain came and told my father that this would keep happening and advised us to shift. As a result, the family was splintered and I was sent to Kurunegala to live with relatives when I was 14. Continue reading →

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October 21, 2016 · 9:37 am

The Man with Nine Lives, Frane Selak

SEE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZyUWLW7kEI for the TALE of FRANE SELAK = The luckiest unlucky man to ever live (Frane Selak)

An You Tube seen so far by 2,711,109 views

Published on May 1, 2014

Strange but true, this is the story of Frane Selak…… unfinished story.

selak Pic by Anomalien.com

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October 21, 2016 · 5:30 am

Lavan Tharmarajah: From Tamil Refugee to Major in Australian Army

Kresant Mahilal, 16 October 2016, whose title stresses “Six Life Lessons in Self Leadership” … see http://www.kminspires.com/how-a-sri-lankan-refugee-became-an-australian-army-major-six-life-lessons-in-self-leadership/

I couldn’t be happier and prouder of one of my best mates Major Seralaadan Tharmarajah aka Lavan.  This week, he became a Major in the Australian Army. 19 years ago we both landed on Australian soil to call this land home. Both from single parent households, both from developing countries with a history of racial tensions and violence and both of us looking to find our place in multicultural Australia. We had a lot in common as we sat next to each other in our Homebush Boys, Year 10 ESL class!

Lavan is not one who usually talks about his journey. However his journey has taught me many lessons and I believe it’s important to share it.  At a time when many question the value of letting refugees into a country, when racial tensions everywhere are high and when people give up hope on their dreams and following their passions because of a fast changing world and an uncertain future– the lessons I have learned from Lavan, and now Major Tharmarajah stick with me because of its simplicity and his walking the talk on his life philosophy.

alavan-1  Major Seralaadan Tharmarajah alavan-2 alavan-3

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