March 8, 2016 · 4:00 am

Meeting Michael on Men and Matters, May 2015

Algi Wijewickrema, courtesy of the Quadrangle, July-August 2015, Vol.4, where the title is “Of Men and Matters as Michael Sees Them” … with the coloured highlights and the hyperlinks being my embellishments …. and so too the Select Bibliography at the end. There are also one or two  pictorial images that extend those selected by Quadrangle…. Michael Roberts.

When one interviews an eminent literary personage, the interviewer has to pay attention to how he conducts the interview as the interviewee himself would have conducted many an interview, so I thought I had to be careful about the manner in which I approached this task. But Michael Roberts said “you’re the boss, so go ahead.” So, I plunged in.

Michael 2015Michael Roberts is synonymous in Sri Lanka with writing, not just any writing, but scholarly writings. Domiciled in Australia now, he is still very much a Sri Lankan at heart and makes it a point to visit Sri Lanka at least once a year or twice. A writer of repute in Sri Lanka, he has authored many books (website: https://thuppahis.com/) and continues to write still. This writer managed to buttonhole Michael recently at his sister’s house in Wellawatte while on one of his frequent visits here. Continue reading →

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March 5, 2016 · 1:04 pm

Berklee College Musical Show celebrating Sri Lanka’s Independence, 4th February 2016

berklee cluster

“Berklee Celebrates Sri Lanka” is a project initiated by Sri Lankan students at Berklee College of Music, USA with the sole intention to promote Sri Lankan tradition and culture. The project brings together over 50 performers representing 17 different countries such as the United States of America, Colombia, Luxembourg, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Japan, South Africa, Kenya, United Kingdom, France, Madagascar, Ecuador, South Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Turkey, all working as one unit to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of Sri Lanka.

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March 5, 2016 · 12:54 pm

Shannon Jacob: From Bishop’s to Berklee College and the Inter-Net Waves

Dimuthu Attanayake, in The Nation, 5 March 2016 where the title is “Shannon notes”

shannon JacobIn A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she was the musical fairy who played the piano and the recorder. In real life, she continues to be a musical fairy in a variety of projects. Shannon Jacob arranged the music for the video, Berklee Celebrates Sri Lanka that went viral within the short time span since its release and has been viewed over 150,000 times by now. Her sound cloud profile, Music Inc. is crammed with soulful compositions by her.

She was just four years old when her mother took her for her first piano lesson. This turned out to be her introduction to the world of classical music. ABRSM and Trinity College of Music exams paved the way for her later work. While she was studying at Bishops College, she took part in a number of extracurricular activities, non-music related. Continue reading →

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March 3, 2016 · 4:46 pm

Shooting down a Star

Arun Dias Bandaranaike

Kishani-Jayasinghe 33Kishani Jayasinghe is an achiever among achievers.  This has reference to the stature she has been able to seek and establish in what is clearly a punishing environment. She demonstrated her talent as singer and actress on stage while yet at Visakha Vidyalaya, a leading school in Colombo. She was also a winner of a competition, conducted under the aegis of the Board of the Symphony Orchestra, referred to as the “Concerto Competition”. This, too, while at school.  After her exposure to “the real world of grand opera” while on a Rotary Scholarship, she returned home with a determination to push the envelope and seek a career in music. This ambition took her to England. Continue reading →

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March 3, 2016 · 4:13 pm

The Evocative Minor Chords of ‘Dunno Budunge’ and the Current Discord

arun dbArun Dias Bandaranaike … an original essay … but also placed in https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-evocative-minor-chords-of-dunno-budunge-the-current-discord/ … where there will be bloggers

One month ago, a bit of musical whimsy staged a century ago was extracted and extrapolated upon a set of circumstances, which, in turn, fostered an outpouring of comment and diatribes. This should be a cause for surprise and it certainly was worrying in that this needless controversy illustrates a fragmented Lankan community and underscores the already existing lines of societal fracture.

TOWER HALL The Tower Hall, Maradana – after its restoration and refurbishment in the 1980s

On reflection over these recent eruptions of public distaste, poor taste and sullied decorum, one feels a sober analysis is apt. Discussing merits and demerits is outside of my province, but understanding the flow of the tide (and of what is revealed in the times past) would help. There may well be vultures that prey on culture, but that should hardly interest a nation of sentient beings whose real interest, as always, is about getting on and going on. Continue reading →

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March 3, 2016 · 10:08 am

Mount Lavinia Hotel celebrates its 210th Year with A Literary Feast

Dewi Hewamanna with Shevanthie Gooneskera, courtesy of The Daily News, 4 March 2016, where the title reads “Countdown Celebrations to 210 years: Words on the Mount “

MOUNT

The iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel holds a story like no other Heritage property in the country. Settled on top of a rock with the waves of the Indian Ocean crashing on its private beach, this was once the residence of the second Governor of the Old Ceylon, Sir Thomas Maitland in 1805. Continue reading →

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March 3, 2016 · 3:13 am

Singapore’s PM and Modi in Exemplary Presidential Manner

MODI

Instead of a huge wastage in a State Dinner, the Singapore PM hosts PM Modi at Komala Vilas, a popular eatery in S’pore — a couple of ulundu vadays and chutney served on a banana leaf. This shows how to build a great economy by avoiding unnecessary extravaganza and pomp. Hats off! Spread the scene. The WORLD at large needs to see more of this kind of leadership…. A Sri Lankan Admirer from AFAR
 

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February 29, 2016 · 12:11 pm

Jackboots in the Bandaranaike Academe. Cabral as Mussolini

TDSinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda, in Sunday Island, 27 February 2016, where the title reads “Out of Step with Yahapalanaya The Baila is Wearing Thin” …. with the change of title being my editorial imposition on Tammita-Delgoda’s laconic and beautifully crafted essay in order to underline the gravity of the intellectual assault that was committed by the new Head of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, namely, Ranjith Cabral. The unfolding events described in this report are simply out of this world and quite unprecedented. They do not only mark a form of departmental fascism, but also indicate  a foolishness and idiocy beyond comprehension. When members of the intelligentsia stomp upon scholarly endeavours in this fashion, we are injecting that which is nearnderthal into our very pores. The use of Mussolini’s name rather than, say, Hitler’s, in my metaphorical comparison is a considered choice. In retrospect, both were deadly while yet comical. Mussolini, however, was more comical and less deadly than Hitler. Michael Roberts  …. Details regardingthe present BCIS Board are noted at the end.

article_image Continue reading →

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February 28, 2016 · 3:29 pm

Encompassing Empowerment in Ritual, War and Assassination

Michael Roberts, courtesy of Berghahn Press and Social Analysis and Doug Farrer, the Editor of the Special Volume on “War Magic“, Social Analysis, 2014, vol 58/1…….. see http://berghahn.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/berghahn/socan/2014/00000058/00000001;jsessionid=brf7pbpqi52o9.Victoria….. Note that the article has a sub-title: “Tantric Principles in Tamil Tiger Instrumentalities.”

Abstract: This study highlights the Tantric threads within the transcendental religions of Asia that reveal the commanding role of encirclement as a mystical force. The cyanide capsule (kuppi) around the neck of every Tamil Tiger fighter was not only a tool of instrumental rational-ity as a binding force, but also a modality similar to a thāli (marriage bond necklace) and to participation in a velvi (religious animal sacrifice). It was thus embedded within Tamil cultural practice. Alongside the LTTE’s politics of homage to its māvīrar (dead heroes), the kuppi sits beside numerous incidents in LTTE acts of mobilization or military actions where key functionaries approached deities in thanks or in preparation for the kill. These practices highlight the inventive potential of liminal moments/spaces. We see this as modernized ‘war magic’—a hybrid re-enchantment energizing a specific religious worldview.

Keywords: cosmic encirclement, enchanted practices, liminality, LTTE, regeneration, sacrifice, suicide attacks, Tantrism

28c-vipoothi lad Figure 1 Young Tiger Fighter with Holy Ash on His Forehead Heads for the Battlefield in the Late 1980s —Photograph © Shyam Tekwani

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February 26, 2016 · 9:50 am

Combat Training in the Sri Lanka Army

nugeraBrig Ralph Nugera,*** WWV RWP RSP in Minute entitled “Evolution of Training” — reproduced in http://www.businesstoday.lk/article.php?article=3487 where one can find two other Minutes from Brigadiers Dhammika Kariyawasam & Tissa Jayasuriya on “Logistical Support” …. and from Maj Gen Sanjeewa Munasinghe, on “Medical Support” … all dated 2011

The tactical level of operations was dominated by small groups. This campaign was successfully waged across all levels of conflict from the tactical areas of responsibility and theatres of combat to the forums of international diplomacy. Prudent analysis of the past dictated the development of innovative concepts, blending conventional and unconventional warfare, concepts and tactics to suit the nature and environment of the conflict. Small groups of light infantrymen with meager equipment sharpened individual and team skills, and this was an innovative approach to counter insurgency and defeat the LTTE.

71b-troops in action 72b-map reading-MD72a SL infantry in action–Minsitry of Defence –See Roberts, Tamil Person and State. Pictorial, 2014: Figs. 71a,72a & 72b. Continue reading →

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