July 15, 2025 · 10:05 pm

In Maureen Hingert’s Memory via Paul Robeson

Charles Schokman

It was in the early fifties at the age of twenty-one I used to ride my bicycle from Dematagoda all the way to Bambalapitiya to visit friends living down Lorensz Rd. It was quite a distance but worth the ride.

Vale Maureen Hingert – mrober137@gmail.com – Gmail

Down that street lived Maureen Hingert and whenever she saw me pass her home, she never failed to greet me with a smile or say hello.

She, though a mere stranger, was happy to make her acquaintance with me. This kind gesture of hers and endearing ways left a lasting mark in my life.

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July 15, 2025 · 11:37 am

Biographical Paths in Sri Lankan History … via Hits in Thuppahi  

A NOTE from Michael Roberts, 15 July 2025

Biographical tales are one of the paths in historical investigation.  Such tales attract many readers because they flesh out lifeways and resonate with personal recollections. The WORD PRESS website provides the Thuppahi-Editor with figures on the HITS which the site receives every day,

Because of the ‘picture’ óf READER INTEREST served up by such figures the “TALE” may interest some readers. If interested in a particular item just copy the title … ADD “thuppahis.com” and search the web.

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July 11, 2025 · 5:00 pm

Hard Yards in Medical Learning at Colombo University in the 1960s

Dr Nihal D Amerasekera, in The Island, 6 July 2025, …where the title reads  “Going through Colombo Medical School” ... with highlighting emphasis imposed y ThE Editor, Thuppahi

Some real-life experiences:  I am looking at the events of the 20th century with 21st century spectacles. Hence there are no hard feelings or anger except a fervent hope the situation has changed for the better.

My first introduction to the Medical Faculty was on registration day. It started with virtual ‘road blocks’ by seniors to round up the freshers. This was the beginning of the rag to usher in the new recruits and introduce them to a new brand of nastiness, a tradition that has prevailed since the very beginning of the institution.

Photo here  This infamous ritual has become more outrageous with time. This kind of harassment went on for a further fortnight after we joined. What an introduction to a supposed sanctuary of like-minded scholars!! I look back at this behaviour — a set of practices was accepted by many of the staff in the Faculty andeven encouraged by some of them.

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July 10, 2025 · 9:21 pm

Professor Sinnappah Arasaratnam: Historian Outstanding

Michael Roberts

Sinnappah Arasaratnam was one of my inspirational teachers in History at Peradeniya University in the late 1950s. In chancing upon a printed copy of one of his articles — entitled “Sri Lanka’s Tamils under Colonial Rule,” (date ??), I have been inspired to remind new generations, as well as older ones. of his contributions to scholarship in Lanka, Malaysia/Singapore and Australia.

It was to my benefit that I was able to interact with him on occasions after he moved to Malaysia and Australia. Alas, the details of these exchanges have not taken root in my fading memory.

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July 9, 2025 · 11:52 pm

India & The LTTE via Hits on Thuppahi

Michael Roberts

The WORD PRESS web managers provide a running table of figures’ showing which items in my Website, https://thuppahis.com …., have been visited and presumably read EACH DAY. Presented below are selections from the HITS on the 9th July. 

The Indian reporter Muralidhar Reddy with SL Army Supreme Commander Shavendra Silva at an SL Army briefing in Kilinochchi in early 2009

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July 9, 2025 · 2:29 pm

Sri Lanka Overwhelm Bangladesh in Third ODI

Andrew Fidel Fernando n ESPNcricinfo, July 2025, where the title is different

Sri Lanka 285 for 7 (Kusal 124, Asalanka 58, Mehidy 2-48, Taskin 2-51) beat Bangladesh 186 (Hridoy 51, Asitha 3-33, Chameera 3-51) by 99 runs

Kusal Mendis crashed 124 off 114, Sri Lanka‘s seamers took three wickets apiece, and Sri Lanka surged to a series win, defeating Bangladesh by 99 runs in the deciding ODI. The centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s batting was the 124-run  between Kusal and Charith Asalanka, who made 58 off 68. Bangladesh’s bowlers did well either side of that partnership, particularly at the death, conceding only 62 off the last 10 overs.

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July 8, 2025 · 8:23 pm

Prussian Lutheran Migration to Australia in the 19th Century

Keith Conlon in Linked In

A momentous exodus of ‘0ld Lutheran’ religious refugees to South Australia began OTD 8 July 1838. Families from Klemzig in Prussia (now Poland) sailed down the Oder River to Hamburg, their departure point for the new reformist colony of South Australia. The ‘Paradise of Dissent’ offered freedom of religion.

A 1938 memorial for their leader Pastor August Kavel at Langmeil Church in the Barossa Valley credits him as‘The founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia’.

Kavel Memorial Monument Australia

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July 8, 2025 · 8:01 pm

THE GUARDIAN in UK seeks reader-support

“From Minute Hands can an Ongoig  ‘Edifice’ be built”– Thupphiyaaa

AN APPEAL ON EMAIL from THE GUARDIAN

 

 

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July 8, 2025 · 7:17 pm

In-Your-Face: Reflection on Political Confrontation in Sri Lanka in the 1970s

John Rogers to Michael Roberts, date uncertain, maybe circa 2018 … responding to items in this website, maybe circa 2018, which retailed debates in the early 1970s  within Peradeniya University and Lanka in circles associated with  — and against — the activities of the CEYLON STUDIES SEMINAR. 

Some lecturers aligned with the United Front government of Mrs Bandaranaike voiced strong protests against some seminars organised by the CSS cabal — including a conference on the “Sinhala-Tamil problem” held in Colombo.

John’s reflections on the challenges and the work of the CSS provide us with stimulating ideas on the character of political contestation in general. His academic background and items pertinent to the CSS will be listed at the end of this item.

“Where have all the flowers gone,

Long time passing,

….

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July 7, 2025 · 12:15 am

For Richmond College: EFC Ludowyk and His Outreach

EFC LUDOWYK MEMORIAL LECTURE,  Organized by the Richmond 60 Club, July 5th, 2025, at the OPA Auditorium

the AUTHOR = Austin Fernando

The President and members of the Richmond 60 Club, the former Principal of Richmond, Mr. E.M.S. Ekanayake, and friends. I consider it a singular honor to have been invited to speak about the late Prof. E.F.C. Ludowyk. I was not a student, colleague, or acquaintance of his. Hence, what you will hear from me today is what I have been able to glean from the literature I could access on Prof. Ludowyk, and I delved into during my preparation for this talk.

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