Notice re A National Trust Lecture by Prof Gamini Ranasinghe: “The prince Balaina (A son of VI Parakramabahu?) and his Clan in China and Taiwan” ………… ….. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuIpBdlCJmU
Gamini Ranasinghe …
How the SSC Penetrated the Long Room at the Lords Cricket Ground
Lam Seneviratne, whose choice of title is “Lords -My Claim to Fame” … quite an appropriate point
I had presented to the MCC at Lords a painting of the Singhalese Sports Club grounds in 1975 to mark the first ODI World Cup event.
Cricket at A Deserted Adelaide Oval
Michael Roberts
On Monday 4th November the South Australian Cricket team led by Alex Carey completed an assertive victory over Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match. — winning by 00 runs. I was among the 50 or so spectators watching this victory unfold.
All of us were at the ground level in the Western Stand. There was only one eatery open and no bars. …… a barren terrain that was out of step with a good victory. For the record I note that SA scored 307 runs and 270 for 8 decl while Victoria assembled 232 and 207 runs — with the last day’s headline running “Pope spins South Australia to a Drought-Breaking Victory” .… even though it was Manenti who secured the Man of the Match award. Continue reading
Remembering Professor Margaret Trawick, American Anthropologist in Tamil Lanka
N. Malathy = Obituary, 7 January 2022 … ”Margaret Trawick Wanted to Retire in the LTTE’s Vanni”
I first heard about Margaret Trawick through the “Tamil Circle” email group during the late 1990’s. This was before internet-based news sites had become common. ‘Tamil Circle” was a way to share news about the homeland. From a university library, I borrowed Margaret’s book cum her PhD thesis, “Notes on Love in a Tamil Family”, which was based on her anthropological work in Tamil Nadu. That was the beginning of my journey to understand my own society. Margaret’s book taught me a lot about the anthropological perspective of societies, a perspective that the science-focused Tamil elite of my generation lacks. It remains a weakness of my society.
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British Ceylon Through A Family Lens 1850-1950
Prof Naren Chitty …. an article in THE CEYLANKAN vol 27/4 November 2024
Introduction
British Governors relied on mostly unsalaried Mudaliyars (leaders) from select families who exchanged service for land grants.[1] Educated in public schools Mudaliyars’ Anglophile sons increasingly inhabited a Jane Austenian lifeworld, particularly as they donned European attire in the middle of the nineteenth century. Unfolding around them was a countervailing Buddhist revival associated with Sinhala cultural resurgence. [2]
Chitty Family in 1899 … Standing L-R = Christian, Wilfred, George Snr, Marian, Charles ….. Sitting L-R = Mitzi, Rose, Maude, Laura, James
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Addressing Audrey Maxwell’s Research on Cross-Cultural Marriages in England
Michael Roberts
My elder sister Audrey’s article on cross-cultural marriages & families in England via detailed interaction with several well-educated families in Oxford in the 1990s has been reproduced in TPS in the full … https://thuppahis.com/2024/10/28/not-all-issues-are-black-or-white-some-voices-from-the-offspring-of-cross-cultural-marriages/. It has the potential to inspire comments from British folk of varied backgrounds; and, hopefully, to promote studies in the today which could mark contrasts – or similarities – now some 20-30 years later.
Audrey in an acting role at Peradeniya Uni, mid-1950s …. & at a church in Oxford in the 2010s
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Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza Today
An EDITORIAL in the Haaretz, 29 October 2024 with this title “If it looks like Ethnic Cleansing, it probably is” …. with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi
Isn’t it ironic to see many Israeli Jews playing the role of the Nazis who eliminated their Jewish ancestors through urban bombardment, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
For three and a half weeks, Israeli forces have been besieging the northern Gaza Strip. Israel has almost completely blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, thereby starving the hundreds of thousands of people who live there. Information emerging from the besieged area is only partial, because ever since the war began, Israel has barred journalists from entering Gaza.
Dr Narendran Rajasingham: A Grounded Sri Lankan Tamil Patriot
Michael Roberts
Naren Rajasingham was a trifle junior to me at Peradeniya University when he pursued a Vet/Science Degree before proceeding to postgraduate qualifications in the same field. It was only when I was fully enmeshed in researching the Eelam Wars and visiting Colombo with some frequency that I got to know him. My memory is imprecise in its notation of time; and I cannot fix precise dates to our exchanges.
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Israeli Tourists and Investments in Arugam Bay Area Under Threat
ITEM in THE GUARDIAN, 29 October 2024 with this headlin
The golden sands of Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay are usually carefree, a place for tourists to surf the famous break and relax on the beach.
But last week, the slow rhythm of the bay was dealt a shock. The US embassy, followed up by Sri Lankan police and Israel’s national security council, warned of a serious terrorist threat in the area. Israeli travellers were believed to be the intended target of a planned attack and were told to evacuate immediately. Hundreds of police and senior intelligence officials descended on the small coastal town, setting up patrols and road blocks.
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