Sri Lankan Baila: Its Roots and Variations – By Dr Michael Roberts Source:thuppahis.com Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya, courtesy of THE CEYLANKAN, Vol XXI, No 3, August 2018 … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi The extraordinary love of the Portuguese for music is epitomised at El Ksar el Kabir in Morocco, in 1578, where 10 000 guitars lay on the battlefield, near the dead Portuguese soldiers. The Portuguese took guns and guitars to battlefields! Is it surprising that the Portuguese presence is vibrant through Sri Lankan popular music – Baila? Baila is a ballad in which the poetry is of paramount importance. A ballad is a short poem suitable for singing which was originally intended to accompany a dance. The etymology of ballad is ballare (late Latin/Italian) meaning ‘to dance’. Today the Portuguese word bailar meaning ‘to dance’ is used in the context of a Ball; dançar means ‘to dance’. Meanings of words change over time ...

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SYDNEY BENS  St.Benedict’s College Old Boys Association New South Wales Inc. ESTABLISHED IN SYDNEY NEW SOUTH WALES IN 1985  FOUNDER PRESIDENT-OLD BEN HAROLD CHRISTIE DAVID CONTACT email – secretary.sydneybens@gmail.com   2021/2022 COMMITTEE  Name Position Harold Christie David Patron Yohan Pathinather President Sherwell Fernando Vice President Claude Perera Treasurer Dilen Edirimanasinghe Gen. Secretary Francis Constantine Sports Secretary Ralston Fernandez Social Secretary Ronnie Almeida Committee Member Roshan Pathinather Committee Member Eshanka Wickremaratne Committee Member Suranga De Silva Committee Member Chris Kandasamy Committee Member Desmond Don Paul Auditor Saliya Tennekoon Editor and Media HISTORY OF – St.Benedict’s College,Colombo 13,Sri Lanka. The oldest Roman Catholic school in Sri Lanka, was inaugurated in 1865 by the Benedictine Monks. The school consisted of few classrooms and small staff at first. In 1868, the De La Salle Brothers took over the administration of the college. Since then the school has been headed by many Brothers who belonged to the La Sallian Community. The ...

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