OBITUARY – Dr P R{Ranji) WIKRAMANAYAKE (17 01. 1932 – 30.07.2024) A few weeks ago, the Sri Lankan community in Australia lost one its most distinguished sons, Dr P R Wkiramanayake, known as Ranji to his friends, an accomplished and highly regarded endocrinologist. He was 92 years of age and hailed from a distinguished family with its origins in Galle. The ancestry and genealogy of the family is well recorded in the book “Galle as quiet as asleep “(1993) by. Author Norah Roberts. The elder son of E.G. Wikramanayake, Queens Counsel, Ranji was born into the lap of luxury. Like his father before him, Ranji attended St Thomas College, Mount Lavinia from where he entered the Ceylon Medical School, and from where he graduated, and proceeded to the UK for Post graduate work. On his return from London with the M.R.C.P. he was appointed consultant physician at the Out Patients ...
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Parakrama heard his Last Whistle – By Capt. Elmo Jayawardena I am minting these words with a heavy heart. There are times that words have no more meaning, but I need to do my best for my old friend ‘Para’ who is no longer with us. We started playing Basketball at the age of 13 and ended decades later. Parakrama Fernando said good-bye to his friends and family and to the world on 21st July. He is gone. The burial was completed two days later. He was 77 years old. Both as a player and as a coach, I have seen a lot of basketball in Sri Lanka for more than 6 decades. I categorically state that the best center player I saw in my life in the Sri Lankan basketball courts was Parakrama Fernado. To begin with, he played bare footed almost all the time. The shots he ...
THE HINTERLAND – By RANIL BIBILE Download the PDF file . Click here to receive your free copy of the eLanka Newsletter twice a week delivered directly to your inbox! ...
WAS THE THIRD PRIME MINISTER OF CEYLON THE SON OF A MURDERER ? THE TRIAL OF JOHN KOTELAWALA (SENIOR) – By HUGH KARUNANAYAKE John Kotelawala (Senior) was the father of Sir John Kotelawala the third Prime Minister of independent Ceylon, who held office from 1953 to 1956. John Kotelawala (Snr) was born in 1865 in the village of Bandaragama. Having attended the village school where he learnt his English, he attended schools in Colombo and then started life as a third class constable clerk in the Ceylon Police Force in the 1880s. As a policeman he was good in detective work and his general application to his duties impressive, and was within a few years promoted to the rank of Inspector. It was then that he sought the hand of, and married Alice Attygalle, the daughter of Mudaliyar D.C.G. Attygalle of Colamunne. He resigned from the police soon after his ...
Ceylon/Sri Lanka one of the Listed Countries to obtained Independence from Britain [United Kingdom] in 1948 Source:Ceylon — Sri Lanka / Then & Now! Click here to receive your free copy of the eLanka Newsletter twice a week delivered directly to your inbox! ...
Nationalisms in Ceylon – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Highlights In Singapore & Australia, the Sri Lankans are proud to call themselves Singaporeans and Aussies, respectively. The same: Sri Lankans land in Katunayake, come home for a holiday, and mind-orient themselves to call themselves “Sinhala Buddhists”, a term referring to the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka who follow the Buddhist faith. This is my observation. Sri Lankan Australian who came with me on the same plane and spat on the pavement after alighting in I just retorted that you wouldn’t do that in Prompt, the answer came,” This is my ” I suppose that would be the patriotic feeling! Is it feasible to create separate nations for each nationality on our island? The concept of nationhood and its implications for Sri Lanka’s diverse ethnic tapestry, which is currently marked by tensions and conflicts, are the subject of intense debate. In ...
Good News From Jayam April 15, 2024 Pls Scroll Down 15 items Ceylon Today – Daily Finance Today Rutnam Eyes USD 10M Revival for RanmiNitenna Tele – Cinema Park By Ishara Gamage -April 9, 2024 Renowned film director and Chairman of Asian Film Location Services Ltd. (established in 1980), Chandran Rutnam, plans to lease the now-defunct Ranminitenna Tele-Cinema Park in Hambantota with an initial investment of USD 10 million. Speaking to Finance Today, he said, “We, Asian Film Location Services Ltd are in the final stages of presenting the proposal to the Government. In the first phase alone, we could generate USD 25 million to USD 30 million annually by providing equipment and studio rentals, services, and experienced and talented technicians, significantly boosting the country’s foreign exchange reserves.” He mentioned that despite the ideological issues among the bureaucrats and the lack of vision through ignorance among state officials, he is determined to successfully ...
It all happened in Colombo – a generation ago – By Upali Salgado The changing face of Colombo, and the lifestyles of her people exposed to Western culture are always fascinating. Two writers, Herbert Hulugalle, a former Editor of the Ceylon Daily News, and Dr. R.L. Brohier, OBE, have in print recorded many facets of the History of Colombo, which was once a Moor trading centre and later a Portuguese and Dutch cittadel. During British times, it was known as the ‘Garden City’. This story is to rekindle the interest of readers about what life in Colombo once was. The prominent landmarks that beautify the landscape of Colombo are Slave Island with the picturesque Beira Lake encircling the human settlement, and the Galle Face walk (‘Green’ as it is known today). Moors and Malays have lived in Slave Island for over 800 years, and also ‘Kaffir’ soldiers, brought from Mozambique and the ...
The Trail of the Ignominious Political Path of Sri Lanka. – By Noor Rahim This article is based purely on my own experiences that I have gone through and that I experienced; since being born in Sri Lanka in the year 1937. My ancestors came to Sri Lanka with the Dutch Army which occupied the low country on the behest of the Sinhala King of Kandy to rid of the Portuguese who were occupied the land prior; in the late 16th century and early 17th century. The King could not bear to see his subjects being mistreated cruelly and heaping them with untold misery. Hence, in the early 17th century invited the Dutch to get rid of the Portuguese invaders. Having done so, they occupied all the territories that were occupied by the Portuguese. Peace prevailed during this period. It was in the late 18th century that the Dutch handed ...
“OLD HENRY POLE WHO GOT THE WORK IN THE MATARA COURTS IN A MESS ‘ – By HUGH KARUNANAYAKE The words above were expressed by Mr Edward Elliott Government Agent of the Southern Province in 1860. Henry Pole was in the Ceylon Civil Service for 26 years.It was an age where Civil Servants (mainly British)were appointed to Judicial positions. He was Police Magistrate Mulaitivu in 1845, then at Galle for a couple of years each in different judicial capacities then as District Judge Matara, and finally District Judge Batticaloa from where he retired in 1971. Henry Pole who served in the Ceylon Civil Service from 1845 to 1871, married the 18 year old daughter of Joseph Price also of the Ceylon Civil Service on 2 February 1853. Pole was himself in his fifties when he married his eighteen year old bride. Henry Pole was Police Magistrate Mulaitivu when he married. ...
