“HOT, OFF THE PRESS” – by Des Kelly With due thanks to my friend Jude Goonewardane, Collector/Keeper of ALL Musical Extravaganzas emanating from olde Ceylon, Sri Lanka, and finally, from abroad, where Nimal Mendis, God rest his soul, composed this song to promote Air Lanka, a few years ago. The general public did not hear this song, unless they were on a flight of the said Airline. This was what we would term, a strictly promotional song, until Jude decided to install it on You-Tube, simply to give us all the chance to reminisce about this highly talented Icon, in Nimal, who also sings his song. Once again, thank you Jude, for giving me the chance of promoting yet another Songwriter from My Lovely Island Home. Desmond Kelly. (Editor-in-Chief) e’ Lanka. ...
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A migrant’s story – 2: Leaving Ceylon and landing in high spirits in Australia! BY RON PIERES My first journey out of Ceylon in March of 1974 was a very memorable one. My wife and I were migrating to Sydney, Australia. So, we sold most of our possessions as we had to pay for the tickets. We sold our worldly belongings, even clothes and my beloved transistor radio! We had to pay 66% FEEC’s plus the cost of tickets. To purchase foreign exchange, it was called Foreign Exchange Entitlement Certificates. Our first visit was to the Taxation Office to obtain tax clearance. I bribed the peon RS10 to ensure the swift movement of our file from desk to desk for approval! We then had to go to the notorious 10th Floor of the CID to obtain clearance certificates to leave Ceylon. We did this without getting thrown out of the ...
Jun 16, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles
Tagged B.P.De Silva, Ceylon, CID, Ron Pieres, Waltzing Matilda
Rose quartz mountain range – largest in Asia – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Nestled in the vast ironwood forest (popularly known as “Na Uyana” or “Jaathika Namal Uyana” due to its vast range of Na trees – Mesua ferrea), the oldest and largest man-made forest in Asia and situated in close proximity to *Dambulla, the rose quartz mountain range also known as “pink quartz mountain” (known as rosa thiruwana kanda in Sinhala) comprises seven mountains. According to scholars, the rose quartz mountain range enclosed in Namal Uyana is over 500 million years old. The rose quartz mountain is the most well-known and unique attraction of the heritage site. Vistas of the breathtaking splendor of the pink quartz mountain range is a unique experience. There is no presence of common black rock in the entire area. Although, quartz crystals are common in many parts of the world, this deposit is renowned ...
Jun 15, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, Arundathie Abeysinghe
Tagged Anuradhapura, Ceylon, Dambulla, Jaathika Namal Uyana, King Dappula IV, King Devanampiyatissa, Na Uyana, rosa thiruwana kanda, Venerable Wanawasi Rahula Thero
Taking a closer look at ‘aragalaya’ – By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando The ‘Aragalaya’ or the protest by peaceful demonstrators in front of the Presidential Secretariat has exceeded fifty days and continues. The protesters claim the 6.9 million who voted for a change and for Gotabaya Rajapaksa failed to deliver what was promised on election platforms. Fuel prices have gone up several times to unprecedented levels. Consequently, people stand in long queues mainly for petrol, gas and milk-food, while consumer prices are sky high. The scarcity of medicines in hospitals is also flashing red lights. People complain they have to spend their time in queues constantly. The poor cannot afford the wave of fuel and consumer price hikes. Yet, it is the fault of all Governments since Ceylon became independent in 1948 for not implementing robust economic policies. Still, everyone blames the present President in a matter of three ...
Jun 1, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, Tilak S Fernando
Tagged Athuraliye Rathana Thera, Ceylon, Chamal Rajapaksa, Galle Face Green, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ramesh Pathirana, Sri Lanka, Wimal Weerawansa
“WILD-CATS” by Des Kelly Very strange indeed, how these subjects suddenly pop up, out of nowhere, it seems, because this writer began following an Aussie-rules Football team from the town of Geelong, Melbourne, Australia, named “CATS”. Why did I begin to follow this team ?, simply because Geelong rhymed with Ceylon, the Country I loved, but had to leave reluctantly, like so many thousands of “Burgher Buggers”, when the “Sinhala-only” policy was introduced by a latter-day P.M., with the initials S.W.R.D. For him, KARMA followed. F.Y.I. Karma is a word originating from, believe it, or not, a Sinhala/Sanscrit word “KARUME’ , (pronounced Karumay). That said, your’s truly then recorded anither song in Australia called The Rise And Fall Of Flingle Bunt, (don’t know who HE was, but BUNT is another strange name), and guess what ??, I recorded this Instrumental with a group named “The Wildcats”. NOW, PLEASE WATCH THIS ...
May 30, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, DESMOND KELLY
Tagged animals from Sri Lanka, Burgher Buggers, Ceylon, The Wildcats
“CHAIR EXTRAORDINAIRE” – by Des Kelly Nearly every good home in Ceylon had one. This chair did take a fairly large part of the normal verandah’s (or front porches) of the usually medium sized homes that were common over there, but of course, there were “Wallowvas” (spelt as pronounced) & Mansions of the rich & famous that could easily accommodate two, or even three of them. Thank you, Charley Schokman for reminding us about these “Hansi-Putuwas”. True to your name, you give us all a shock sometimes, bringing up these wonderful memories. The “post” is welcome, well-written, and serves it’s purpose, and the picture of the chair looks pretty good, as well. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think that the premiere furniture makers of bygone Ceylon, Don Carolis & Sons made that one. That said, let’s leave it there, & bring you the story of “The Chair-Extraordinaire. Desmond ...
May 29, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, DESMOND KELLY
Tagged Ceylon, chair, planters' chairs, seat
Any ‘System Change’ must occur at the grassroots level – By Aubrey Joachim The resounding cry coming out of the Aragalaya is the need for a ‘system change’. This resonating cry which emanated from social media groups as well as the youth at the Gogotagama protest sites has also permeated the chamber of parliament. Various lawmakers are throwing the phrase helter skelter on the floor of the house in an effort to gain political advantage. But what really is the ‘system change’ that is expected? It is almost certain that each of various groups clamouring for such a change have in their minds a different understanding of the outcome and most likely a narrow version which suits their own narrative and perspective. The most likely perception of the aragalaya proponents is a change in the system of politics and governance that has seemingly led to the worst political ...
May 26, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, Aubrey Joachim
Tagged Aubrey Joachim, Ceylon, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, political system, System Change
ACM LAFIR BIDS FAREWELL – by AFZAL LAPHIR Antonian legend ACM Lafir passed away peacefully yesterday in Colombo. He was 86. “Verily we belong to God, and verily to Him do we return”. The name ACM Lafir is synonymous with Antonian cricket and has remained so through many generations. His record-breaking innings of 176 against Trinity and the opening partnership of 266 with Ronnie Steven have achieved legendary status in our history. Let us now reminisce about his cricketing career at college and how he burst into the national scene as a schoolboy. Lafir made his first XI debut for St Anthony’s College (Kandy) in 1950 under Stanley Jayasinghe at the age of 14 and made an immediate impression by scoring 321 runs in 13 innings with a top score of 82 against Ananda. Other notable knocks include 65 vs Trinity, 41 vs Zahira and 38 vs St Joseph’s. He ...
May 19, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles
Tagged ACM LAFIR, Antonian cricket, Brian Statham, Ceylon, dmund Cooray.St Anthony’s College Kandy, Frank Tyson, MCC team, Stanley Jayasinghe, Tom Graveney
TRAVAILS OF AN EARLY COFFEE PLANTER – by Hugh Karunanayake If one lived in Sri Lanka in the mid 1900s, a name such as F.L. Dick would have raised more than a few titters. The unfortunate man lived in Ceylon a century before such a possibility, in an age when neither “F.L.” nor Dick meant anything other than a mere name. Frederick Lacy Dick was the elder son of Samuel Dick a wealthy landowner from the Isle of Wight who invested heavily in opening up coffee plantations in Ceylon in the mid 1800s and which eventually succumbed to the ‘coffee crash’ of the time. Fred and his brother who came out to Ceylon to manage their plantations lost their means to a livelihood as a result of the coffee crash. That was the time when the country was a Crown Colony and the British who were running the country were ...
Mar 30, 2022
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Articles
Tagged Ceylon, coffee, Crown Colony, Daniel Appoo, Elizabeth Layard, Frederick Lacy Dick, Hugh Karunanayake, Mary Dick, Samuel Dick
The Governors at Nattandiya – by GEORGE BRAINE Opposite the Nattandiya railway station, between the Buddhist temple and the Milk Board collection center, is a narrow road that winds down out of sight. I believe it used to be called the Gansabawa Road. In 1960, my father served as the superintendent of a coconut estate on this road about a mile from the station. Ratmalwewa Estate wasn’t large – it must have been around 150 acres during those days – and it was split into two by the road. For a child growing up in rural Ceylon, the estate and the life surrounding it were memorable. Not much traffic passed down the road. There was no bus service and cars were infrequent. Lorries loaded with coconuts or coconut husks, transporting them from estates down the road to oil or coir mills further afield, passed occasionally. The most frequent sight were ...
Mar 23, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, George Braine
Tagged Ceylon, Chilaw, Maris Stella College, Nattandiya railway station
