Nostalgia of “scuffles” of late Hon.Gamini “Dissanayake” in conquering Test status in year 1981 – By Sunil Thenabadu Image Source : island When Sri Lanka seized the World Cup defeating the mighty Australians in the year 1996 they unequivocally proved to the whole World that the Sri Lankans were a overriding power house in the cricketing world. The whole country naturally was jubilant , elated and ecstatic . Youth danced in delirious delight in streets and clubs. The moment was obviously blissful. appreciative and indebted as Sri Lankans usually are Many a mind evoked with joy and profound gratitude, inter alia, the one man who made the Sri Lankan dream a reality in silent appreciation they remembered the name of late Hon .Gamini Dissanayake though he was unfortunately not living, been an unfortunate victim of a LTTE bomb explosion at ‘Thotalanga’ at his own presidential bid crusade. Late Hon.GD was born ...
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From development to cricket, he had a vision Hon Gamini Dissanayake reminisced on this 30th death annoversary – By Sunil Thenabadu October 23, 1994 was the day of Gamini Dissanayake’s tragic death occurred following a bomb explosion while he was participating in his Presidential campaign meeting. His untimely death was indeed an irreparable loss to all citizens of Sri Lanka.He was a lawyer by profession who sacrificed a lucrative career and entered politics in the early 1970’s. He drew inspiration from leaders like D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake and J.R Jayewardene. All those who were acquainted with him knew very well that he was a person of courage who always stood up for what was right, He was a humanist – congenial, honest, upright, humble and an exemplary politician. Whatever he did, he did to perfection through sheer commitment. He was initially elected a Member of Parliament by winning a seat ...
Presidents may come and go but JR’s Executive Presidency goes on forever-by D.B.S Jeyaraj Source:FT Sri Lanka’s ninth Presidential election will be held on Saturday 21 September. More than 17 million (17,140,354) Sri Lankans are registered as eligible voters. Nominally 38 candidates are in the ring but only three are regarded as the leading contenders. The hectic election campaigns ended on 18 September but election fever is high. A large voter turnout is expected on election day. It is indeed an irony that there is so much of enthusiasm over the election of the executive president despite the criticism directed against the executive presidential system in past years. The Executive Presidency is blamed extensively on the one hand while the country gets involved in presidential poll excitement on the other. Since Presidential elections are uppermost in the minds of most readers, this column too would like to dwell on that ...
The Wettimuny Trio of Accomplished Opening Batsmen-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis The Sri Lankan world of cricket was well served in the past by an accomplished set of batsmen school at Ananda College and the Sinhalese Sports Club who were all, remarkably, opening batsmen. The first of these lads to hit the headlines was Mithra Wettimuny – the second in the brotherly line-up. As Captain of Ananda, [1] he was selected to lead the Ceylon schoolboys in their tour of India in 1969 ……. with guidance from managers A. D. Karunananda and Angelo Rayer. The squad had an outstanding tour – in fact securing a set of remarkable results (see Ranjan Anandappa’s recounting at https://thuppahis.com/2024/07/02/the-wettimuny-trio-of-accomplished-opening-batsmen/ as It was not Mithra, but the eldest Sunil that hit the headlines next when selected in the squad touring England for the ODI World Cup in 1975 – with Anura Tennekoon as captain and KMT Perera Sunil Wettimuny (Sri Lanka) ...
Nostalgia of evoking courageous labours of Hon Late Gamini Dissanayake in conquering Test status – by Sunil Thenabadu The endeavours of the late Gamini Dissanayake, while holding several Ministerial Portfolios other than spearheading the Mahaweli project, have helped vastly to uplift to a large extent the basic living standards, especially of the average citizen and made a tremendous impact on the economic revival of the country, which is of course is no exaggeration. Besides being dynamically engaged in our development progression, he found the time to be actively involved in the game of cricket; having held office as the President of the Board of Control of Cricket in Sri Lanka, (BCCSL, now known as Sri Lanka Cricket,SLC) from June 1981 to June 1989 and thereafter, for a brief period of four months, immediately prior to his tragic death in 1994; during which period he made loads of momentous contributions. Throughout the tenure ...
Remembering Percy Abeysekera: Lanka’s Cricketing Flagbearer-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Percy Abeysekera has passed away recently …. carrying the Sri Lankan flag and reams of cricketing memories with him to an abode in the skies: memories that encompassed at least 70-72 years of cricketing cheer. Yes, that long a span. To me, Percy was first and foremost, an Aloysian. When I joined the St. Aloysius cheering squad as a 14-to-16 year old at the Galle Esplanade during our cricketing matches against Richmond, Mahinda and other schools, Percy was one of our cheerleaders. So, his patriotism and his crazy cricketing virtuosity was nurtured in Galle …. at our school. It is likely that most Sri Lankan cricket-fans will have a mental picture of “Pissu Percy” escorting some of our cricketing heroes to the boundary gates after some on-field cricketing achievement. Yes, I display such moments a few lines hence: but the ...
Introducing an Essay on an Ethnic Confrontation at a Cricket Match in 1981-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis This ‘encounter’ took place in 1981 and involved a Burgher Sri Lankan barracker earning the combined ‘resistance’ of an Aussie cricketer and Sinhala bystander (Sinha). As an observer of this set of exchanges, I moved beyond a clarification of the historical understandings embedded in Sinha’s success in ‘defeating’ the aggressive Burgher to address the relationship and differences between ‘typical’ anthropological studies and ‘typical’ historical work. The essay was published in Comparative Studies in Society and History in 1985. The pdf version has been converted into Word File by my Aloysian schoolmate KK De Silva, a cricketer and soccer goalkeeper in his school-heyday. Because it is a pdf, I have not been able to assemble the Footnotes as “End Notes.” ...
Kotmale Dam and Reservoir. Renamed: Kothmale Gamini Dissanayake Reservoir – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Location of the Dam There are about 30,000 reservoirs in Sri Lanka of which the majority were built from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century. These were mainly constructed in the dry zone area- the Northern and Eastern part of the land an area of about 40,000 sq. kilometers (where almost all the tanks are located), These reservoirs were essential in these areas to collect rainwater from the streams for irrigation purposes. During the present century, such reservoirs with a dam were constructed to collect the streaming water not only for irrigation purposes but with the objective of generating hydropower. Kotmale Dam construction with a view to generating hydropower began in August 1979, and ceremoniously opened in February 1985 and was renamed the Gamini Dissanayake Reservoir on 11 April 2003 following a request by ...
Eric Roles at Cricket in Perth: Rendering Service-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Veedhi Pelpola’s Speech at the Willetton Cricket Club, Perth …. “Eric Role’s Life Membership Induction Speech” ….. as supplemented with pertinent photogaphs on 23 April 2023. Good evening, Everyone, I am honoured to stand before you to talk about Eric Roles, who has dedicated a large portion of his life to the Willetton Junior Cricket Club and the improvement of young cricketers going through the ranks. As a coach, Eric has coached Willetton Junior Cricket Club teams since the 2012/2013 season therefore accumulating in 11 years of coaching, 10 of those without having a son or grandson in the team, a testament to his unwavering dedication and service. ...
Eric Roles at Cricket in Perth: Rendering Service-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Veedhi Pelpola’s Speech at the Willetton Cricket Club, Perth …. “Eric Role’s Life Membership Induction Speech” Good evening, Everyone, I am honoured to stand before you to talk about Eric Roles, who has dedicated a large portion of his life to the Willetton Junior Cricket Club and the improvement of young cricketers going through the ranks. As a coach, Eric has coached Willetton Junior Cricket Club teams since the 2012/2013 season therefore accumulating in 11 years of coaching, 10 of those without having a son or grandson in the team, a testament to his unwavering dedication and service. ...
