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     “TRAMCAR-TESTIMONY” – by Des Kelly Yet another chunk of ‘memory-magic’, coming to all e’Lanka readers around the world, courtesy of Charles (Charlie) Schokman, a good friend of this writer. Charles & his dear wife Claudette have also been residents of Melbourne for quite a long while now, and, like me, stop sometimes to reminisce about our younger years, spent in the Country that is referred to simply  as “Our lovely Island home”.  A big part of our precious memories would have to be about travelling around the Ceylon we knew. The old CTB buses, the trains, the taxi-cabs we used (less often), and also the trams, about which this ‘testimony’ is written. Thank you Charles, & e’Lanka’s regards go out to you & the family. Desmond Kelly (Editor-in-Chief) e’Lanka. ...

Sep 7, 2022 Posted by In Articles, DESMOND KELLY Tagged , , , ,
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Was Sri Lanka an Agricultural Nation in Ancient Times?-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Source:Thuppahis Vinod Moonesinghe, in an original essay bearing the title  “Agricultural nation, a myth?” ……… … now reproduced with a different title and with highlIghting imposed by The Editor, ThuppaHI “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” — L.P. Hartley, The go-between Recent shortages of milk powder, wheat flour and even rice have brought into perspective Sri Lanka’s lack of food security. The situation has been exacerbated by growing dependence on imports of wheat – which rose from half a million tonnes in 1980 to nearly 1.5 million tonnes in 2020. This lack of food security has re-kindled an argument about the role of agriculture in Sri Lanka’s economy, which has extended into the realms of historiography. ...

Jul 22, 2022 Posted by In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged , ,
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Polonnaruwa: Rise and fall-By Uditha Devapriya Source:Island The chronicles mention Polonnaruwa (Pulaththinagara in Pali) long before its advent as the capital of the country. We come across it in the Culavamsa in connection with the reigns of Aggabodhi IV and Aggabodhi VII, both of whom were residing there at the time of their passing away. A general by the name of Sena, who rebelled against the king of his time, is said to have made it his own capital before facing defeat at the hands of that king, Sena V. By no means infrequent, such encounters bolstered the city’s growing importance. Moreover, at the peak of the Anuradhapura period particularist tendencies had begun to spring up in the south in Rohana. Situated between Rohana and Rajarata, Polonnaruwa offered the ideal outpost from which such tendencies could be put down. Far more important and pertinent, however, were the shifts of dynastic ...

Apr 12, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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Race, class, and Wigneswaran’s historiography­ – By Uditha Devapriya Source:Island Former Chief Minister Wigneswaran made two remarks at the commencement of the 16th parliament. First he contended that Tamil is the oldest surviving language, presumably in the world. Then he contended that the Tamil people are this country’s original inhabitants. Since I do not know much Tamil, I am not sure whether something got lost in the translation provided by the TV channels and news outlets which broadcast the parliamentary session. In any case, this essay should not be construed as a refutation or an endorsement of what the former Chief Minister of the Northern Province, now an MP from a splinter group of what was not too long ago the dominant political party in that region, said. Regarding MP Wigneswaran’s first assertion, all I can say is there’s much evidence for his view. He is certainly not the first South Asian ...

Sep 1, 2020 Posted by In Articles Tagged , Comments 0
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