Posts Categorized: Sri Kantha

by the Hon. P. Ramanathan [read April 26, 1888] Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1888; 10(36): 234-262. Ramanathan Ethnology of ‘Moors’ of Ceylon 1888 Introductory Note by Sachi Sri Kantha 135 years ago, Ponnambalam Ramanathan (1851-1930) read a paper entitled ‘The Ethnology of the Moors of… Read more »

And RAW’s rascality in 1989 by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 2, 2023 Former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s (1924-1993) 30th death anniversary falls on May 1st. 15 years ago, I wrote about the puzzles of his assassination, alleged to be by the LTTE (but NOT proved legally!), in this website [https://www.sangam.org/2008/05/Premadasa_Assassination.php?uid=2906]. As such, for his… Read more »

On Kalai Arasi (1963; Queen of Arts): an experimental and space fiction movie by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 18, 2023 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s observations, on Part 69, received on Jan 13th , was as follows: “Read part 69. My humble thanks for mentioning my reaching and befriending you among the notable events. These sentiments, as… Read more »

Knocked out by the Grim Reaper by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 10, 2023 After evading more than four assassination attempts during his term of office as the President- strong man of Pakistan (2000-2008), Gen. Pervez Musharraf (1943-2023) was eventually knocked out by the Grim Reaper on February 4th. The cause of his death is attributed… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 27, 2023 Gandhi in death-bedJanuary 30th 2023 marks the 75th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. To commemorate the anniversary, first I provide below period items from two esteemed American print sources, announcing Gandhi’s death. Robert Trumbull’s report from New Delhi, with the caption ‘Gandhi is killed by a Hindu; India… Read more »

On the Sri Lankan Army recruits between Oct 1949 and Dec 1976 by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 14, 2023 After the July 1977 General Elections in Sri Lanka, followed by the August 1977 Sinhala-Tamil riots, I became interested in writing on local politics and establishing myself as a Tamil writer in English. Towards this purpose,… Read more »

Power and Personality: Peer Perceptions by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 25, 2022 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s observations, on Part 68, received on Oct 12th , was as follows: “Read your superb chapter that diligently lists the movies where Sivaji Ganesan shunned Kannadasan. The statistics are brilliant and show the hard work that epitomizes your… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 5, 2022 Guruge’s conclusion was, “…at some point in the pursuit of this goal of filling gaps in history,…Paranavitana stepped beyond the thin line which separates reality from the imaginary.” Introduction Oct 4th marked the 50th death anniversary of Senarat Paranavitana (1896-1972), renowned Sinhalese epigraphist and the former archeological commissioner… Read more »

70th Anniversary Remembrance by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 16, 2022   Introduction The iconic Tamil movie ‘Parasakthi’, based on a stage play by Pavalar M.S. Balasundaram, and scripted by Muthuvel Karunanidhi (1924-2018), then a 28 year old DMK party activist, opened in Tamil Nadu cinema theaters as a Deepavali release on October 17, 1952. In… Read more »

‘Navarathinam’ Movie and March 1977 General Election by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 3, 2022 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s observations, on Part 67, received on July 16th , was as follows: “Thank you for part 67 – focusing on MGR’s belief. MGR was a believer but did not exhibit it until his second term when… Read more »

From the Pages of Tribune (Colombo), etc. by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 26, 2022 Front Note Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022) died on September 8, at the age of 96. She had visited Ceylon (later to be renamed Sri Lanka) from April 10-21, 1954 and in 1981. I may note here that the only memory of the… Read more »

aka Sachi Sri Kantha September 20, 2022 Front Note Prof. Michael Roberts (b. 1938), a Sri Lankan historian cum anthropologist with some name recognition, currently residing in Australia, and is a contributor to the scholarship on V. Prabhakaran, LTTE and Tamil militant movement in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, he has chosen to specialize in negative portrayal… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 6, 2022 One of the chief arrows aimed at Prabhakaran and LTTE by his adversaries (especially by Tamil collaborators of the Sinhalese ruling hierarchy like Lakshman Kadirgamar and the self-serving pretentious clique who tagged themselves as the University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) – Jaffna, led by Rajan Hoole) in… Read more »

Gotabhabya Rajapaksa by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 16, 2022 On April 19, 1951, Gen Douglas MacArthur announced to Americans ‘Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.’ But for a phony Sinhalese soldier, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, this was NOT true at all. Gota ran for his life, fearing death, not once – but twice, from the… Read more »

Espousing and Exhibiting Religiosity by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 9, 2022 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments, on Part 66, received on May 16th , was as follows: “Again a very interesting take on MGR’s autobiography meticulously listing those whom he had called friends and those he addressed as siblings and the few adversaries he… Read more »

– Hanged 60 years ago by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 9, 2022 On July 4, 1962, Talduwa Somarama Thero was hanged at the Welikade prison, Colombo. His crime: He was framed as the sole assassin of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the then Prime Minister of Ceylon, on September 25, 1959. This tragic shooting event happened at the… Read more »

Of 1987 by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 29, 2022 This is a sequel to my previously posted item of March 11, 2022, ‘On Rajiv Gandhi’s pretense for Eelam Cause: ‘Operation Flower Garland’ of 1987. I provide a 1987 anthology below, consisting of editorials that appeared in the New York Times (June 7, 1987) and the… Read more »