Nagar Kovil to Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

Click on web-link below:-

http://philipveerasingam.blogspot.com/2014/01/nagar-kovil-point-pedro-sri-lanka.html

Baila

Our teen popular  ‘ me huca baila’ rhythmic song 1951.

Don’t miss.

jksw

You will also enjoy seeing Silvana move. She became popular with the earlier film ‘Bitter rice’ set in Italy opposite Vittorio Gassman as I recall.

For the local music erudite;

The brilliant B.S. Perera Sri Lankan film musician very fond of the piano ‘possibly inspired’ by this song ‘created’

the Sinhala song sung by Mohideen Baig and Rukmani Devi;  

‘ Muhude pathule kimideee,

muthuketa gena yemi sonduri,

ahase tharu ha bandimee,

mal maalayakta gothami…’

Manalkaadu to Vallipuram, Sri Lanka, a photo-journey.

Please click on the web-link below:-

http://imagessrilanka.blogspot.com/2014/01/manalkaadu-and-vallipuram-off-point.html#links

'Visions of an Island' -Sir Christopher Ondaatje

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "J. K. S. Weerasekera"

FW: "Visons of an Island"-Sir Christopher Ondaatje's Love with SL-BREATHTAKING VIDEO

Very interesting.  45 minutes.

Christopher Ondaatje billionaire in Canada was born and lived in Sri Lanka in his childhood before migrating first to the UK, having a hard time.

A man with a deep interest in wildlife-and business- all over the world, he has helped Yala infrastructure eg a road and a bungalow close to the park, avoiding politicians, at least in Sri Lanka.

He writes far more interesting stuff than his brother Michael’s in his prize winning book ‘English Patient’,

having written about Leonard Wolf and ‘Man eater of Punani’.

A bit of a ‘buccaneer’ according to some associates, meant kindly.

jksw

 
Subject: Fw: Fwd: Fw: Fwd: Fw: "Visons of an Island"-Sir Christopher Ondaatje's Love with SL-BREATHTAKING VIDEO

              

Subject: Fw: "Visons of an Island"-Sir Christopher Ondaatje's Love with SL-BREATHTAKING VIDEO

25 minutes

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 Sri Lanka (Ceylon ) as seen by a “Britisher” Sir Christopher Ondaatje who was born in Sri Lanka and spent a good part of his life in SL. This is a 45 minute Video and if you can spare the time it'll be fully worth it. For those of you who are non Sri Lankans who have visited the island and others who preferred to live abroad, I'm sure this film would bring back some nostalgic memories of the time you spent here.

 Links: Visons Of An Island - Sir Christopher Ondaatje's romance with Sri Lanka

Nagar Kovil, off Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

Please click on the web-link below to see a video presentation by me of the photos I took on a trip to Nagar Kovil on the 23rd December 2013:-

 http://imagessrilanka.blogspot.com/2014/01/nagar-kovil-off-point-pedro-jaffna-sri.html

Acts of kindness - email from Kamalini Kanapathippillai

Just some random acts of kindness.  However, I must warn you, the last one is a hard one.  Be prepared.
What a wonderful world this would be!!!

If you never learn the language of gratitude, you will never be on speaking terms with happiness.

A father and mother kissing their dying little girl goodbye. 

If you are wondering why all the medic people are bowing . . 

in less than an hour, two small children in the next room are able to live thanks to the little girl's kidney and liver.

What will be your random act of kindness today? 

JAPANESE SEX

A Japanese couple is having an argument over ways of performing highly erotic sex...............:

Husband: Sukitaki.

Wife replies: Kowanini!

Husband says: Toka a anji rodi roumi yakoo!

Wife on her knees literally begging: Mimi nakoundinda tinkouji!

Husband replies angrily: Na miaou kina tim kouji!.
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Incredible........and there you sit, reading this stuff as if you understand Japanese!

Unbelievable!…. I knew you would read anything if it was about sex.

This kid is mine, no DNA test needed.

DNA test not necessary - - - WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THE KID IS MINE ???

Crabman

This is totally unbelievable, except you see it with your own eyes!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=123081601057839

Mimicry

 Mimicry at its highest.

The voices and the sounds.
I am perplexed as to how he produces both at the same time. ? electronic
support?
jksw
This is fabulous!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qJ_MGWio-vc&desktop_uri=%2Fwat
<http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qJ_MGWio-vc&desktop_uri=/wat>

ch%3Fv%3DqJ_MGWio-vc%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

THEN Watch this too! Great talent here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZBSZD16cY&feature=player_detailpage

Sri Lanka - Interesting History!

Do you know the upscale residential areas in Colombo in those days?   Some old houses and even a Dispensary are still there?  Here FYI.    Grandpass: (from Grande Passo)    Main Street: (Roa Direto).    The Dutch remembered one of their governors – Hulft who died during the siege of Colombo, with Hulftsdorp and recalled some of their native place names like Leyden and Delft.    The Dutch named Maliban Street to identify the fashionable promenade in Pettah – Maliban meaning the MMall.    Kayman's Gate refers to 'kayman' – crocodiles that were found in the area where the rivulet entered the sea.    Wolvendaal meant the dale of wolves.    Bloemendahl is a vale of flowers.    Korteboam means short trees.    Beira (mythology), the mother to all the gods and goddesses in the Celtic mythology of Scotland.   There was a time when Kollupitiya was known as Baradeniya. It was a beautiful rustic village with coconut gardens and cinnamon trees that grew wild and narrow cart-tracks which connected the few villas and homes here with the rest of the country.  For the purpose of postal services `Colombo 03’ consists of Kollupitiya.     How Baradeniya became Kollupitiya - The year was 1664 and the king was Rajasinghe II whose cruel acts embittered his subjects. Three Kandyan chiefs sought to slay the king and place his 12-year-old son on the throne. One of the conspirators was Udanuwara Ambanwela Appuhamy. When the plot failed, the king had two of the rebel leaders beheaded. However, instead of executing Abanwela Appuhamy, the most feared of the rebels, he handed him over to the Dutch to undergo what he thought would be a more brutal torture. Instead, the Dutch set him free.   Ambanwela Appuhamy took the Dutch name of Van Ry-cloff and built up a good relationship with the Dutch who gave him a large plot of land by the sea where he grew a coconut plantation which soon expanded over the ancestral farms of the natives who dared not complain. They could only retaliate by calling the plantation Kolla-ke-pitiyameaning 'Plundered land'. Today, there is still an area in Kollupitiya that is called Polwatte.    The footprints of Galle Face (Colombo 03) begins with Galle face south of Colombo Fort (Colombo 01).  Originally a vast swamp, the Portuguese and Dutch used this piece of land as a strategic defense. It was the British who developed the Green into a leisure ground.     The 19th century paintings of John Deschamps, show the Galle-Face esplanade with a high road running through the centre of it.  Added later was a promenade by the sea and a driveway bordering the lake where the Dutch Military cemetery was.  Deschamps describes it as forming not only the principal exercising ground of the garrison, but also the general promenade of the inhabitants of Colombo and its vicinity. On foot, on horseback, or in carriages, people flocked to this salubrious setting to inhale the delicious breeze which is almost always to be found by the sea side of this part of the Island. The Galle Face esplanade or Green was established by Governor Ward in 1859. An inscription reads "in the interest of the ladies and children of Colombo".    Cricket, football and polo were played on the Green. In 1829, horse racing was established under the auspices of Sir Edward Barnes.  Everyone enjoyed a day at the races: the vendors poured in from early noon, servants on leave spent their day there, as well as schoolboys who didn’t make it to school, palanquin carriages with shutters down and curtain drawn conveying Mohammedan ladiesand of course the European community. A circular race stand was built by subscription. Initially it was a building of brick, coated with a plaster of chunam. Its conical roof was covered with an excellent thatch of kehjan (woven coconut leaves). From here a view of the whole course could be obtained. The race-balls were held here, the upper room being cool and airy for dancing; card-tables were placed in the verandahs, whilst the lower portion formed a good supper-room. Subsequently the roof was tiled. By the 1870s it had become a more substantial building and was known as the Colombo Club. This building still stands, even though maybe not in its original modest form, and is now the Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Samudra Hotel Colombo.   At one end of the green was the Galle Face Boarding House, forerunner of the present Galle Face Hotel, which was constructed in 1887.   Today the green has lost much in its extent; but after a long period of neglect has recently been restored back to the chief leisure ground of modern Colombo for people of all walks of life.   A temple, a church, a school, Kollupitiya Walukarama Buddhist Temple is said to be the oldest temple in Colombo. It was founded in the 1800s by Ven. Panditha Valane Sri Siddhahatta Maha Nayake Thera, who was also the founder member of the Maha Sangha Saba of the Siyam Nikaya of the Kotte Chapter. The land for the construction of the temple was donated by a famous indigenous medicine physician of Kollupitiya, Arnolis Silva.    St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk founded in 1842 as a Church of Scotland by Scots living in Ceylon, has today become the International Church in Colombo welcoming into its fellowship people of all nations and denominations of the Christian faith.    Jinaraja Kanista Vidyalaya down Dharmakirthi Ramya Road dates back to 1898. Then named "Jinaraja Buddhist English School" this was the oldest Buddhist English mixed school in Colombo. This school was established for boys and girls of Colombo managed by the Buddhist Theosophical Society, Colombo, under the guidance of Col. Henry Steele Olcott.    A jeweller, a textile dealer, a baker, a grocer, an optician and a private hospital in Galle Face Court 1 was the first multi storey block of flats in Sri Lanka and the domed addition which followed as Galle Face Court 2 were both buildings that were initiated by theMacan Markar family as residential, business and real estate ventures. The dome housed an observatory. The road here was renamedSir Macan Markar Mawatha on account of the contribution of the Macan Markar family towards industry, business, trading andpolitics in Sri Lanka.   More famous were the Macan Markar family for their gem and jewellery trade, which had, among its clientele, several members of the British nobility and Royalty including His Majesty King Edward VII (1875) as Prince of Wales and His Majesty King George V(1901) as the Duke of Cornwall and York. The world famous Cat’s Eye, weighing 105 Carats referred to as the Blue Giant of the Orient, a Blue Sapphire weighing 225 carats named the Wonder Star of Asia and a Star Sapphire weighing 225 carats are said to be in the possession of the firm.    Victory Silk Store was established in 1947 and is the oldest Textile shop in Kollupitiya. The founder, C Parsram, was a highly honored and respected Sindhi who had come to settle permanently in Ceylon from India in 1914.  Parsram was the founder of member of the Sindhi Merchants Association of Ceylon and also held the prestigious position of its Presidency many times. He was also responsible for the establishment of the Ceylon Sindhi Community Center at Kollupitiya.   Perera & Sons originated with K. A. Charles Perera who came to Colombo from a village called Kodagoda near Galle. He arrived in Colombo in 1888, with only 50 cents. He began his career as a cook in colonial mansions and then joined the Grand Oriental Hotelas a kitchen helper where subsequently he took up the responsibility of the hotel’s bakery.  Perera commenced his own bakery in 1902 by renting two houses at Steuart Place, Kollupitiya. Today Perera & Sons, are perhaps the largest bakers in the country.   Albert Edirisinghe Opticians is the very first optical firm dealing in eye testing and manufacture of spectacles in Kollupitiya, established in 1949. Albert Edirisinghe, hailed from Galle and originally joined the business of William Pedris & Company in 1936 where he worked in the optical section of the firm gaining valuable experience. After serving for almost 13 years, he started his own enterprise, which is today a very successful optical company in the country.   Durdans Hospital established in 1945 at Alfred Place, Kollupitiya, is one of the oldest private sector hospitals in the country. This was the home of Charles Pieris. It was begun as the Principal British Military Hospital in Sri Lanka.    Premasiri Stores originally limited to groceries was established in 1952 by Premasiri a young entrepreneur.  Within a short time, Premasiri Stores built up a regular clientele from among the local population and a sizeable foreign community of the area. They ventured into the direct imports of certain products to cater to the mixed clientele. A "Wine & Spirits" department was also added to the stores.   Temple Trees - where the rich and famous lived - the house and premises a little over six acres named the ‘De Brandery’, meaning the Distillery, is believed by some to have housed an excellent cellar, while others say the building was used to make spirits.     Many have been its famous occupants in the past. Frederick Baron Mylius (from 1805) a judge in the Ceylon Civil Service social reformer and anti-slavery activist, John Walbeoff (1830) head of the Cinnamon Department, George Winter who was a pioneer of sugar cultivation on a commercial scale and other enterprises in Ceylon like manufacturing coir rope and distilling arrack inKalutara, C R Buller (1840) Government Agent of the Western Province, after whom Bullers Road (now Bauddhaloka Mawatha) was named, the Layard family, Dr Christopher Elliot (1848) the Principal Medical Officer in Ceylon who was also the proprietor and editor of the ‘Ceylon Observer’ English daily newspaper. It was during the occupancy of J P Green (1856), that the De Brandery was renamed as ‘Temple Trees’, so called after the two gnarled old temple trees growing in the front yard.   Temple Trees was purchased by the Government in November 1903, for the use of the Governor and other high ranking British government officials. After Independence was granted in 1948, it was declared the official residence of the Prime Minister. Today, it is the official residence of the President of Sri Lanka.   A mini zoo, a cattle farm, in  Weliganna watte.   A mini zoo had been in operation at "IXORA" Green Path. This was earlier owned by Hagen Bech who was the originator of the Dehiwela Zoo. The animals were later transferred to Dehiwela.   A cattle farm, referred to as 'Kiri Pattiya', had been in operation down Palm Grove Avenue. It is said that milk was distributed free to the people from beneath a huge tamarind tree that stood in this area.   Weli Ganna-watte (the garden where sand was taken from) was an area between the Kollupitiya Railway Station and Galle Face Hotel, to its North. It was a highly profitable illegal business and people used to come from all parts of Colombo to take away sea sand, using bullock carts. There used to be organized gangs who demanded 'kappan' (protection money) from the carters in order to guarantee them safe passage with their sand.   Thus is a brief description of what was Kollupitiya or Colombo 03. (Some of this information was obtained from a book titledColonial Kollupitiya and its environs by H.M.M. Herath).

Hambanthota harbor, Sri Lanka.

After the Hambatota harbor was created- carved out from mainly rock within the land, there was a lull in activity.

The harbor does look deceptively small till one notices the micro visual size of lorries far away.

10,000 acres( 12 Sq miles) are already secured for expansion expected to go on for 10 years as per demand.

By now, every month, thousands of vehicles are transshipped to other countries.

Some, mainly used vehicles  are landed and driven away to other areas in Sri Lanka.

A boon to shift the heavy load away from Colombo Port. As it is 50 % of GDP is created in the western province.

Unless a better balance is created with the other areas in the country, every person would trek to this province doing Dick Whittingtons to Colombo.

Pity the harbor was not begun earlier.  

To refresh your minds the plan for the harbor was almost about to begin in 1997 in Chandrika’s time, everything finalized. Then a Singaporean bird flew in, met the officials here and possibly met higher ones. There was sudden death to the project from that visit.

We gather that the decision was stopped with a great plan to alternately develop the Galle harbor.

And the contract to develop that harbor had gone to a Singaporean firm!

Today Galle harbor sits still !!

jksw

Colombo Port itself is expanding to 6 times its size with a highly visible 6Km bund or jetty  an imposing sight.

jksw

Subject: Fwd: Fw: Fwd: Fw: First passenger vessel at MRMRP port

• Article rank
• 27 Dec 2013
• Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

First passenger vessel at MRMRP port

The luxury cruise liner MV Voyager called at Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (MRMRP) in Hambantota recently, creating history as the first cruise vessel to call at the port.

MV Voyager calling MRMRP in Hambantota

The vessel arrived with 365 passengers and 224 crew and was under the Command of Capt. Neil Broomhall. At Hambanthota, passengers visited the port and Hambanthota city during her 11 hour stay at the Port and their tour was operated by M/S Raffles Leisure (PVT) LTD.

The cruise liner was en route from Dubai, Oman, India and arrived Sri Lanka where she first called the Passenger Terminal of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) in Colombo on 18/12/2013 for 02 overnights from where sailed to Hambanthota and headed towards the east coast of India. According to Ceyline Shipping Ltd., the agents for MV Voyager, their principals have scheduled calls at MRMRP in Hambantota on a long term basis due to the developments in the Sri Lankan ports sector.

Chitta Ranjan de Silva – childhood memories

Memoir

January 5, 2014

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=95286