Ceylon Archives

Home ⁄ Tag Archives: Ceylon (page 5)

The dam that nurtures Uda Walawe – By MAHIL WIJESINGHE Source : sundayobserver The sprawling Uda Walawe reservoir of Embilipitiya is one of the largest irrigation schemes in the South-Central area of the island. The Walawe basin nestling in parts of the Ratnapura, Hambantota and Moneragala districts is adorned with many tourist attractions. Among them, the most popular attractions are the Uda Walawe reservoir and its adjoining Udawalawe National Park. Having crossed over this reservoir embankment on many occasions during my visits to Southern and Eastern destinations, I take a peek into this magnificent work of irrigation engineers of years gone by. It was a great moment in the history of the irrigation sector in then Ceylon in the latter part of 1950, when former Prime Minister, the late Sir John Kotelawala inaugurated work on the Walawe Ganga reservoir scheme, the second multi-purpose project undertaken in Ceylon after the country ...

Jan 9, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles Tagged Ceylon, Sir John Kotelawala, Uda Walawe, Udawalawe National Park, Walawe Ganga

My memories of the BURGHER RECREATION CLUB – The Number 1 Hockey Club from 1932 to Date – By Dennis de Rosayro Perhaps inspired by the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, the 1st Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. The very same year on 26th December 1896 in tiny Ceylon, the Bambalapitiya Hockey & Football Club was founded by the Burgher community from Bambalapitiya, Colombo South, at a meeting held at the residence of Mr. F.J. Foenander, who was elected as Patron. Mr. A.W. Raffel and Mr. O.H. Poppenbeck were elected as President and Hony Secretary, respectively. On 31st May 1915, the Club changed its name to Burgher Recreation Club and its colours changed from “Black-red-Gold” to “Black-Red-Champagne”. Thus, the B.R.C. completed 125 years on 26 December 2021. My visit to my beloved club on that evening, with my wife and extended family gave me immense joy and ...

Jan 7, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles Tagged Burgher Recreation Club, Ceylon, Hockey, Olympic Games

The Power of Privilege: Illegitimate Progeny in the Plantations of Ceylon and Beyond – By Michael Roberts An EMAIL MEMO from RICHARD HERMON to His Good Friend ERROL FERNANDO, Circa 9 December 2022*++* Dear Errol, As a Eurasian myself on both sides, since both my Grandfathers were Brits and both my Grandmothers were Sinhalese: one Kandyan from Welimada, and one Low-Country from Baddegama to whom both my grandfathers were married. I also take exception to some “Burghers” looking down upon us with disdain. specially very dark skinned “Burghers” who claim to be of “pure “Dutch extraction when queried as to the reason for their dark skin colour, The explanation is invariably that they have spent a long time in the tropics and have been under the sun!!!.. What a load of codswallop!!!! Now however the Burghers consider Eurasians to also be Burghers!! Actually, many Burghers could more accurately be termed ...

Jan 3, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Baddegama, Ceylon, Power of Privilege, RICHARD HERMON, Sri Lankan

10 Best Places to Visit in Sri Lanka – By Malsha – eLanka Sri Lanka is a small island . Its in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka formerly known as Ceylon. Sri Lanka have Lot of beautiful places to visit . These Are the some of them. visit in Sri Lanka and Spend Your vacation meaningfully. 10 .Hikkaduwa .Hikkaduwa is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka .Hikkaduwa is Famous for its long sandy beach. 9 . Ella Ella is a town in the Badulla District of Uva Province, Sri Lanka . Ella is surrounded by hills covered with cloud forests and tea plantations. Ella is one of most beautiful areas in sri lanka Attraction places in Ella Dhowa temple Bambaragala Peak Little Adam’s Peak Ravana Ella Falls Nine Arches Bridge Demodara Diyaluma Falls Yahalamadiththa temple Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery Ravana cave Nildiya pokuna 8 . Anuradhapura Anuradhapura is ...

Dec 11, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Malsha Madhuhansi Tagged Anuradhapura, beautiful places, Ceylon, Colombo, Ella, Galle Fort, Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka

“SAVIOUR OF CEYLON” – by Des Kelly Superb true story sent to us via Victor Melder and Keith Bennett. Remembrance day is now past, but, as I always say. Let us not pay homage to those who went to war, totally uncertain whether they would survive and go back to their families, FOR JUST ONE DAY !!!, These brave people should be remembered every single day of the week, in fact, they should never be forgotten. Desmond Kelly. (Editor-in-Chief) e’Lanka. Saviour of Ceylon – byJohn Boileau Source: Legion Magazine Patrolling over the Indian Ocean, pilot Leonard Birchall and his aircrew spotted an approaching Japanese fleet It had been a long, uneventful flight. After 12 hours of scanning the vast Indian Ocean without luck, the pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force Catalina flying boat decided to return to base. Suddenly, the navigator cried out; he had seen something on the horizon. The pilot banked and headed toward ...

Nov 17, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, DESMOND KELLY Tagged Admiral James Somerville, Ceylon, Royal Canadian Air Force, Saviour of Ceylon

Kallady Bridge in the land of “Singing Fish” – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Prefabricated in 1924 in the United Kingdom and imported to Sri Lanka, Kallady Bridge was the longest iron bridge in Sri Lanka in the past. Kallady Bridge connects *Kallady to *Batticaloa and it is a unique bridge shrouded in history and legend. The Bridge is officially known as “Lady Manning Bridge” and was named to honor Lady Manning, the wife of the former Governor of *Ceylon William Manning. The view from the Bridge is spectacular and serene… The massive truss bridge had been prefabricated at Patent Shaft & Axletree and transported by steamship from London. During that period, it had been a challenge for engineers to set up the Bridge over the flowing waters of the Lagoon. Although, it has been constructed in 1924, it has been installed 1928. Constructed during the British Colonial Era, the Bridge served ...

Nov 2, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Arundathie Abeysinghe Tagged Batticaloa, Bridge, Ceylon, Ceylon William Manning, Kallady, Kallady Bridge, Lady Manning, London, Sri Lanka

SRILANKAN AIRLINES – IS IT A PARADISE? – By Dr. Tilak S. Ferando For the last few years, the SriLankan airline has been making a loss continuously. It is the consensus of everyone that the airline is overstaffed, particularly top-heavy, with millions of rupees to the senior management staff as salaries. Therefore, the only option would be to privatise the airline. During President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s rulership, one of the international airline multinational conglomerates, with its separate travel company, showed an interest in taking over SriLankan airways. Virgin Conglomerate’s Chairman, Mr Richard Branson, had discussions with President Kumaratunga. He had to return to the UK disappointed, only having placed Sri Lankan ginger beer for virgin flights. SriLankan Airlines has gone through a metamorphosis of names in 42 years. Formally, it was known as the flag carrier of Ceylon under ‘Air Ceylon’. In 1979 Air Lanka commenced its operations from Bandaranaike Airport. ...

Oct 24, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Tilak S Fernando Tagged Air Ceylon, Air Lanka Board, Airline, Ceylon, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Flying Peacock, Richard Branson, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan, SriLankan airline

Sounds of Ceylon – by Des Kelly No better title, no better video that I have had the pleasure of seeing, as an aid to reminiscing about the Motherland that so many of us had to leave most reluctantly. I always loved the name CEYLON, and after watching this video, will endeavour to compose some music in the near future, with this fascinating title, “Sounds of Ceylon”. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCynnDZa3NcihOfTaufPWy_g Desmond Kelly. (Editor-in-Chief) e’Lanka. ...

Oct 20, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, DESMOND KELLY Tagged Ceylon, Motherland

“A BLESSED VEGETABLE” – by Des Kelly It was just about time. A video about my favourite vegetable, I remember them as Ladies Fingers or Bandakkas, which came to us in Ceylon, in plenty, only you had to snip off the pointed little end of each one to find out if it was either ‘lappati’ or ‘morala’. The lappati ones were tender, the others were rough and not fit for cooking. Like a lot of experienced cooks, my dear mum was considered an excellent one, and would cook twenty or thirty of these little lappati, punchi bandakkas simply boiled in creamy gravy c/w a variety of spices, ending up in a most delicious vegetable curry, OR would first fry them in good old coconut oil, then cook them. We called this lot simply bandakka-thel-dhala, and my mouth waters, just thinking about this vegetable. The manner in which I describe it. ...

Oct 19, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, DESMOND KELLY Tagged Ceylon, cooking abilities, vegetable

History of Royal College Crest – By Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam (Excerpts from the book History of Royal College published in 1981) Royal College crest serves to identify the school from other schools and gives a seal and significance to documentation. However it had not been mentioned in any writing prior to 1892. As Ceylon was crown colony of the British Empire, the imperial emblem – The Lion and the Unicorn was the badge of the country. As Royal College, then known as Colombo Academy, was a government educational institute, it had to use the British Royal Arms. The first display of Royal crest was in the first College magazine of 1893. Subsequently there had been alterations made to Royal crest in 1910 and 1912. In 1922, the government sanctioned the issue of the new crest in place of the one used in the past. Description of the ...

Oct 17, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam Tagged Ceylon, Colombo Academy, Royal College