Upali Wijewardene Archives

Ronnie De Mel the socialist who created a capitalist economy-By D.B.S Jeyaraj Source:Dailymirror Ronnie’s first attempt in electoral politics was in the historic Wellassa region of the Uva province. History was made when Ronnie de Mel presented the new United National Party (UNP) Government’s budget in November 1977 Ronnie sat for the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) exam and joined the CCS in 1948. He served in different capacities at the Puttalam, Vavuniya and Matara Kachcheris The new Devinuwara MP with his leftist ideology and classical oratory was an instant hit. His parliamentary speeches were very popular The ascension of Junius Richard Jayewardene to the premier seat of political power in 1977 paved the way for a drastic transformation of Sri Lanka’s politico-economic landscape and environment. J.R. Jayewardene known popularly as “JR” ushered in political, economic, and electoral changes that utterly changed Sri Lanka. In the words of William Butler Yeats ...

HOMES ON THURSTAN ROAD/ CAMBRIDGE PLACE 75 YEARS AGO-by Hugh Karunanayake Regina Walawwa now College House Source:Island Seventy five years ago, the Thurstan Road/ Cambridge Place thoroughfare was one of the most picturesque in Colombo. It was lined on either side by gigantic specimens of flamboyant, or flame of the forest tree (poinciana regia), the saman tree (samanea saman) and the kaha mal or cassia fistula. The tree lined avenues provided a restful and shady canopy over the road. During the months of April and May when the avenues were in full bloom this stretch of road was most colourful and attractive, and indeed a magnificent spectacle – a remarkable living legacy from the spacious days of the city in the past. Those were the days when Colombo was renowned the world over as the “garden city of the East.” The trees were planted around 1920, following a report by Professor Patrick Geddes, ...