Religious Dispensations and the Subordination of Women

Upul Wijayawardhana, courtesy of Daily News

The systematic suppression of women, persisting over centuries, has been legitimised, largely by religions and is an art-form mastered by ‘Men in Robes’. At the dawn of civilisation, women were considered superior for the simple reason that only they could produce an offspring for the continuation of the species. There is evidence to show that in Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of civilisation, if not ‘The Cradle of Civilisation’, there was equality. In the early Sumerian period, “a council of elders”, represented equally by men and women, ruled the population but gradually a patriarchal society emerged.

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Mohan Munasinghe receives Legion of Honour

Item in Daily FT

Jean-Marin Schuh, Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, bestowed the honorary distinction of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour), upon Prof. Mohan Munasinghe at the French Ambassador’s residence. The Légion d’Honneur is the first and highest national order and distinction of the French Republic, coming directly under the purview of the President of France.

A Treasure Trove within a Magnificent Colonial Building

Ishara Jayawardane in Daily News, 12 October 2017, where the title is “Magnificent historical haven”

Located at Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha the National Museum is a majestic construction that is a familiar site to those in Colombo. With a long history, it is one of the most famous of the old Colonial buildings in the country. The Daily News spoke to Archt. Ismeth Raheem on the National Museum where he shared some known insights of the construction of the National Museum.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Herbert Hoover

SEE …. LISTEN …. Paderewski and Hoover = https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15f128b9d5a2dac2?projector=1

Charitable Good that goes round comes round

Ignacy Jan Paderewski, (born Nov. 6, 1860, Kuryłówka, Podolia province in Russian Poland—died June 29, 1941, New York, N.Y., U.S.), Polish pianist, composer, and statesman, who was prime minister of Poland in 1919… https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ignacy-Jan-Paderewski

 

Knowledge in the Sinhala World. Yesterday and Today

Sajeeva Samaranayake presents his considered thoughts on the discussions associated with Geedreck Usvatte-Aratchi’s National Trust talk on “Sinhala Attitudes to Knowledge” – which appeared in the Island as well as Thuppahi in August 2017. Emphasis in blue is that of The Editor, Thuppahi; but the black highlights are the author’s.

In the following note I am setting out the findings of Dr. Usvatte Arachchi, my comments thereon and some questions that arise. This is to help move this discussion forward as it appears to be a very critical inquiry into our collective capacity as a Sinhalese speech community.

 Samaranayake    Usvatte-Aratchci

Mantovan and Ambos: Two Young European Scholars researching Sri Lankan Issues

 Mantovan  Ambos

The Newsletter of the International Institute of Asian Studies at Leiden reveals the interests of two recent Fellows at IIAS who have been delving into Sri Lankan issues in recent times. Herewith some summaries

Giacomo Mantovan is of Italian lineage:

“My research in social anthropology, which focuses on individuals and their relations with their social milieu, and in particular with state authorities, aims to grasp how certain critical times, such as civil war, exile, and illness, become moments of construction of subjectivity and memory.”

We Farewell Beverley Juriansz of Panadura and Woodend

Down the way where the nights are gay

And the sun shines daily on the mountain top

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached Australia I made a stop