Four Aussie Geriatricians to visit SL
With great efforts being initiated by the College of
Physicians under President Prof. Rifdy Mohideen and Prof. Sarath
Lekamwasam, in view of the pressing need for improved care for the
elderly in Sri Lanka, four renowned doctors from Australia are due in
Sri Lanka to attend the Annual Sessions of the Ceylon College of
Physicians in early October. The main purpose of the visit is to support
the efforts of the College and hopefully initiate the specialty of
Geriatrics in Sri Lanka.
****
 Aya
Until September 26
Aya an exhibition of paintings by Ashinshani Yayawanthi Nambuge, P.G.
Militha Menura Bandara, Sudam Jerom Samarasinghe, R.M. Thamali
Dhananjani Kumari, at the Alliance Francaise De Kandy, 642, Peradeniya
Road.
****
Barrister Sabrina Ifthikar Ahmed
(Attorney At-Law, LLM, LLB)
 Sabrina
Ifthikar Ahmed took oaths as an Attorney-at-Law before the Chief Justice
at the recently held Oaths Ceremony at the Supreme Courts.
Miss Ahmed was earlier called to the Bar in England by the Honourable
Society of Lincolns Inn at the Trinity Call in July 2007, upon the
successful completion of her Bar Exams at The Inns of Court School of
Law, which is the oldest BVC provider in the United Kingdom.
She completed her Masters in Commercial and Corporate law at King’s
College London in 2006, obtaining a Merit Pass.
Prior to embarking on her Masters Programme, she completed her LLB with
a Second-Upper Class from the University of London (External Programme)
at the Royal Institute and received her graduation before HRH Princess
Anne in London.
****
Encore
September 26, 27 and 28
Encore, a multicultural concert organised by Celeste Event Planning
and Management, and Interact Clubs of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia
and British School in Colombo, featuring feature performances from the
British School in Colombo, St Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia, Wycherly
International School, Alethea International School, St Benedict’s
College, St Peter’s College and many more, at the Bishop’s College
Auditorium, from 7 p.m. onwards.
****
Remembering a legacy of selected
essays
One Faith One Lord
One Faith One Lord, a musical will be presented by the Choir of St.
Francis of Assisi, Mount Lavinia on Saturday, September 27 at 6 p.m. at
the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, (80, Hotel Road, Mount Lavinia).
12th Cambrian Walk 2008
12th Annual Cambrian Walk 2008 of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa will
commence from the college premises on Saturday, September 27, at 8 a.m.
****
Down Memory Lane (1928 - 2008)
 Anniversaries
are times when we look back - back at our past and our beginnings. It
was the aftermath of the French Revolution 200 years ago. The feudal
system in France had cracked up and the misery of the people was
unbearable. The children of the rich were educated in private
institutions at great cost and the poor were neglected. A lone priest,
Fr. Marcelline Champagnat, began teaching the children of the poor.
Soon, likeminded young men joined him and a new religious order was born
called the order of the Marist Brothers.
Over a hundred years later, three brothers from this order, Joseph,
Anthony and Lewis, set sail for the East, to the island of Ceylon, to
set up their mission. After a short stay in Batticaloa, in the eastern
part of the island, the brothers moved to little Rome on the western
coast of Sri Lanka. They were put in charge of St. Mary’s College, an
already existing college under the Archbishop of Colombo. Very soon, St.
Mary’s College began to flourish with increased numbers and excellent
results at the Senior Cambridge Examinations. But, progress was hampered
by lack of space for expansion being hedged in by St. Mary’s Church on
one side and by peoples’ houses on the other. Brothers began to look for
a bigger block of land and Divine Providence came to the assistance of
the Brothers when, Isabela de Croos, a benevolent philanthropist,
decided to donate nearly six acres of land, right at the copra junction.
The land had a large water logged area where people would catch fish in
the evenings and a higher area where the Brothers put up the first
buildings and came into occupation in 1922. Thus, Maris Stella College
was born.
The birth of the College in 1922, was followed by the birth of the Old
Boys Association in 1928. The inaugural meeting of the OBA was held on
September 22nd and curiously enough, the gathering present on that day
consisted of the whole staff of the College, both lay and religious, and
only a few old boys. This fledgling association grew over the years
passing through good times and bad and today, it is a robust, active and
prestigious association in Negombo.
In most schools, the President of the OBA is the Principal of the
College. But Bro. Stanislaus, refused to accept the post and the OBA had
its first lay President, Mr. R. I. Fernandopulle, whose period of office
is regarded even today as one of the most fruitful. From the beginning,
the OBA was heavily involved in fund-raising activities to put up
buildings for the ever expanding College. It is recorded that the first
carnival was ‘Merry May’ in the 1940s followed by ‘Starry Nights,’
‘Marist Mela’ and a host of others. The OBA played a major part in every
one of them. Coming down to modern times, the OBA made a massive
contribution towards the construction of the Auditorium, the setting up
of the Computer Labs in the secondary and primary buildings and the
construction of the second floor of the extension to the new building.
Today, the OBA has taken a hard look at its own development. In a small
block of land right next to the College, the OBA will soon have its own
centre.
****
Free study course in health and beauty
Health and Beauty, a study course in beauty culture was
launched by Tharunyata Hetak and the programme was made available free
of charge. Certificates were awarded to a group of students from Matale
who successfully completed the course recently. The Award ceremony was
held under the auspices of Namal Rajapaksa, Chairperson of the
organisation, at SEMA Auditorium Colombo.
****
Sri Lanka Air Force Seva Vanitha Unit
Donating a house to a war hero
 Sri
Lanka Air Force Seva Vanitha Unit (SLAF SVU) Chairperson Nelun
Goonetileke officially handed over the ownership of a newly completed
house to Sergeant Bandara DMMR at a small function held on August 29,
2008 at Pinwatta, Panadura. Sergeant Bandara’s house was totally damaged
in a natural disaster in 2006.
District 306B Lion’s Club of Sri Lanka sponsored this house and past
Council Chairman Lion Upali Samarasinghe coordinated this donation.
****
Felicitation Ceremony
Felicitation Ceremony to honour the Haafils - Abdur
Rahman (Rahmaniya Arabic College), Thasleem Asmeer (Shabeelur Rashaad),
Talha Zahran (Darul Quran Al Qareem), Fahim Junaid and Mohamed Junaid (Ihsaniya
Arabic College) -who conduct Tharaweeh Prayers at Al Ma’hadul Bukhariyul
Kadirie Thakiya (Jamiul Falah Jumma Mosque), Layard’s Broadway and other
Haafils of the Mahalla will be held, Insha Allah, on the night of
Lailatul Qadr which falls on Sunday, September 28, says the Press
Release issued by the President of the Board of Trustees Al Haj M.
Hallaji.
****
Welivita to
Netherlands
Pioneer media personality and Presidential Coordinating
Secretary, Rohan Welivita has proceeded to Netherlands, on an invitation
extended to him by the Organising Committee of the International
Multimedia Exhibition and Conference (IBC), to participate in the
exhibition and attend the relative seminars and workshops.
****
Book launch at BMICH
Social Scientists’ Association will be launching its
latest publications at the BMICH, on Sunday, September 21, at 10 a.m.
The event will be graced by:
Jean Arasanayagam – awarded as the best English Novelist of the year
2007
Mr. Liyanage Amarakeerthi – awarded as the best Sinhala Novelist of the
year 2007
Some of the books to be released are:
Periodisation of History in Sri Lanka by Prof. Lesley Gunawardena
Society, State and Religion in Pre-modern Sri Lanka by Prof. Amaradasa
Liyanagamage
A Nice Burgher Girl by Jean Arasanayagam
Erasure of the Euro-Asian: Recovering Early Radicalism and Feminism in
South Asia by Dr Kumari Jayawardena
Matters of Violence: Reflections on Social and Political Violence in Sri
Lanka by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda
The Way We Are by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda
Each author will read a best short single passage of her / his work.
****
Exhibition
Until September 30
After Tsunami: The Survivors’ Views, an exhibition of photographs by
Jérémy Villy, Philippe Benassi and María Heredero Jiménez in
collaboration with the Young Cultural Association, Vues D’un Monde
(Views of a World), at the Alliance Française Auditorium, 11 Barnes
Place, Colombo 7.
September 21 and 22
An exhibition of art by Sanoj de Alwis, at the Harold Peiris Gallery,
Lionel Wendt, Colombo 7.
September 23
An exhibition of art by Suranga Fernando, at the Lionel Wendt Theatre,
Colombo 7.
Public talk
September 21
Death Is Not At The Far End Of Life, organised by the Krishnamurti
Centre, Sri Lanka, at the Public Library, Colombo 7, at 10:30 a.m.
Lecture
September 24
Risks, Rights and Respect—Essential Elements Of The Irish Peace Process,
the Dudley Senanayake Memorial Lecture 2008, organised by the Dudley
Senanayake Memorial Foundation, delivered by the Lord Alderdice,
FRCPsych, at the BMICH, at 5:15 p.m.
September 27 and 28
Literary Rites 2008, a celebration of writers, rituals, and rights at
The Study, 10, Alwis Place, Colombo 3 at 4.30 pm. Ameena Hussein, Simon
Harris and Yasmine Gooneratne will attend on the 27th while Neluka
Silva, Seneka Abeyratne, and Vivimarie Vander Poorten will be present on
the 28th.
Film
September 23
Sufi Traditions of India, (Part I and II, a documentary in English, 60
minutes) at the Indian Cultural Centre, at 5:30 p.m.
September 21 and 28
Mr. Klein by Joseph Losey (1976, 123 minutes) at the Alliance Francaise,
11 Barnes Place, Colombo 7, at 6:30 p.m.
****
|
