Features
Heavenly Bliss in Sri Lanka
Holidaying in Galle & Colombo, 24 July–4 August 2023
by Ron Slee
of Flinders University & Adelaide
My interest in visiting Sri Lanka has been building for decades, generated by my friendship with two Sri Lankan nationals with whom I play tennis, Michael Roberts and Justin La Brooy. Justin had written me a very helpful short history of the country and added his recommendations of where to see wildlife and scenic beauty and Michael had sent hundreds of photos and personal stories that helped me plan my visit.
Not only was I keen to see where he’d lived and grown up, but Galle Fort is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We hired a driver to take us the 120 kms from Colombo (15k rupees for the 2 hrs 15 min drive seemed reasonable) to see what is called the best-preserved colonial town in Sri Lanka. Its history as a fortress dates from 1589 when the Portuguese invaded and built a fort overlooking the harbour. When they were chased out in 1640 by the Dutch, major fortifications including ramparts and surrounding walls were constructed during a 156=year occupation to enclose and protect the peninsula from enemy cannonballs. When the British took over, these walls were retained and did a sterling job keeping the 2004 tsunami at bay (puns intended!).
The Fort is now home to boutique shops and hotels created from historic Dutch and British villas, churches and mansions. Indeed, its history has been well preserved and although it was humid meandering through the narrow colonial streets. I recommend scheduling walks for early morning and evening, making use of your hotel pool to cope with the middle of the day. We stayed at the Galle Fort Hotel, enjoying its colonial grace and charm for considerably less cost than the fashionably genteel Amangalla Hotel a little further along Church Street. Of course, we popped into the Amangalla to compare its atmosphere and to confirm that Leonard Woolf had, indeed, left the building!
Ambling along the hot and shade-less ramparts was a test of our fitness, but the Fort’s entire perimeter is only 3 kms so we were never far from a refreshing lager on a hotel verandah – and from where we could sit and contemplate in which house in Middle Street Michael Roberts had lived, at what age he started drinking tea, tasting cinnamon. We located the Library and the Barefoot Bookshop (unfortunately both were closed) but we wondered at which school he had learnt to read and write. We kept thinking of a young boy diving and swimming at Flag Rock, running laps of the ramparts, playing cricket on one of the ovals.[1] I didn’t see a tennis court, but felt sure we were near where he practised with his first racquet.[2]
The fascinating history of the Fort is on every corner of every street – Church, Lighthouse, Leyn Baan, Hospital, Pedlar, Middle, Queen’s, Rampart, Custom Road [names of streets]. Open to visitors was the oldest Protestant place of worship in Sri Lanka, the Dutch Reformed Church (now Methodist) with its garden of tombstones. Also, the All Saints Anglican Church and the Mosque.
We spent so many hours in the Maritime Museum we left insufficient time for the National Museum and the Historical Mansion Museum.
Our visit to Galle Fort occupied the middle weekend of my wife’s short work contract in Sri Lanka. The rest of the time we spent in Colombo, based at the Galle Face Hotel.
The Galle Face Hotel dates from 1864, “before Lincoln, Pasteur and Marx” (the plaque at its pool eccentrically noted, adding that it’s older than many other famous hotels including the Raffles in Singapore, and that it opened “before the USA purchased Alaska from Russia”).
The hotel proudly promotes itself as a resort, the pool being a conspicuous element. I took advantage of this, indulging almost every day. My routine became a leisurely 3-course buffet breakfast (local fruits – usually papaya and pineapple – followed by a hopper (pancake made of rice-flour, coconut and yeast topped with dahl, seeni sambal – a spicy sweet onion sauce – and a fried egg), followed by crusty bread with ham and cheese (my nod to the Dutch influence) – all washed down with mango juice, coffee and finally a cup of tea. This morning daily banquet was more than enough to tide me over until dinner.
Typically, after breakfast, I would return to our room, collect my bathers and book and repair to the pool which attracted a mix of beached whales, strutters and those of us somewhere along that continuum. I would read poolside with an occasional lap between chapters making sure I was back in the room for a rest before dinner!
I varied this daily routine with tuk-tuk excursions or a browse through the Hotel Museum or watching the 5th Ashes Test, conveniently televised live from 3.30pm local time.
I took 3 separate tuk-tuk tours to various sites in Pettah, the old market area of Colombo, each lasting between 3 and 4 hours. The drivers were experienced guides and showed me through the Buddhist Gangaramaya Temple, the oldest and largest Hindu Temple (Sri Kailawasanathan Swami Devasthanam Kovi), the Red Mosque, shrines (including St Anthony’s Catholic Church where a suicide bomber’s blast killed 93 people on Easter Sunday in 2019), tea stores, spice shops, produce markets and museums including the Independence Commemoration Hall housing their history of political struggles against colonial rule. The National Museum had less focus on political history, more on anthropology, religion, agriculture, migration, and the development of art and crafts, especially fabrics. It was poorly lit in some rooms, but its imposing Victorian exterior is well worth seeing as are its collections of Buddhist statues, kitchen utensils and antique puppets.
I learnt so much from my drivers as we rode and walked around listening to them talk about historic religious, economic and political conflicts, as well as current dilemmas faced by Sri Lanka as it suffers an exodus to other countries of many of its young people and as it becomes over-dependent on foreign investment and loans to save the country from bankruptcy. We got helpful advice from an Australian diplomat about how much we should expect to pay tuk-tuk drivers – for me, this advice came too late, after I’d already been on two quite expensive tours. 10k rupees an hour was too much, I was firmly told!
The Galle Face Museum within the hotel is fascinating, mostly pictures of and autographed messages from famous guests, old newspaper stories about the hotel as well as some odd artefacts. Famous guests included Ernesto Che Guevara who stayed there in 1959 just six years before being killed in Bolivia, Jawaharlal Nehru (’51), Indira Gandhi, Richard Nixon, Clement Attlee (‘40s), Pope John Paul 11 (’95), Yuri Gagarin (in 1961, the year he flew to outer space), Anton Chekhov (1890), Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Don Bradman (’48), Garfield Sobers (’80), Vivien Leigh, Ursula Andress, Scarlett Johansson and Sting. Plus, many tennis players (mostly Australian) and other cricketers.
My offer to add a signed endorsement of our stay in the hotel was politely declined.
A Museum centrepiece is the first car owned by Prince Phillip of Greece (as he was when he went to Colombo to work with Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1940). A 1935 Standard Nine for which he paid 12 Pounds, it’s so tiny I don’t know how he squeezed into it.
This nod to British colonialism was more than matched by the daily presence during breakfast of a staff member dressed in light-tan knee-length shorts and jacket, a peaked cap and carrying a slingshot. His job was to stop beach gulls flying into the open-air dining veranda to steal food. Each morning he patrolled the lawn between us and the beach while his colleague swept the lawn clean of any stray leaf from nearby palms. Inside, the food staff wore braces over starched white shirts to hold up sharply creased black trousers while the manager in the lobby dressed as if he was going to Royal Ascot. Of course, there is one ubiquitous reminder that some things have changed – they all carry a mobile phone, even the slingshot man!
Leonard Woolf
Evening meals at the hotel were delicious, especially the local, Indian and Cuban cuisines. The local staple (fish curry and rice) became my preferred dish and after I made an early discovery that a Guinness stout costs half as much as a Corona beer, my preferred beverage became Tiger Beer with Guinness chasers. Taxes make such a difference to the cost of booze.
An important piece of local knowledge I failed to identify early was that every full moon (Poya) is marked with a public holiday and throughout that day no alcohol can be purchased. Except, we discovered, with room service – one way around the obstacle.
We ventured onto the adjacent Galle Face Green to walk amongst the dozens of kite hawkers and food trucks that gather there each evening. The cool night breeze coming off the sea was so refreshing. We spent a memorable evening with Guttila (‘Jay’) Jayatilaka (formerly of the University of Adelaide, Monash University and the University of Sydney) who took us to dinner at the Cinnamon Grand, a short walk from our hotel. Their smorgasbord offered a magnificent range of delicious local cuisines – it was impossible to not overindulge!
Most nights, however, we ate at one of our hotel’s beach-side cafes dressed in summer attire watching the sun set and contemplating our good fortune to be avoiding a cold Adelaide winter.
Sadly, due to work commitments in Colombo we were not able to see Justin La Brooy’s recommendations for wildlife and scenic beauty in the cooler inland parts of the island. As Justin told me before I left “a trip of less than 2 weeks will inevitably leave you short-changed”. I hope to return and rectify that.
I’ll finish this little story of my first visit to Sri Lanka by recommending two books I read while lazing next to the Galle Face Hotel pool.
I took Victoria Glendinning’s biography of Leonard Woolf with me because after graduating from Cambridge, Woolf spent seven years employed by the Colonial Service in Ceylon (1904-11) and returned in 1960 for a brief visit when he was 80 years old. I didn’t get to visit the areas where he worked (Kandy and Hambantota Districts) and that’s one reason I’d like to go back to Sri Lanka – another is to see the state-run elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. My interest in Woolf is partly because my tennis comrade Michael Roberts had interviewed Leonard in 1965 about his time in Sri Lanka and given me the transcript.[3]
The second book, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is a novel set in India in the mid-1970s. It’s been on my list since it won the 1996 Commonwealth Writers Prize (and was shortlisted for the 1996 Booker) and while visiting South Asia seemed a good time and place to read it.
END NOTES added by Michael Roberts
[1] Courtesy of his partner Joanna’s work assignments in Sri Lanka,
[2] No one dived off Flag Rock then. But we certainly enjoyed the waters and the reef at what was known as the “Girls Bathing Place” about 100 yards away on the western wall where steps enable easy access.
[3] There were three ‘groups’ of tennis courts as one entered the Fort through its central gate: one ‘set’ of three belonging to the Galle Gymkhana Club immediately on the left; another two further to the left and two courts belonging to the Public Services on the immediate right. The Galle Gymkhana Club also had a well-appointed bar with space for two billiard tables and card playing tables, etc, etc. The decline of this club and disappearance of any traces of its imposing presence calls for an essay recording the tale and pondering over the socio-political implications of this set of events.
[4] Readers who wish to access the Leonard Woolf Interview on tape from the ROHP Collection can reach it via (A) the Barr Smith Library Adelaide University … or …. (B) The National Library Services Board off Torrington Road, Colombo 7. Both locations contain the whole stock of recorded interviews gathered by Michael Roberts in the period 1965 to 1969 in England and Ceylon when he was a Lecturer at Peradeniya University (with financial aid provided by the Asia Foundation and the wholesome encouragement of Professor KW Goonewardena and JFK Labrooy of the History Department at Peradeniya Campus.
by Kaushalya Perera
Time has, by and large, stood still in the business of academic staff recruitment to state universities. Qualifications have proliferated and evolved to be more interdisciplinary, but our selection processes and evaluation criteria are unchanged since at least the late 1990s. But before I delve into the problems, I will describe the existing processes and schemes of recruitment. The discussion is limited to UGC-governed state universities (and does not include recruitment to medical and engineering sectors) though the problems may be relevant to other higher education institutions (HEIs).
How recruitment happens currently in SL state universities
Academic ranks in Sri Lankan state universities can be divided into three tiers (subdivisions are not discussed).
* Lecturer (Probationary)
– recruited with a four-year undergraduate degree. A tiny step higher is the Lecturer (Unconfirmed), recruited with a postgraduate degree but no teaching experience.
* A Senior Lecturer can be recruited with certain postgraduate qualifications and some number of years of teaching and research.
* Above this is the professor (of four types), which can be left out of this discussion since only one of those (Chair Professor) is by application.
State universities cannot hire permanent academic staff as and when they wish. Prior to advertising a vacancy, approval to recruit is obtained through a mind-numbing and time-consuming process (months!) ending at the Department of Management Services. The call for applications must list all ranks up to Senior Lecturer. All eligible candidates for Probationary to Senior Lecturer are interviewed, e.g., if a Department wants someone with a doctoral degree, they must still advertise for and interview candidates for all ranks, not only candidates with a doctoral degree. In the evaluation criteria, the first degree is more important than the doctoral degree (more on this strange phenomenon later). All of this is only possible when universities are not under a ‘hiring freeze’, which governments declare regularly and generally lasts several years.
Problem type 1
– Archaic processes and evaluation criteria
Twenty-five years ago, as a probationary lecturer with a first degree, I was a typical hire. We would be recruited, work some years and obtain postgraduate degrees (ideally using the privilege of paid study leave to attend a reputed university in the first world). State universities are primarily undergraduate teaching spaces, and when doctoral degrees were scarce, hiring probationary lecturers may have been a practical solution. The path to a higher degree was through the academic job. Now, due to availability of candidates with postgraduate qualifications and the problems of retaining academics who find foreign postgraduate opportunities, preference for candidates applying with a postgraduate qualification is growing. The evaluation scheme, however, prioritises the first degree over the candidate’s postgraduate education. Were I to apply to a Faculty of Education, despite a PhD on language teaching and research in education, I may not even be interviewed since my undergraduate degree is not in education. The ‘first degree first’ phenomenon shows that universities essentially ignore the intellectual development of a person beyond their early twenties. It also ignores the breadth of disciplines and their overlap with other fields.
This can be helped (not solved) by a simple fix, which can also reduce brain drain: give precedence to the doctoral degree in the required field, regardless of the candidate’s first degree, effected by a UGC circular. The suggestion is not fool-proof. It is a first step, and offered with the understanding that any selection process, however well the evaluation criteria are articulated, will be beset by multiple issues, including that of bias. Like other Sri Lankan institutions, universities, too, have tribal tendencies, surfacing in the form of a preference for one’s own alumni. Nevertheless, there are other problems that are, arguably, more pressing as I discuss next. In relation to the evaluation criteria, a problem is the narrow interpretation of any regulation, e.g., deciding the degree’s suitability based on the title rather than considering courses in the transcript. Despite rhetoric promoting internationalising and inter-disciplinarity, decision-making administrative and academic bodies have very literal expectations of candidates’ qualifications, e.g., a candidate with knowledge of digital literacy should show this through the title of the degree!
Problem type 2 – The mess of badly regulated higher education
A direct consequence of the contemporary expansion of higher education is a large number of applicants with myriad qualifications. The diversity of degree programmes cited makes the responsibility of selecting a suitable candidate for the job a challenging but very important one. After all, the job is for life – it is very difficult to fire a permanent employer in the state sector.
Widely varying undergraduate degree programmes.
At present, Sri Lankan undergraduates bring qualifications (at times more than one) from multiple types of higher education institutions: a degree from a UGC-affiliated state university, a state university external to the UGC, a state institution that is not a university, a foreign university, or a private HEI aka ‘private university’. It could be a degree received by attending on-site, in Sri Lanka or abroad. It could be from a private HEI’s affiliated foreign university or an external degree from a state university or an online only degree from a private HEI that is ‘UGC-approved’ or ‘Ministry of Education approved’, i.e., never studied in a university setting. Needless to say, the diversity (and their differences in quality) are dizzying. Unfortunately, under the evaluation scheme all degrees ‘recognised’ by the UGC are assigned the same marks. The same goes for the candidates’ merits or distinctions, first classes, etc., regardless of how difficult or easy the degree programme may be and even when capabilities, exposure, input, etc are obviously different.
Similar issues are faced when we consider postgraduate qualifications, though to a lesser degree. In my discipline(s), at least, a postgraduate degree obtained on-site from a first-world university is preferable to one from a local university (which usually have weekend or evening classes similar to part-time study) or online from a foreign university. Elitist this may be, but even the best local postgraduate degrees cannot provide the experience and intellectual growth gained by being in a university that gives you access to six million books and teaching and supervision by internationally-recognised scholars. Unfortunately, in the evaluation schemes for recruitment, the worst postgraduate qualification you know of will receive the same marks as one from NUS, Harvard or Leiden.
The problem is clear but what about a solution?
Recruitment to state universities needs to change to meet contemporary needs. We need evaluation criteria that allows us to get rid of the dross as well as a more sophisticated institutional understanding of using them. Recruitment is key if we want our institutions (and our country) to progress. I reiterate here the recommendations proposed in ‘Considerations for Higher Education Reform’ circulated previously by Kuppi Collective:
* Change bond regulations to be more just, in order to retain better qualified academics.
* Update the schemes of recruitment to reflect present-day realities of inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary training in order to recruit suitably qualified candidates.
* Ensure recruitment processes are made transparent by university administrations.
Kaushalya Perera is a senior lecturer at the University of Colombo.
(Kuppi is a politics and pedagogy happening on the margins of the lecture hall that parodies, subverts, and simultaneously reaffirms social hierarchies.)
This week, too, the spotlight is on an outfit that has gained popularity, mainly through social media.
Last week we had MISTER Band in our scene, and on 10th February, Yellow Beatz – both social media favourites.
Talento is a seven-piece band that plays all types of music, from the ‘60s to the modern tracks of today.
The band has reached many heights, since its inception in 2012, and has gained recognition as a leading wedding and dance band in the scene here.
The members that makeup the outfit have a solid musical background, which comes through years of hard work and dedication
Their portfolio of music contains a mix of both western and eastern songs and are carefully selected, they say, to match the requirements of the intended audience, occasion, or event.
Although the baila is a specialty, which is inherent to this group, that originates from Moratuwa, their repertoire is made up of a vast collection of love, classic, oldies and modern-day hits.
The musicians, who make up Talento, are:
Prabuddha Geetharuchi:
Geilee Fonseka: Dynamic and charismatic vocalist
Prabuddha Geetharuchi: The main man behind the band Talento
(Vocalist/ Frontman). He is an avid music enthusiast and was mentored by a lot of famous musicians, and trainers, since he was a child. Growing up with them influenced him to take on western songs, as well as other music styles. A Peterite, he is the main man behind the band Talento and is a versatile singer/entertainer who never fails to get the crowd going.
Geilee Fonseka (Vocals):
A dynamic and charismatic vocalist whose vibrant stage presence, and powerful voice, bring a fresh spark to every performance. Young, energetic, and musically refined, she is an artiste who effortlessly blends passion with precision – captivating audiences from the very first note. Blessed with an immense vocal range, Geilee is a truly versatile singer, confidently delivering Western and Eastern music across multiple languages and genres.
Chandana Perera (Drummer):
His expertise and exceptional skills have earned him recognition as one of the finest acoustic drummers in Sri Lanka. With over 40 tours under his belt, Chandana has demonstrated his dedication and passion for music, embodying the essential role of a drummer as the heartbeat of any band.
Harsha Soysa:
(Bassist/Vocalist). He a chorister of the western choir of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, who began his musical education under famous voice trainers, as well as bass guitar trainers in Sri Lanka. He has also performed at events overseas. He acts as the second singer of the band
Udara Jayakody:
(Keyboardist). He is also a qualified pianist, adding technical flavour to Talento’s music. His singing and harmonising skills are an extra asset to the band. From his childhood he has been a part of a number of orchestras as a pianist. He has also previously performed with several famous western bands.
Aruna Madushanka:
(Saxophonist). His proficiciency in playing various instruments, including the saxophone, soprano saxophone, and western flute, showcases his versatility as a musician, and his musical repertoire is further enhanced by his remarkable singing ability.
Prashan Pramuditha:
(Lead guitar). He has the ability to play different styles, both oriental and western music, and he also creates unique tones and patterns with the guitar..
The JJ Twins, the Sri Lankan musical duo, performing in the Maldives, and known for blending R&B, Hip Hop, and Sri Lankan rhythms, thereby creating a unique sound, have come out with a brand-new single ‘Me Mawathe.’
In fact, it’s a very special milestone for the twin brothers, Julian and Jason Prins, as ‘Me Mawathe’ is their first ever Sinhala song!
‘Me Mawathe’ showcases a fresh new sound, while staying true to the signature harmony and emotion that their fans love.
This heartfelt track captures the beauty of love, journey, and connection, brought to life through powerful vocals and captivating melodies.
It marks an exciting new chapter for the JJ Twins as they expand their musical journey and connect with audiences in a whole new way.
Their recent album, ‘CONCLUDED,’ explores themes of love, heartbreak, and healing, and include hits like ‘Can’t Get You Off My Mind’ and ‘You Left Me Here to Die’ which showcase their emotional intensity.
Readers could stay connected and follow JJ Twins on social media for exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and upcoming releases:
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jjtwinsofficial
TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@jjtwinsmusic
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jjtwinssingers
YouTube: http://youtube.com/jjtwins
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