Dear colleagues,
We must all agree that we are a priviledged batch,for several reasons. We were born just before our nation was granted independence.We have seen our country evolve from Ceylon to Sri Lanka.We have experienced all the changes that have happened since then.Thanks to Sam,as the Colombo batch of 1964 we are still able communicate through our site.
This youtube clip of our history is one of the best that I have come across especially because the time lines are clear and the history is well researched.I am sharing this as it concerns all of us and in my opinion should be viewed by every youngster from Point Pedro to Dondra head.When the next generation is able to view, understand and are able to do their own research on every aspect of our history, is when we will all be in for better times.
My comments are,
1. Prime minister Rajiv Ghandhi is incorrectly referred to as president.
2.The visit of Zheng He,is mentioned but not detailed.The issue was over the installation of the tri lingual tablet ( Arabic, Persian and Tamil),which Zheng wished to install in Galle. (1410) .The king of Kotte, Alakeswara did not allow this.In retaliation (1411). Zheng captured Alakeswara and took him prisoner to China and in his place installed Parakramabahu the V1.In turn Sri Lanka became a vassal state of China and continued to pay yearly tributes to China until 1456.This is an interesting piece of history which is not well known to many.
3. The video of the children from the estate sector is heart warming.It is a great effort to upskill this group of children who deserve better for their fore fathers have been the backbone of our tea industry from the begining.
I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did. Regards to all. Eddie.
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
Thank you very much Eddie and Sam for bringing this post to our attention.
We have an organisation in UK called Sri Lankan Literary Society where invited speakers of national and international repute speak on matters such as music, literature, science, history, culture, religion, sports, environment and everything else you can think of. Apart from coming to know how many Sri Lankans are in very eminent and recognised fields all over the world, these talks have served to increase our knowledge and awareness of our own background as Sri Lankans and not as Tamil or Sinhalese or Buddhist or Hindu or other religion. Our batch I think (I may be wrong) was probably the last batch to study together as brothers devoid of such petty divisions that has become the curse of our country. Politicians feed on people’s natural tendency to be selfish (thanha) and the population at large follow like sheep partly because they have no choice and partly because of hoping to further their own selfish ends and some out of fear of intimidation.
The Estate School shines like a beacon of hope on this background.
I have copied this link to many others both to raise their awareness and to raise further funds.
Thanks again,
CJ
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Thanks CJ, for your refreshing view.it is good to know that the Sri Lankan literary society society is active in your neck of the woods.It reminds me of the Royal asiatic society in Colombo.My hope for Sri Lanka is a secular education for our young which at present looks too remote to even consider.Yes, the estate schools are making some progress with the teaching of English.This will certainly open up a new world for these students.We must wish them well.Regards.Eddie.
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