Sri Lanka Wins 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Vice Championship

ICC cricket World cup final, 2011 was held in Mumbai, India on last Saturday, 2nd of April. The qualified teams were Sri Lanka and India. We all Sri Lankans had high hopes on the World cup. We all thought that the team would bring the cup home. Obviously the Indians thought the same. Anyway just one team could win and that was lucky India.

India performed really good. Bowling and fielding were great. In my view what Sri Lanka missed was the team spirit. There were several reasons for that. First they did a huge change in the team at the last moment (four players were replaced). So it is obvious that they lacked the proper coordination.  Then the bowlers didn’t succeed. The newly added players Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera and Suraj Randiv were not much successful in bowling. But it is not their fault. As I believe the fault was to do such a vast change in the team for the finals.  They couldn’t get enough wickets.We can’t put every responsibility on Malinga’s and Murali’s shoulders. So they couldn’t get the job done alone without help from the other bowlers. Next thing was fielding. Simply it was pathetic compared to Indian team. They could have blocked many boundaries, missed an important catch. This could have been a win for Sri Lanka if the fielding was good. At last there was no luck with us. Angelo Mathews got injured and that’s why he was replaced. Murali was having a leg injury. So he was not able to do his best and it was a huge loss for the team. All these facts led us  to a defeat. Yes it was painful. We didn’t lose hope till it comes to last few overs but finally India won by 6 wickets. Sri Lanka lost finals last time (2007) to Australia, but it was not this painful. Maybe it’s because we knew that we got defeated that day not because of the team or bad performance, it was rain and bad luck. But this time we could have done better. Things just went wrong.

So this is the 2nd vice championship we won consecutively. It is a great achievement anyway. Apart from that, there were some important and historical moment through out this tournament. The most important thing was Murali’s (Sri Lanka) departure from International cricket. Muttiah Muralitharan nicknamed as “King of Spin” is the greatest spinner ever in the planet, and the highest wicket taker in both test and ODI.  So Murali said good bye to International cricket after the tournament. Also it was Sachin Tendulkar‘s(India) last Worldcup tournament. So one great bowler and another great batsman ended their world cup cricket careers together. Scott Styris (Newzealand), one of the cricketers I liked from my childhood, also ended his career with semi finals of this tournament. Well, it happened to end with Murali’s last ball in Sri Lanka. After the tournament, Sri Lanka team captain Kumar Sangakkara announced his retirement from captaincy.

Afterall it has been a great and eventful tournament though we lost the championship. I know everyone did suffer. The team, people, everyone did. But they admit it with patience. They dearly welcomed the team home as always and let the team know that they are still their heroes. We saw  that how much the disappointed team appreciated their love and humanity. At that moment I realized that there is much more to feel in defeating too……unity, humanity, love and affection.  Well, that is Sri Lankan identity. They just lost the cup but they never lose their dignity.

So I am wishing the team a fruitful future, you are really capable of bringing the 2015 cup home. Best of luck. and finally……..Hats off to the great nation with patience…no matter what they have the strength to take it humbly. If they lose, they do it in style…. & that’s why this nation doesn’t lose their dignity !!! Proud to be Sri Lankan !!!

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Hambantota Harbor Opening – New Era Begins in Sri Lanka

15th Aug, 2010 is a historical day for Sri Lanka. The water-filling ceremony of Hambantota Harbor was held in the morning of this historical day.

The constructions started based on an idea of president Mahinda Rajapakshe, in January 2008. This is the second largest harbor in Sri Lanka. The fact that made this idea a brilliant one is, the economical importance of the location. Hambantota is very closed to a key international shipping route which connects Asia and Europe. The main intention of building this harbor to provide services and resources for ships which use this international shipping route. As estimations show the number of ships that use this shipping line is about 36000 annually. So it is apparent that this would be a great source of income for Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapakshe poured the first drop of sea water into the tank  on the auspicious moment, with the Buddhist religious blessing.   I used to live in Hambantota for sometime when I was a kid. My father, Jayasiri Ruwanpathirana worked as the divisional secretariat of Hambantota. So it is a great pleasure to see the area is being developed. I still remember the calm little harbor which was near the district secretariat office. I wonder how it’ll look like when I get back to SL. I just can’t wait 🙂

Anyhow it seems like a new era begins with a revolution in development. It is a certain fact that there will be an economic revolution after a war in a country. I wish it should be the same for my country too. In Sri Lankan history, great kings are defined as the kings who protect and develop the country. Both of these tasks should be accomplished by a king to be a great king. I believe this is the our president’s second phase of the path of being a great king, after completing first phase by defeating Tamil tiger terrorists. No matter what he has done in the past or who he used to be, his name is already included in great kings list. Everyone has black and white spots…so is a president, but does anybody question how many black spots were there in King Dutugemunu’s character?  Who cares…so no doubt the future generations will consider president Mahinda Rajapakshe as a “great king”.

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Missing Sinhala Newyear for the First Time

Sinhala new year is the favorite festival of most Sri Lankans and I am one of them. According to the traditional calendar, April(Bak in Sinhala) is the first month of the year. The auspicious time is defined when the Sun moves from house of Pisces (Meena raashiya) to house of Aries (Mesha raashiya). Spring begins….Paddies make harvest…..Koha starts singing….buds become flowers…..Simply, the nature’s heart is blooming.

So this is the first time we (Saliya and me) are missing it. We both celebrated the last new year with our own families.  We used to play Panchi in many newyear times. It was a one hell of a fun time. Everyone (male, female, old, young no matter what) was participating. No words to say how much I miss it. I miss my beloved Aththamma who always volunteers to resolve disputes in a way that makes everyone (in her team) happy :)).  I miss our Loku nenda and Maama, who quarrel like kids as they were always separated into two teams :). I miss my mother, father who join us mainly to catch cheaters, so my father never gets caught ;). I miss my brothers, cousin brothers and sisters who make the game a funny mess. They must be having the fun without me this time. Hmm no……they can’t do the same without their pebble moving genius 😀

Think my brothers are enjoying the sweets and fire crackers alone this time (the cracker thief is missing). Cleaning the oil lamp, grating coconut for kiribath and organizing the Aurudu table are the tasks which should be accomplished by someone else this time. Anyone is welcome to light up the vacant slot of the oil lamp too. I imagine my father, announcing the time second by second to amma, who is preparing for the auspicious time near the fire place. It is the time all five of us get together to observe the milk pot till it overflows. Finally, I really miss our funny little Aurudu trip with cousins.

After all this is the first new year we (me and my husband) spend together. Isn’t that great? We will celebrate it at our best though we are not in our home country. We wish a happy and prosperous Sinhala new year to every Sri Lankan.

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62nd Independence day – Sri Lanka

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We, Sri lankans celebrated our 62nd independence day on 4th Feb 2010.  We achieved  independence and self rule from the British empire 62 years ago (in 1948). This is considered as a remarkable milestone of Sri Lankan history as the country (or a part of  it) was always under some foreign custody since 1505 A.D.

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1505 – Portuguese come in

1660 – Dutch take over the control

1802 – British get the Dutch controlled areas

1815 – British take the control of whole island by defeating last kingdom (Kandy) of the country

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4th Feb 1948 is the day we got the full political freedom after about three and half centuries. So no doubt it is a glorious day we should celebrate. However this time independence day celebration was very much special. Actually it was a celebration of real independence after 30 years of war(people like me who were born in the era of war, had not ever witnessed a real independence). It was the first independence day celebration after defeating Tamil tiger terrorist group (LTTE) which is responsible for 30 year war in Sri Lanka. The day the LTTE leader “Velupille Prabhakaran” was killed (18th May 2009), should be the second independence day of Sri Lanka.

Deviating from the tradition, this independence day celebration was held in Kandy,  being the last sovereign kingdom of the country, seems to be the most suitable place for the purpose.

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Small Miracle – Serendib

My home….My land….I care for you….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT0e3Lw9_lc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sM9vcAIYyc

This is the place I ever want to be….Some call it small miracle…. Some say “Serendib”. Proud to be a Sri Lankan.

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United Sri Lanka, Under one Flag

The day we have been waiting for…….After about 30 years, we have come to an end of  stupid terrorism of  Tamil tigers. The death of  tiger leader Velupille Prabhakaran, is not yet officially announced but seems everyone got the news anyhow.

A rebellion who’s responsible for thousands of innocent civilian’s deaths,  must have a destiny like this. Hope there will be no more Tamil Eelam dreams in anyone’s mind hereafter. There’s no doubt…..we got president Mahinda Rajapaksha for the sake of our nation. Wonder why any other leader couldn’t do the right  for our motherland.

Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka and Brigadier Shavendra Silva (In my personal favor, as the most performed commander) should be honored by every citizen in SL.

A united SL, never got a chance to feel it in my lifetime. So what can I say…..shouldn’t this be the most valuable day of my life?

There is no home like one you got…..coz that home belongs to you…..

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P.S. 19.05.2009

President Mahinda Rajapakshe addressed the nation today. A new era begins. Feel so lucky to witness this historical day. This is how Nugegoda people celebrated the victory.

nugegoda - victory

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Sun Rise at Sripada

My younger brother badly needed to climb Sripada as he had not gone there ever. Finally he was able to( of course with my help :)) convince our parents to organize a small trip. My main intention was to see the Sun rise (“Ira sevaya” in Sinhala) at sripada as I couldn’t see it last time due to heavy rain and the cloudy sky. This time we were lucky to see the beauty of sun rise though the sky was cloudy. The sun rise at SriPada is not like a normal sun rise. It comes up and goes down several times while rising.

Sripada is just like a heaven where we can walk through the clouds and feel the origin of rain.

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