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Maya Ranjan
Mahanama Rajapaksha (1913 – 16 November 1968), who wrote under the pseudonym Maya Ranjan, was a prominent Sinhala writer and schoolteacher from Sri Lanka. His magnum opus ''Digaamadulle Aashcharyaya'' (), published in 1957, was important to Sri Lankan literature and established him the country's pioneering wildlife non-fiction writer. He also translated Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ... into Sinhala. Publications Own work * ''Digaamadulle Aashcharyaya'' (දිගාමඬුල්ලේ ආශ්චර්යය/The Enchantment of Digaamadulla) * ''Pitisara Minissu'' (පිටිසර මිනිස්සු/Rural Folks) * ''Mage Raajyaya'' (මගේ රාජ්යය/My Kingdom) * ''Ape Raajya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhalese Language
Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first language of about 2 million other Sri Lankans, as of 2001. It is written in the Sinhalese script, a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. The language has two main varieties, written and spoken, and is a notable example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia. Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka. Along with Pali, it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhalese language are attested to as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi, a regional associate of the Middle-Indian Prakrits that had been spo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masterpiece
A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, a "masterpiece" was a work of a very high standard produced by an apprentice to obtain full membership, as a "master", of a guild or academy in various areas of the visual arts and crafts. Etymology The form ''masterstik'' is recorded in English or Scots in a set of Aberdeen guild regulations dated to 1579, whereas ''masterpiece'' is first found in 1605, already outside a guild context, in a Ben Jonson play. ''Masterprize'' was another early variant in English. In English, the term rapidly became used in a variety of contexts for an exceptionally good piece of creative work, and was "in early use, often applied to man as the 'masterpiece' of God or Nature". History Originally, the term ''masterpiece'' referred to a piece of work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lankan Literature
Sri Lankan literature is the literary tradition of Sri Lanka. The largest part of Sri Lankan literature was written in the Sinhala language, but there is a considerable number of works in other languages used in Sri Lanka over the millennia (including Tamil, Pāli, and English). However, the languages used in ancient times were very different from the language used in Sri Lanka now. Up to the present, short stories are a very important part of Sri Lankan literature; the output of Sinhalese short story writers has elicited a greater measure of critical analysis. List of writers Sinhala writers Sinhala poets Essayists and non-fiction writers Sinhala playwrights Sinhala radio play writers Tamil authors Tamil poets * Neelaavanan * Pottuvil Asmin Sri Lankan and Sri Lankan diaspora authors who write in English See also * Sri Lankan culture * Henry Parker, a British engineer who studied and compiled the oral literature Oral literature, orature, or folk lit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thilak Senasinghe
Thilak Senasinghe is an explorer and research enthusiast of famous mythical beliefs of Sri Lankan culture. He tries to unearth the deep inherent scientific truth embedded in the delusional beliefs and blind faith that have crept into the popular Buddhism of Sri Lanka. He has published several books, essays and newspaper articles in Sinhala about the psychological facet of the deeply rooted mythical practices in Sri Lanka such as devil possessions, evil spirits, witchcraft, exorcism, sorcery, curses, spells and charms and various other issues connected with occult practices in Sri Lanka. A journalist by profession, Senasinghe is the editor of the women's weekly, “RAJINA”, a publication of Lakbima Newspapers Ltd, Sri Lanka. He was elected to the Executive Committee of the Sri Lanka Press Association for 2018/19. Selected works * ''Janakantha Mithya Matha'' * ''Manaranjana Mithya Katha'' * ''Kemmura Thenna'' * ''Sudu Paravi Mal'' * ''Agni Chamara'' * ''Avathara Luhubanda' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history. The ''Iliad'' centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The ''Odyssey'' chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the ''Odyssey'' especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through the punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language that shows a mixture of features of the Ionic Greek, Ionic and Aeolic Greek, Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version. The ''Iliad'' is often regarded as the first substantial piece of Western literature, European literature and is a central part of the Epic Cycle. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the war's final weeks. In particular, it traces the anger () of Achilles, a celebrated warrior, from a fierce quarrel between him and King Agamemnon, to the death of the Trojan prince Hector.Homer, ''Iliad, Volume I, Books 1–12'', translated by A. T. Murray, revised by William F. Wyatt, Loeb Classical Library 170, Cambridge, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The ''Odyssey'' was first written down in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (1819), ''Rob Roy (novel), Rob Roy'' (1817), ''Waverley (novel), Waverley'' (1814), ''Old Mortality'' (1816), ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' (1818), and ''The Bride of Lammermoor'' (1819), along with the narrative poems ''Marmion (poem), Marmion'' (1808) and ''The Lady of the Lake (poem), The Lady of the Lake'' (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature, American literature. As an advocate and legal administrator by profession, he combined writing and editing with his daily work as Clerk of Session and Sheriff court, Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. He was prominent in Edinburgh's Tory (political faction), Tory establishment, active in the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, Highland Society, long time a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivanhoe
''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more recent past. It became one of Scott's best-known and most influential novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, with colourful descriptions of a tournament, outlaws, a witch trial, and divisions between Jews and Christians, Normans and Saxons, the novel was credited by many, including Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin, with inspiring increased interest in chivalric romance and medievalism. As John Henry Newman put it, Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the Middle Ages". It was also credited with influencing contemporary popular perceptions of historical figures such as King Richard the Lionheart, John, King of England, Prince John, and Robin Hood. Composition and sources In June 1819, Walter Scott still suffered from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhalese Writers
Sinhala may refer to: * Sinhala or Sinhala dvipa, another name of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people, an ethno-linguistic group native to Sri Lanka * Sinhala language, the native language of the Sinhalese people * Sinhala script, the writing system of the Sinhala language ** Sinhala (Unicode block), a block of Sinhala characters in Unicode * Sinhala cinema, cinema in the Sinhala language * Sinhala Kingdom, the successive historical Sinhalese kingdoms of Sri Lanka between 543 BCE and 1815 CE * "Sinhala", a song from the 1999 album ''The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia'' See also * Sinha, an Indian name ** Sinha (surname), an Indian surname * Simha (other) * Singam (other) * Singham (other) * Singa (other) * Singhania (other) * Singh Singh ( IPA: ) is a title, middle name, or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it was later mandated in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lankan Writers
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Sinhalese, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', ''Shiri'', ''Shree'', ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. In Tamil it evolved to Tiru. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language. "Shri" is also used as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for individuals. "Shri" is also an epithet for Hindu goddess Lakshmi, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
