PURSE 2000
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- ItemUdas: an inquiry into the South Asian state of mind(University of Peradeniya, 2000-12-16) Goonasekera, S.A state of the mind known as udas is widespread in Rajasthan, India. Although accurate statistical infonnation regarding its distribution is hard to obtain. linguistic data indicate its prevalence throughout the South Asian cultural area from ancient times. In Rajasthan, in tile central regions around Jaipur, Bikaner and Jodhpur, in tile region known as Marwar where I conducted my field research. This is a well-known phenomenon. Adults of every age seem to experience this condition of being. Field data show and lexicographic research confirms that there is a common definition for this state of mind. According to the common definition, udas refers to a heart heavy with sadness. dissatisfaction one feels about one' s lot in life and disquiet about tile nature of the world and how people live in it. What are the characteristics of individuals who experience udas? How do the Jains identify, classify, and evaluate them? What methods are available in tile local culture to deal with this condition? What methodological and philosophical issues render the Jain cultural constructions about this mental state incommensurable with the psychiatric constructions about it? I address these issues in my essay.
- ItemSkanda as a guardian god of Lanka the significance of the Tamil slab-inscription from Budumuttava(University of Peradeniya, 2000-12-16) Pathmanathan, S.The god of Kataragama identified by many as Skanda is one of the four guardian-gods of Sri Lanka. These guardian gods occupy an important position in the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition and images of these divinities are found installed in many Buddhist temples. Besides, there are many separate shrines called devale dedicated for the worship of these divinities; also other are separate devales dedicated only to these deities. One of the earliest of such shrines could be assigned to the 14th century. Many of them are endowed with lands granted by kings in former times. Each devale has a traditional system of management in respect of temple ; services and the administration of its endowments. The importance of the guardian gods is highlighted by the perahera or annual festival. In Kandy, four guardian-deities namely Skanda, Visnu, Natha and Pattini - are venerated annually in the of Esala Perahara in colourful procession held along with the procession of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This festivalhas been conducted with an almost unbroken continuity since the 17th century'. This annual festival is said to have been re-organized on an elaborate scale under Kirtti Sri Rajasingha in the 18th century.
- ItemStudy of callus formation and regeneration of selected rice varieties and transfer of sytheticcry1 Gene rice callus(University of Peradeniya, 2000-12-16) Wickramaratne, N. A. A. D.; Bandara, J. M. R. S.Rice (Oryza sativa. L) is one of the most important food crop of the world serving as a major staple food crop for about 3 billion people In developing countries, 35%.55% of the potential yield of rice is lost mainly due to pest and diseases. In South and Southeast Asia, the average yield lost due to insect pest is 18.5%. Mordern methods of important include gene transfer to obtain pest resistant varieties. Tissue culture is a principal tool in gene transformation. In this study callus formation and regeneration of selected rice varieties Bg300, Bg304. Bg380. Bg352, Bg350 & IR8 were examined. Seeds were cultured on R2 medium with two 2. 4-D levels (I mg/l and 2 mg/l). Callus formation percentage was observed after 2 weeks of culturing. calli colour was observed at first subculturing and size was also measured prior to transfer to the regeneration medium Rice calli (Bg352) were co-cultivated with Agerobateriurn.' . bi C\\rBI\ !1()! ith heti I strain C58 carrying recom mant vector p .. . . Wit synt etrc cry gene. Transformation efficiency was checked by the GUS assay. Bg352 was the best in callus formation with favourable colour and favourable size. It is also the quickest to respond bv becoming green when transferred to regeneration medium, , f l 'I'd II' GL'S" T DN'A f 'h C.\.\fB1.\ Fifty three percent 0 t ie co-cu tivate ca I were I positive - 1 part 0 t e p 1.101has integrated successfullv with a genome of Bg352.
- ItemThe resident birds of the Peradeniya University Campus, Sri Lanka(University of Peradeniya, 2000-12-16) Wijesundara, W. M. C. S.; Santiapillai, C.The campus of the University of Peradeniya, situated in the hill country of Sri Lanka, is one of the areas of high avifaunal diversity in the island. Of the 231 species of resident birds that have been recorded from the island, more than 80 have been observed in the Campus. In the present study that was conducted from April to October 1999, it was found that at least 67 species were present, excluding the nocturnal species. This amounts to 29% of the total number of residents in Sri Lanka. Weekly roadside counts of birds along a fixed route transect passing through the main habitat types in the campus (e.g. woodland, grassland, home garden, and pine forest) indicate that the commonest birds in the campus are the Common Mynah (Acridotheres tristisi, Black Crow (Corvus macrorhynchosi, Common Babbler (Turdotdes affinis), White-rumped Swift (Apus cffinisi, and the Spotted Dove iStreptopelia chinensisy. It is interesting to note that despite the common perception that the Black Crow is the commonest bird in the campus, it is in fact second to the Common Mynah The presence of the Red-wattled Lapwing iVanellus indicuss and the Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensisi in the campus is significant. These two species, which were typical of the Low Country Dry Zone of Sri Lanka only a few decades ago, have now established in the lower hills of the island, including the University Campus. Birds of prey are good indicators of ecological richness and species richness of an area. Their occurrence carries the implications of a larger ecological community. They are at the top of the food chains, and are vulnerable to the fluctuations of their prey species. The study shows that the campus is well represented by both nocturnal as well as diurnal species of predatory birds. The most commonly observed species are the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilomis cheela) and the Shikra (Accipiter badiusi. The Collared Scops Owl tOtns bakkamoenai, though not often seen in the daytime given its nocturnal habits, is nevertheless common. The campus also supports a number of species that are endemic to Sri Lanka, of which the two most common species are the Sri Lanka Lorikeet iLoriculus beryllinus) and the Yellow-fronted Barbet (Megalaima flavifronsv. The species richness and species evenness indices (Shannon Index and Shannon Evenness Index) indicate that the woodlands have the highest number of avian species (54 species, with a Shannon Index of3.24), while grasslands though slightly low in avian species richness (52), are more diverse (with a Shannon Index of 3.26). The dominance indices (Berger-Parker Index and its reciprocal form) show that grasslands have the lowest dominance (0 II) and hence the highest evenness (886) (and so more diverse) According to the similarity indices (Sorenson Quantitative), the woodland and grassland habitats are the most similar (0.99) in terms of avian species richness. The study shows those natural forests, or forests with indigenous plant species, are the habitats with very high bird diversity, whereas plantations of exotics such as Pine (Pill us caribaeai are extremely poor habitats for birds. This study underlines the importance of maintaining natural vegetation in the conservation of birds and other species of wildlife.
- ItemA study of the musical poetical forms and their contribution to the emotional expressions in the sokari drama(University of Peradeniya, 2000-12-16) Seneheweera, LKolam, Nadagam. and the Sokari have been established as the folk drama in Sri Lanka. Kolam is a kind of a dramatic pcrfonnance. which survives today chiefly in coastal townships in South in Sri Lanka. particularly in Ambalangoda and Bentara. Nadagamas have been popular mostly in villages and townships along the western coast. from Chilaw in the north right down to places like Tangalle in the South. The Sokari is a folk ritual drama with much dramatic entertainment. confined to the Uda Rata and the Vanniya. Presently it is performed in the villages around Kandy. Traditions of Sokari performed at Uda Dumbara. Matale. Konakallagala. Vehigala arc well known, This ritual play in many of its tradition is performed to get the blessings of the goddess Paththini, However. in some tradition Kataragama with that part is emphasized: the story enumerates how Guruhamy and Sokari after their marriage came to Sri Lanka from South India to visit the famous devale of Kataragarna in order to get the blessings of that god to beget a child. The story is dramatically presented by players who resort to mime. dance and stylized movements as a backup for the normal prose and verse dialogue. In addition. there is much variation in poetical forms. although it may seem monotonous for a non-initiate. The play is lyrical and consists of a large number of verses. These could be divided into two categories of metrical and non-metrical composition, both of which could again be subdivided into measured and unmeasured forms: a large number of meters including Samudurugos. yagi. so on. Furthermore. it uses a large number of poetical forms such as sivupada. gi. sahali. as well as musical forms of rhythm. melody. and tempo. One could sum up that Sokan play is based on the genuine folk. poetical. and musical traditions of the upcountry tradition of Sri Lanka. The aim of the present research is to highlight this basic musical tradition,