Whenever the inevitable comparisons have been made, Upeka has stoutly resisted being likened to her illustrious parents Chitrasena and Vajira, those erstwhile legends of dance in this country. She has always danced on her own terms, she has maintained and last Sunday she did it her way, bowing out with a wonderfully evocative performance.

It was the ruler in Sri Lankan kitchens for many a long year, be it a temperadu or deep-fry, until shoved on to the back-burner in recent times due to various theories and speculation that some of its “more refined” cousins were healthier.