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Pure
magic The show was
pure magic and one that will be remembered by the audience for a
long time to come. It was directed by the multi- talented Ms. Ruwani
Seimon-Seneviratne. This young lady with her roots in Kandy has
carved a niche in Colombo's music scene and has the unrivalled knack
of bringing forth the vibrancy of youth. She is skilful at recognising
the potential of her students and bringing out their talents. The show began
with a medley from "Grease" by the Senior Choir that was
electrifying and set the mood for the evening. Thereafter some fine
individual performances were followed by a medley from "Little
Mermaid" by the Junior Choir. 'When you believe' from The Prince
of Egypt sung next was superbly executed. The group of
six little boys who sang, "Raindrops keep falling on my head"
were splendid. We were on the edge of our seats wondering what was
in store next as medley after medley became better and better. Here
was an amateur group of kids many of them on stage for the first
time, singing in three-part harmony to perfection. The first half
of the show came to a close with a dramatic and inspiring medley
from "Les Miserables" by the Senior Choir. The second
part of the programme opened with a medley from ABBA by the Senior
Choir that stole the show. There were spontaneous ''wows'' from
the spellbound audience. The high quality of singing, dancing, choreography
and gorgeous costumes made this medley a great success. The rest of
the evening's programme was dedicated to Yuletide Specials. The
evening's entertainment climaxed with the Senior Choir singing seasonal
specials like Silent Night, Christmas Samba and Calypso Noel among
many others. The exuberance of the cast was truly heart warming.
The entire production was awesome, slick and perfectly coordinated. Mahinda:
The right person, the right place He began covering
weddings as early as 1967 and is still much sought after, handling
weddings with his customary meticulous care. He has a knack
of immediately putting you at ease with his disarming smile. Then
an equally disarming laugh with a quick anecdote or story which
takes the sting out of the ritual of visiting a photographer. His studio
positioned at a distance, but within view of his front door, beckons
the customer, be it the betrothed couple, mother of the bride or
just a friend. By now, you are completely at ease and have a strong
feeling that you have indeed come to the right person and the right
place. Watching Mahinda at work, one sees him giving attention to
every detail. At his first interview with a client, he spends time
discussing all aspects of the wedding. It is a simple chat but he
knows that this is his only opportunity to get an insight into the
family's needs. He gently asks a question prodding and provoking
responses which will give him an advance scene of the wedding. From
this chat, he gets a pretty good idea of what is expected of him.
He is quite at home with a shy bride, the bubbly couple,the anxious,
concerned mother, and the family's budget. He has photographed
at almost every hotel and location in Colombo and environs. He has
ventured out of Colombo with his clients for the more scenic venues.
He remembers one wedding when the bride and her husband left the
reception in a boat, which glided off up river. All the priorities
of the client are written down meticulously so that he knows what
he has to do. He looks for the special photographs the family wants,
for example when the bride wanted to be photographed with her pet
dogs before she left the house, which naturally made an amusing
and also beautiful photograph later. Mahinda himself is a dog lover
and owns German Shepherds and Chihuahuas. His studio
has many photographs of brides, grooms, bridesmaids, flower girls
and families framed in style and placed on the walls to give the
client ideas. Mahinda shares
his skills with his team. He trains them well so that they can set
up their own photography business at any time. Mahinda's love
of jazz, collecting miniatures and maintaining his beautiful garden
keep him absorbed in his spare time. He is an inspiration to us all and we now salute the thirty five years of professional life of a great artiste. Exquisite
weaves from Indian women The sale of
these sarees has provided immense empowerment to these women by
way of improvement of their living conditions. In the collection
are embroidered and sequinned chiffons and georgettes, tissues and
jutes as well as the all-time silks and ethnic cottons. Also on
sale are Indo Western shalwar kurtas and accessories. The sale ends today at the Bishop's College Auditorium foyer. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
The
Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce WCIC, has organised an
exhibition and sale together with Beena Sondhi from India, who has
brought a wide selection of high fashion sarees, all produced by
women of different regions of India. 
Delhi-born
Beena now lives in Bangalore and travels all over India sourcing
sarees from rural women who are engaged in the craft of weaving
and embroidery. The sarees are then displayed at exhibitions in
key cities in India and Dubai. 
