Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

100 words

Non deciphered
The little one,
Hands like tiny rose petals,
Scribbling on a piece of paper,
His eyes focused,
Teeth biting the lips,
Hands going round and round,
Creating a pattern,
In the rough, crumpled paper,
Then he would rush to his mother,
Little toddler legs gaining speed as he sees her,
"It's you," he would say,
Thrusting the paper to her, "I drew you,"
But nothing, but a non-deciphered pattern,
A doodle of multicolour,
But an expression of love,
Thus like love,
Non-comprehended.
Chamindi Ekanayake

The dream house
It was beautiful
The pattern I drew on the sand.
Our dream house,
Not big,
Small
Round windows, flowers, chimney
With smoke coming out of it.
Cozy and comfortable it was
Like the way I feel when I am with you.
But oh! so suddenly
A rushing bubbling wave!
My pattern is no more.
Our dream house is gone,
Washed away to the far off horizon.
D. Ukuwela

Flowery patterns
I lit a candle,
In my gloomy little room,
And saw the shadow,
Of my brass vase,
With flowery patterns,
On the blank white wall
I cut some holes
In a blank sheet,
And held it.
In front of the dancing flame,
To make trembling patterns,
On the blank white wall
Memories of childhood,
Compelled me.
To open a window.
Peeping through, I saw,
Glorious patterns
Of starlit heaven!
S. S. A. Jayawardena

Mehndi on my hands
Through the intricate patterns on my hand I see his face.....
The women gathered around me counting the shalwars and sarees in my new wardrobe.
Men in another room trying to figure who will take the Thali to the groom's house.
It is the night before my wedding
The house is bustling with laughter,
The air is filled with the aroma of
gulabjamuns, burfis
The sweets of love and joy.....
I alone sit in a corner wandering if this is
the beginning of a life
as a beautiful as the pattern of Mehndi on my hands.....
S. Murugesu

Patterns
Rain pattered on the window in well spaced out beats
Parallel lines on the ceiling sailed before my eyes
Sunshine streamed through the blue bell patterned curtains....
Crisscross design of blue and white tiles in the bathroom
Toothpaste oozed out in white and red streaks on to the brush
I'll wear the mauve dress with checks today
The silver zigzag patterned bangle goes with it...
Down the spiral stairs
Toast on the plate decorated with a floral edge
Sequence of triangles on the doormat....
Up goes my polka dotted umbrella.
Time to make a dash for it.
Lahiru Gangoda

Patterns have changed

Moonlight is peeping through the window
The stars are whispering among the dark clouds
A spider is making its net in a beautiful pattern
But,
she won't murmur words of love into my ear again
Her eyes won't stare into mine again
Her warm lips won't touch mine again
She won't hold me to her heart again
She is making new patterns.....
The new-born baby is sleeping with her
K. K. G. I. Dilmini

The struggle
Like a fly caught in the spider's web
I flutter all my wings
To break free from life's pattern
To live patternlessly
In this patterned world
And taste freedom.
But can I do it
Before the spider comes?
Lionel Senanayake

Music, movies and travelling
Soft-spoken, talented singer cum guitarist Damian Wikkramatillake is renowned for his brilliant performances with Purple Rain and Wild Fire, two bands that have made a huge impact on the local music industry. Damian's passionate rendering of Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses is yet to be matched by any local singer or band. Here are some things closest to his heart.

By Marisa de Silva
Music: "It is my life. I can't give it up and you can't change that," he says emphatically. From soul to rock to jazz to funk, he likes it all, especially singing songs by Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Michael Bolton, Queen etc. Any song that suits his voice goes down well with him.

Now that Damian's out of the band scenario, he is doing solo spots and 'jam sessions' with talented artistes and musicians in the industry. If he could work out an act in half-hour stints, he says that would be very good.

Unbelievably though, Damian's shy off-stage and never sings a note at home or elsewhere. His only rehearsals remain either on-stage or in the car.

Dogs: Dogs being a man's best friend definitely rings true in Damian's case, as he has a passion for our canine buddies. Smoky and Sasha, his two beloved cocker-spaniels (right) are his pride and joy. "Sometimes when I go on long trips or even just on a short spin to the city, I just take them along." He once had a beautiful collie cross Husky named Sugar, who was really beautiful, he says. "Dogs keep me going 'cos they love me unconditionally and are so loyal." People should never hit their dogs because, they too need to be handled with patience and kindness and can be told off differently, he says.

Travelling: Damian loves to travel in his free time. He says that we should appreciate our own country and make an attempt to at least explore some of the many wonders it has to offer. "I would love to travel and see the whole country some day, but sadly, I haven't even covered half yet," he says.

If he gets the opportunity to travel abroad, he would obviously take it and try to absorb the various cultures and life styles of different people. "I would like to see for myself the way they live," he adds. He reminisces about the time he was in Lamanga, a little town in Spain, where he holidayed for a month and discovered a second home.

He remembers how this little town never slept and how different it was, especially as he was the only Lankan residing there. At this time, Damian had long tresses and people were fascinated by him. One morning he awoke and went out to his balcony only to discover a crowd of children waiting to get a glimpse of this newcomer to the area, he says laughing.

Cricket: "If not for music, cricket would definitely have been next in line as a profession," he says enthusiastically. Being in a cricket-crazy island, the game played a big role in his life. He loves to field as he claims it is a vital aspect of the game. Catches win matches, don't they?

An Old Joe, Damian played for his school team and enjoyed every minute of it. His cricketing idol, Sir Viv Richards seems to be a very simple and down to earth man, says Damian, after meeting him once when he was touring Sri Lanka.

Movies: As for products from Tinsel Town, he prefers thrillers, true stories and classics mainly. Silence of the Lambs, Ben Hur, Catch Me if You Can and The Sound of Music score high on his favourites list. He says that Frank W. Abagnale, played by Leonardo de Caprio in Catch Me if You Can was a total genius, although he initially worked on the wrong side of the law. However, the best part of the movie was that they convinced him to work for the government and he eventually managed to save banks and the State millions of dollars.

"When I was in Switzerland, hardly anybody had ever heard of The Sound of Music there at the time. I was shocked!" He had showed some of his friends there the classic and then they had passed it around and got hooked onto it, he smiles.

Asian food: Yet another of his passions. He likes anything from local food to Indian to Chinese to Thai and even Sushi with horse radish dip. "That goes straight to your head."
In Damian's view, all Western music artistes should be very thankful to the great music composers and writers because they have the luxury of singing and playing this music totally free. Also, they should entertain the audiences who pay good money to come watch them perform instead of pointing fingers at each other and creating rifts between each other. "Just do your thing to the best of your ability and go home peacefully," he said.

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