7th December 1997

Starry, starry night

By Raushen Akbar

Legacy, the much-awaited concert featuring Suresh, Husni and D. K. as 'Alien Accent' on November 28th, 29th and 30th at The Bishops College Auditorium, certainly lived upto the most fastidious expectations.

Serving up a distinctive platter of easy contemporary sounds with folk, classical and rock tones thrown in for good measure, Legacy amply reflected the combination of many musical influences.

The trio, performing eight originals and 10 cover versions offered a great opportunity to the audience, to sit back, relax and enjoy some good, good music. Unfortunately for those who wanted to shake a leg, the vocalists tended at times to be a litle too 'laid back' with their soulful renderings, and could have borrowed some 'oomph' from the more dynamic musicians on stage. Especially from the Krishna - on - Ghatum, Ravibandu - on - geta bere and Ratnam - on - tabla trio whose passionate percussion made waves right to the tapping toes of the audience.

The originals included 'Snow', 'A castle and a king', 'Dreamer's Song', 'Higher ground', 'Burning', 'Unawatuna' (with a baila flavour) and 'Magic Eyes'.

The trio also sang songs by Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Crowded House, Crosby, Stills and Nash, James Taylor and Tracy Chapman.

Enhancing their performance were some superb special effects and computerised lighting by Jerome De Silva and The Workshop Players. However there were times when the lighting was not in harmony with the tempo and mood of certain songs.

Simply spectacular though was the lighting and effects for 'Helplessly Hoping' and 'Magic Eyes', while the flute interlude by Geeth Mihiripenna in 'Burning' was hauntingly poignant.

What was most remarkable was the blend of different talents that form the very core of their music: Suresh, Husni and D. K. with their smashing vocals, and sensitive compositions, and the technical virtuosity of Shafi, Rifai, Aruna and the rest - all put together to create an enjoyable evening, several encores and a sure-hit album. Repeats anyone?

Great garden ideas

By Sandrina Abeywardene

Wheelbarrows, bunnies and gotukola are not to be found in your average garden. But if you are looking for innovative ways to create an attractive setting in your garden, be it big or small, Landscape' 97' may be your best bet. The first exhibition of its kind scheduled to be held at the Art Gallery from December 19 - 22, it is organised by the Landscapists Association in Sri Lanka. The displays are bound to attract those who wish to beautify their gardens.

Landscape '97 welcomes visitors into a facade of a house that opens itself to a beautifully landscaped garden. Specific areas will display various settings such as Japanese Gardens, vegetable plots, foliage, water gardens, Children's play areas etc. Gardens need not merely be decorative; an useful vegetable garden with Rampe, Chillie, Gotukola, Nivithi, Capsicum plants will be on display. There's also a colourful children's play table with loops of toffees and plates of cute bunnies making it very attractive for kids. The creative use of an old wheelbarrow with small bunches of plants on it, highlights the rustic setting. The garden seat made out of a log blends harmoniously with nature and the table top displays with several Jute table cloths, gray cloths with beautiful designs all tend to highlight the mix 'n' match theme..

The aim of the Landscapists' Association in organising such an event is to create awareness and encourage those having small gardens to make the most of them and to inspire others to venture into self employment. Although the Landscapists' Association has not been in existence for long, they have however achieved much in a short span of time. The association which consists of landscaping enthusiasts was set up after they had followed a course in landscaping conducted by JAICA .

"Once this course ended we decided to put our knowledge into practice," said Mrs. Christine Fernando the President of the association. Since their inception in February 1997 they have been active in constructing Japanese gardens for the JAICA anniversary celebrations and the Japan Sri Lanka Association exhibition. "At the request of the Parish priest of St. Anthony's Colpetty. we provided a concept for landscaping the church garden. During this time the Mayor of Colombo allocated one and half acres of land at Vihara Maha Devi Park for landscaping. We are currently turning this area into a millenium garden and even hoping to creating a rain forest in this garden. This garden will contain very futuristic plants and ornaments as well as high tech equipment," said Mrs Fernando.

The association hopes to raise funds to cover the expense but right now all their energies are concentrated on the forthcoming exhibition.

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