A little bit of mix and spin magic

Spectacular night. Spinning wizards on their toes playing music from dusk till dawn. Entertaining the crowd and gaining points.

'This is how we do it......', let's get down on the floor and shake a leg. 'As Long As you Love Me....', yeah! This is how most of the DJ's showed their stuff last week at the DJ of the Year competition held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre. The contest was organised by Cafe@inter.net.

To open the show for the night was guest DJ Tariq, entertaining a crowd that kept growing into the night.

The DJs performed on a turn table professional technique twelve hundred console. It was the best of ten. The judges did have a hard task in choosing the three finalists. Judges DJ Harpo, DJ Imran Saibo, and DJ Rob Flynn flown all the way from London had the task of deciding who was going to take away the title of the night.

And what were the judges looking for? The local judges were more interested in the mixing and miking. But to pass the test by DJ Rob you had to have four qualities, and those were Attitude, motivation, mixing and miking, with the added qualification of entertaining the crowd.

After much mixing and spinning of discs, Afeef Suby, Roshan Perera, and Vajira Ganepola were selected as the three finalists. And who was the man of the night?. It was spinning wizard Afeef Suby.

DJ Vajira and Roshan had to be satisfied with the places they got, because DJ Afeef Suby stole the lime light.

DJ Afeef must be a very elated young man after having won the title of DJ of the Year.

DJ Afeef better known as DJ Junior has a lot to say about his triumph. "When I was chosen in the semifinals I knew I had a good chance of making it to the finals. All I had to do was give it my best and it did come out good for me and that gave me the confidence for the last gig," Afeef said.

Afeef has been in the industry for the past 4 years or so and presently is a mobile DJ attatched to Music International. "I'm thankful that my manager Manjula Caldera gave me the oppurtunity to take part in such an event."

"I was very keen on winning to prove a point to my mom and my friends. My mom is now a proud lady because her son has achhieved something out of his music career. I'm glad that I was able to give it to her," says Afeef.

"I'm also thankful that I got the encouragement from both Manjula and his brother Nisal Caldera to proceed in my career,"

'There's a Party..... Arabic 'Asha' hit the stage for Afeef to grab match winning points of around 186, which made him the man of the year in the music DJ industry." Of course though everyone around me knew I was the winner I did not know it at all and I was surprised. After that I don't know what happened. All I know is I was being hugged by all my friends and it felt really cool to have won the title.

"To me the show was a success even with a few hiccups. I do hope to be there next year too," he said very enthusiastically

"I'm very happy that I was selected second. Everybody can't be first, maybe next time.I guess the disappointing thing is that I was just 2 marks away," Roshan Perera said.

The DJ of the Year was no doubt a success. The show which was to end at 2am was not permitted to close due to the demanding crowd and DJ Steven had to keep the discs spinning for the energetic youngsters, with the winner spinning a few discs too.

Cafe@inter.net hopes to continue the contest next year too. But on a more professional line with four categories to their list. Professional DJs, Club DJs, Amateurs and Radio DJs. So all DJs who are interested and who could not make it this year keep a look out and be prepared for that big event next year. - MH

Dinesh and "Stan Lerner 1845"

By Yvonne Gulamhusein

Stan Lerner's new Designer described in the company corporate biography as his "Award winning Assistant" is twenty-five year old Sri Lankan fashion designer Dinesh Chandrasena.

Chandrasena's career in fashion designing began when he was just sixteen years old in 1989 and doing his A' levels and when he was First runner-up in the Pugoda Dress Designer of the year Contest.

Today with 'Stan Lerner 1845,' Dinesh is involved in creating clothes that are basic yet sophisticated. "Complete creative control is maintained all the way with only the best materials available being used in our designs," says Dinesh.

He explains that upto December 1997, Stan Lerner 1845 has produced forty completed designs approved for production for 1998. The first pieces-jacket, pants, long skirts and short skirt - were in the stores by January 1998. "The 1998 schedule calls for one entirely new design to be added to our collection every week," says Dinesh.

"Controls are maintained by us right through to advertising and marketing materials, "explains Dinesh who was actively involved in the company's massive national advertising campaign launched in January this year. In fact, one of his designs is featured in their launch advertisement appearing in the January 1998 issues of Elle, Mirabella, Top model, Los Angeles Magazine, Buzz and Brentwood, with Vogue, Allure and Harper's Bazaar to be included in the second quarter of the year.

Stan Lerner, President of Stan Lerner 1845 and S. Lerner's outlet Dress Wearhouse in Los Angeles U. S. A. who was present during my chat with Dinesh in Los Angeles - added a few of his own comments to Dinesh's. "We try to make people look good simply," he said. "Brevity is the sole of wit and simplicity is genius - so we try hard to stay within that philosophy," he says, adding that "This is a young company. I am 32 and Dinesh is 26, and we make our mistakes being young, but probably make less mistakes than others who have been in the business for a long while."

Now housed in the giant California Mart which is the centre for the industry in the Fashion District of Los Angeles, the company is scheduled to move to the new Mart in March this year, with all related divisions such as samples, pattern making and quality control being centralized in the new premises.

Two Stan Lerner 1845 collections are scheduled for 1998, one in late spring and the other in the fall. "The theme would probably be 'Entertainment' explains Dinesh, adding that they plan to make it an experience that would transcend both the clothing and entertainment industry.

Rose quartz mountain

By Nalini Ismail

It was our second visit to Kandalama, and as we left home very early that morning, we remembered all the beauty of the place, the hotel merging into the natural surroundings and foliage, and the total luxury one experiences there.

After a pleasant drive, we turned into the red earth road, to the hotel with trees on either side. We saw squirrels run across the road unafraid, and were sad to see hundreds of many hued butterflies hovering above the road (I wonder why?) with those that settled being crushed by vehicles. Hundreds more were fluttering in the undergrowth on either side, pale cream winged ones, bright orange and black ones, and all shades of blue. On reaching the hotel, we were welcomed with a refreshing perfumed cold towel, a welcome drink, and a beautiful pink lotus smilingly given to me by the charming hostess. We sat on the terrace, and watched the far distance, the lake, beautiful trees and birds, and visible in the blue distance the unmistakable shape of Sigiriya.

Later we walked out, past the lake to see the birds gather in the late afternoon. We saw Large Pelicans taking off, black tipped wings outspread wide some sailing majestically in the Lake, Heron standing still, many little birds pecking at the ground and flocks of white birds moving right round the lake in large groups, settling down, taking off - really beautiful when they were flying in formation, showing clearly against the dark foliage. A large map in the Hotel shows the birds of Kandalama with names and descriptions, an amazing variety. Many cattle roamed about, and on the second day. I saw them get into the lake for a noon dip. The environment remains unchanged and bird life abounds. What was all the fuss was about?

There were sudden short bursts of rain, one of which came down when we had gone for our early morning stroll, and we had to run back to the hotel. There was thick mist at times, and my son and I went for a walk in the thick mist just to experience it, for we could not see a yard in front of us.

The people here are slow moving too, not in a mad rush to get things done. One man I saw typified (I thought) the villager, still untouched by civilisation taking a load of produce tied to the handles of his push cycle. He had a radio and battery in a box at the back, and rode along, listening to music, smiling at us as we pased, the picture of contentment.We saw bags of fruit and vegetables, packed and ready to be sent for sale. Outside some little homes, scarlet chillies were spread out or bursting out of sacks. It had been a plentiful harvest. Brown healthy children stood at wayside stalls, sellig their produce. No beggars, no drunks or drug addicts, no bus conductors!!

On the hotel's list of excursions we saw one to Namal Uyana- natural iron wood forest and the rose quartz mountain which sounded intriguing. So having checked out early, we drove on the Dambulla-Anuradhapura road, about 12 Km to Galkiniyagama. This is a beautiful road, running by a stream, part of the way. I saw majestic old Mara trees, hundreds of years old with huge twisted, gnarled trunks, and branches spreading out giving shade over large areas, but was sad to see the omnipresent RDA sign which means road widening.

When we reached Namal Uyana, we were surprised to see hundreds of people all arriving in vans, buses and cars there. After going inside, we discovered that they were making a pilgrimage to the many Buddhist shrines which are found in the forest, this being a Poya Day. This natural forest of Na trees (our national tree) is thick virgin forest. The leaves overhead are so profuse and intertwined that sunlight hardly ever falls on the dry leaf covered path. It is a rough track, uneven, with roots sticking out and surrounded by Na trees in all stages of growth. The large crowds made it very lively, and we all walked along passing icy streams and little clearings with shrines where most stopped to worship.

After a very pleasant walk of about a mile or so, we came to outcroppings of rough grey rock. This was the famous mountain range . The mountain rises up to a height of 200ft, a steep rugged climb to the summit where a statue of the Buddha is being constructed. Pilgrims, all grandmothers, young children, even pregnant mothers climbed up the difficult track.

Patches of vegetation dotted the mountain which is of course, not pink in its natural state, though we saw pieces chipped off which were a pale clear pink. We felt ashamed that we had never even heard of this mountain or the Namal Uyana, and when we got back to Colombo found that none of our friends had, either!

Why is it not publicised and put on tourist maps? It is well worth a visit, and we must thank Kandalama hotel for giving us the idea to visit it. Sri Lanka is so full of beautiful places, all so different from each other and all so exciting to see. Thank God for the places which still remain unspoiled, and full of peace and beauty.

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