People and Events

No more hassle over a bypass

By Laila Nasry and Ruhanie Perera

What comes next is a mind block. Abroad, where? Foreign doctors, who? Money, how?

Minds are made up and the patient is whisked away (a must for survival). Then on it's a case of adjusting to foreign faces, away from the extended family support and a steady decrease in the bank account.

It's a near-death experience...

Now, the Durdans Heart Surgical Centre, in alliance with Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre in New Delhi, India hopes to put an end to these patients' nightmare. The soft opening of this heart centre with state-of-the-art instruments was on May 15.

It's a centre of excellence catering to a heartfelt need and comes at a time when the National Hospital offering such services is unable to cope with the large numbers seeking treatment. The centre comprises an Invasive Cardiology Unit, a theatre complex and a surgical Intensive Care Unit with a CAT station to be opened in a couple of months. 

It has commenced operations under the guidance of leading cardiac surgeon Dr. E.N.P. Kulat–ilake, a consultant to the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, England. Dr. Kulatilake who will act in an advisory capacity, will perform five operations in the initial stages.

The centre will have the capability of handling coronary artery bypass surgery, valve replacement and repair, congenital defects rectification, interventional cardiology, patent ductus arterosus (PDA) and shunt or shunting procedure. The staff has been sent to India for training, while trained personnel from the Indian centre will also work here. An expatriate theatre sister trained in cardiac care will also be on the list of the experienced staff.

" The cost of an operation cannot be pre-determined as it depends on the care given," says Hospital Chairman Ajith Tudawe. However, he estimates a surgical operation package to be roughly below Rs. 290,000 and predicts a price decrease in the future. Though the centre does not offer an easy payment scheme, financial aid from the President's Fund and Employees' Trust Fund (ETF) is available, he explained.

Playing with colours

By Ruhanie Perera

German born Jurgen Zahringer is an artist who is "fascinated by colour". What he wanted to do most was to play around with colours and develop various colour forms — just like a baby discovering the wonders of colour for the first time. "I was taken up with it, especially when I looked at my daughter's paintings where she uses very bold colours. I find it very inspiring and sometimes even spiritual."

Having studied woodcarving, much of his work is based on the principles he learnt of that art. His works are an 'in between' of a sculpture and a painting, since he concentrates on combining colour with three-dimensional form.

To him Sri Lanka where he has been living since 1997, is a place where without a doubt colour plays a very important role. "There is so much of colour in nature alone. It's part of our lives." But when trying to get this type of art to local artists, he met with doubt. It's too expensive to develop three-dimensional forms here, they told him and that's what pushed Jurgen to take a good look around him. "I was determined not to get the raw material from abroad. I started my work with ordinary material you can get in any hardware. So our contemporary sculptors will always have a future in Sri Lanka." 

These very original works of art, made out of string, plaster, varnish, glue, wax combined with colour pigments are on display at the exhibition. In a country like Sri Lanka, there's so much of raw material. Yet, so many of us take them for granted. Jurgen took the time to look around him and discover new things for himself. And he didn't stop there, he made use of what he saw.

Total care from head to toe

By Yvonne Gulamhusein

Total Care as the name implies provides care from head to toe and is situated in relaxed and quiet surroundings. 

"No. 26 , Borella Cross Road provides the ideal location for such a venture. This house was restored by me to retain the colonial style, but, with modern conveniences," Ramani said. 

It has a hair salon, facial clinic, body clinic and sauna and will work closely with Sothy's Paris, a leader in skin care. The facials will include a wide range such as Vit C Facial, Bio Active Facial, Lift Defence, Pealing, Hydroptimale and Oxy treatment. This clinic will exclusively use Thalassothy's which is a complete programme of Institute treatments with seaweed extracts. 

Detoxifying pre-treatment, freshness treatment for tired legs, slimness treatment, body firming/slimming treatment and relaxing re-mineralising treatment will also be available. 
Swarnapalee Rupasinghe will hold her maiden art exhibition 'Swarna Sankalana' on May 24 and 25 at the National Art Gallery. Swarnapalee's exhibits will include paintings in oils and water colours and some done on egg shells.

New GM at Hilton

With big dreams that have become a reality, Bamberg rose from an Acting Front Office Manager way back in 1973 at the Hongkong Hilton, to the position of Resident Manager by 1971. Having gone through various areas in the hotel industry, and the ladder of progress becoming Executive Assistant Manager and then Resident Manager he moved onto the position of General Manager. He has moved from one hotel to another spanning the globe in the Asia Pacific Region from Hongkong to Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok and Bali, and onto his last destination Chennai, before assuming duties in Sri Lanka. 

Bamberg who was born in Luxembourg is married with two children. His education has concentrated totally on hotel management where he earned his degree in Strasbourg, France, and continued in this field, covering areas such as food and beverage management in Montreal, advanced marketing and hotel administration in New York City and a management course in the United Kingdom. 

Bamberg says he is very excited with his appointment and has big plans for the Hilton in Colombo.

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