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Pure magic
The students of Gateway International School presented "Thank you for the music" on November 23 and 24 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.

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.
P.D.L. & S.C.G.

Mahinda: The right person, the right place
By Arjuna Hulugalle
Mahinda Fernando is still the energetic and creative photographer that he was when he started his career - photographing brides and grooms and their families and friends - 35 years ago.

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 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.

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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