KANDY VIBES A MEMORABLE SHOW
The “Kandy Vibes” show was held recently at the Water's Edge in Battaramulla. The proceeds of the show organized by the Kandy Schools Past Pupils Association (KSPPA) consisting of 12 schools will go towards a common project for the benefit of school children hailing from Kandy.
Well-known personalities such as Iranganie Serasinghe, T M Jayaratne, Sanath Gunathilake, Keerthi Pasqual, Chandrika Siriwardena, Chandrakumar Kandanarachchi, Nadeeka Gunasekera, Sanoja Bibile, Duleeka Marapana, Roshan Pilapitiya, Clifford Richards, Sanath Wimalasiri, Eric Fernando, Madani Malwatte, Suraj Mapa, Hasini Halpe, Madani Jayasena and Errol Kelly have rallied together to make it a memorable show.
The show opened with dramatic pictures of the Kandy Schools with their crests on the back drop, with Kandyan drummers heralding the show and the present students of Trinity College opening the stage to show its glory. Then came the St. Sylvester's Kandyan Wes dancing troupe. Music was by Mahesh Denipitiya and the group gave the audience a repertoire of songs to songs by T M Jayaratne, Chandrakumar Kandanaarchchi, Keerthi Pasqual and Chandrika Siriwardena.
It was the amalgam of talents, devotion and also the enthusiasm of the participants that made the evening a rich experience of culture and music. The versatile artistes from diverse schools of Kandy not only made the show “Kandy Vibes”, one of best expositions of music and dance but also a memorable evening dedicated to felicitate the great artistes who hailed from Kandy.
Some interesting remarks were made by veteran actor Sanath Gunathilake who also hails from Kandy representing Kingswood College. He mentioned that he always made it a point to attend any function that he is invited to by Kandy schools. He mentioned that the specialty in this show was the beauty of co-operation and togetherness that was shown by the organizers of these schools from Kandy who never wanted to surpass one another. They all got together as one unit who represents Kandy for a worthy cause.
He said the most colourful piece of the evening was the moment when the matriarch of the Sinhala Cinema Mrs Irangani Serasinghe who is a product of Girls' High School Kandy was ushered to the stage and when Ms Samudrika Herath of High School sang “Amma Warune”. The audience rose to show their respect and gratitude and love towards the veteran actress who was seen clapping away gracefully. For Sanath Gunethilaka it was an unforgettable moment in his life when he worshipped her to get his award of felicitation from her.
His special thanks went to the organizing committee who did a wonderful job not forgetting to mention the names of Jude Pillai, Chandana Ekanayake and Dineli Nugegoda. He also remembered the products of Kandy who couldn't be there due to various reasons and they were Amerasiri Kalansooriya, Rookantha Gunethileke, Nirosha Virajini, and of course in sports Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan. He said he was happy to see Priyantha Ekanayake the former Sri Lanka rugby captain among the audience. Mr Gunethilleke also mentioned that all this would have not been possible if not for the main sponsor Dialog and the support given by Nanda Wickramage of Ceylon Biscuits and Anil Silva.
- Umayangani