Sunil de Silva

But this was not ... a happy discovery by a chance happening... it was like a Swiss watch, put together with patience diligence and expertise extending over many hours. Once assembled it works so smoothly that we forget the hard work that went into the making.

We Sri Lankans can move from a Friday night hopper feed in community hall as a family night , through an elegant Ball with a sit down fine dinner at a Hotel on Saturday night to a Sunday brunch barbie and cricket in an open park with hardly a pause in our stride.

Why did the Sri Lanka Association select a Hotel, formal dress, a sit down dinner and a live band?

Because we hosted all three forms of meeting for the Sri Lankans and their friends. We catered for what our members wanted. Some of us attended the Family Night, others the barbeque at the Pymble Park, some the Ball. Some attended all three. Was it the cost that made us select one and not the other?

Be that as it may

Ruwan and his crew proved that we Sri Lankans can hold our own in any social context in any part of the world. The easy meld of ancient eastern culture with Avanti west was demonstrated by the sylph like figures draped in silken sarees and the more robust shapes in penguin suits moving with equal fluidity to the throb of the baila and the measured beat of the waltz.

Kamani and Ruwan greeted the guests on arrival. The lobby filled up with the vibrant hues of Sri Lankan garb and welcome drinks kept flowing till at 7:30 sharp the guest went into the Ballroom set with thirty three tables with a centre piece of a burgundy Anthurium thanks to Lasha.

We were proud to have no less than the global President of the CIMA – Aubrey Joachim wielding the microphone with his usual verve and vocal skill a performance that lasted the night at the same level of intense and infective energy.

On each table lay copies of the Souvenir, fat with articles, messages from the highest in Sri Lanka and Australia with the moonstone cover designed by Sashini.

A seven piece band The Inner Games, and its eye fetching female vocalist “Miss Saigon “ Jennifer Trijo had the crowd on the floor with the first few bars of their music. Thanks to a thoughtful computation of space and design, Ruwan provided a dance floor that was not over crowded even when the three hundred plus guests all took the floor at the same time.

Ruwan welcomed His Excellency Senaka Walgampaya PC, our High Commissioner, Gothami Indikadahena the Consul General and Nick Berman the Mayor of Hornsby. Ruwan acknowledged the presence of several past presidents, Dr Don Wijeratne, Dr Palitha Abeywickreme, Prof Wije Ariyaratne, myself, Cecil Weerakoon , Prinzie Perera, Gamini Kulasuriya, Jayantha Abeydeera, Aubrey Joachim, Ananda Amaranath and Roshan Wickremenayake and immediate past president Kumar Athulathmudali.

A prawn and crab entree, a King Fish and lamb loin main spiced with chilli oil and Moroccan spices were followed by a dark chocolate dessert and fresh coffee satisfied the inner being.

The High Commissioner called on all of us to repair and re establish broken bridges both in our minds on the roads in Sri Lanka. His Excellency saw the mix of the communal meld that we know as Sri Lankans mirrored by the participants at the Ball as a sign that augured well for the return of a harmonious community of Sri Lankans united by the recognition of our common origins.

An auction that saw Aubrey generating almost two thousand dollars in less than a thousand seconds and a Raffle draw that had Daphne Christie David win two return airline tickets from Singapore to Colombo.

A baila session by Fusive interspersed the otherwise non stop dancing.

Two ‘birthday boys' Roshan Wickremenayake and Prema Perera were felicitated by Aubrey but he in passing reminded us that they shared the honour with the great train robber Ronnie Briggs. It perhaps missed Aubrey that 8 August was also the birth anniversary of our own Weera Puran Appu.

While like in the Swiss watch we see the beauty of the face and the smooth and precise movements of the hands we should not forget that it is the unseen contribution of the mechanical components behind the face that makes it possible.

Bashur Musafer, Narelle & Derek Boling, Upali Dharmakirti, Lanchani Gamage, Daman Panditaratne, Dr Nimal Edirsinghe, Nelum Joachim and Tissa Mohotti were the cogs and wheels that made the smooth and enjoyable evening possible.

It was heartening to see a number of teenage Sri Lankans not only enjoying themselves but performing vital functions as photographers and raffle sellers. Charuni, Tarini, Sashini, Bhagya managed to exceed the targets set out for them with the sale of tickets .

Click here to view a huge album of photos submitted by the organizers