Week before last...

by Prasad Abu Bakr

Tall order at 'Icons'

So it was! All those events that came to pass. The one that called for 'Bow tie' attire, looking for the 'Male Icon Of The Year' at the Grand Ballroom of The Colombo Hilton was a fine event and a fine gathering too. It was all mock-tails to begin with because Hameedia boss Fauzul Hameed never serves alcohol at any of his events nor does he consume any himself.

I had to step up back to the Echelon Pub with my friend Pushpadeva of Dharmawardana fame, whose father was the famous Vipula Dharmawardana who was amongst the pioneers of the batik industry in this country. Now this eldest son of him is non-alcoholic himself, and as a matter of fact dear old Vipula was my first ever boss who I had worked for him at Artexport as a designer of batik wall hangings.

The factory was situated at Talgaswatte on Balapokuna Road in Kirulopone. But my boss believed in winding up an evening with a drink in hand along with me the young designer, engrossed in interesting conversation at the Art Centre Club. which in fact had names such as Mahagamasekara, Dhamma Jagoda, Gunasena Galppaththi, Chitrasena, Nihal Ratnayake (Viranga) and so on and so forth meeting up with each other.

However turning back from memory lane! Here I am seated at the Echelon Pub in the smoking area (convenient for both me and my friend) enjoying a glass of spirits which I found a good buy during the "Happy Hour", which is by the way between 6.30 and 8.30 pm.

The two pegs (buy one and get one free) of spirits (both for me) a bottle of water for chasing accompanied by a dish of four cutlets and a bowl of spiced mixture (murukku) all for Rs. 240.00 net.

We had to step out and hurry up back to the ballroom before the event got going. In the lobby I noticed Bathiya and Santhush in deep conversation with each other and others, Savithri Rodrigo and her hubs (who was the one that reminded me about the Happy Hour at the Echelon Pub, thank you!) Anjela Seneviratne was fluttering around like a butterfly while all the scribes were ganged up in one corner and Mahela Jayawardena with wife and that tall, dark former cricket sensation Champaka Ramanayake, with wife or not I did not see.

Everything went off well, awards were presented to Ken Balendra and Lalith Kotalawela, with both not turning up to receive theirs because of busy schedules it was announced. Talking of words out of the mouth, it was Arun Dias Bandaranayake who compered the show with all his showmanship intact for so many, so many years and looking the same too, over those years.

Natasha breezed through the audience with her haunting voice and voluptuous, suggestive, expressive delivery (making all the icons, male or otherwise, melt in their seats). Well as the tail end neared the end I was running again with my friend to the main entrance of the ballroom for a puff, as you know the rules these days. Don't you?

Cell-phone phobia

No, no! this is not about somebody who is keen on hanging on to that wireless thing all day long as much as some young lass who goes around the city checking other people's cell-phones to see whether they are taking her pictures behind her back (well that can't be true in this case, can it?) So! okay without her knowledge let's say.

This all happened at Odel's once in a while during in-house fashion shows attended by a scribe friend of mine one Sunday afternoon, week before last.

There was this 'Chinese' looking guy who was busy SMS'ing somebody on his hand communication tool while the young lass walked-in accompanied by another lady (aunt, mother, whoever) the guy quite unaware of what's going around him kept text messaging somebody and this young girl walks up to him and asks him quite loud "Did you take my picture?" and the guy, caught quite unawares, says No!

Then she grabs his phone from him and keeps pressing all the buttons and the guy asks "What are you doing?" and the girl replies " I am checking your phone to see if there are any pictures of me in it" and gives it back to him and walks away.

The young lass, I was told, is not worth a second look leave alone somebody trying to steal her picture. The perfect phrase for this incident is 'Begging for attention' and getting landed in my column.

That's all from week before last, do enjoy the one ahead of you. Bye!