Ms. Lanka 2009 - Beauty for a Cause:

Kherishma crowned Ms. Lanka 2009

The comperes Clifford Richard and Wanda Kotelawala

It was a night specially created to compliment the beauty of Sri Lankan women, at the glamorous pageant held to select Ms Lanka 2009 organised by Technique International Pvt Ltd., in collaboration with Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka's English Newspaper with the largest circulation. The ballroom of Ceylon Continental Hotel, Colombo was filled to capacity with an enthusiastic audience present to enjoy the evening or to support their respective candidate whom they hoped will carry off the much coveted crown.

The Ceylon Continental Hotel one of the sponsors of the event had pulled out all stops to make the evening a memorable one for all, what with a well laid out sumptuous buffet to warm the hearts of everyone.

The evening commenced with the Lighting of Lamps for 'Unity and All Things Beautiful', led by the Chairman ANCL Bandula Padmakumara and with the participation of about 20 other leading personalities associated in the sponsorship of this colourful presentation.

The contestants were the human lamps and they moved into the ballroom in tune to soft, slow music which was a novel idea to start the ball rolling.

The comperes for the evening Clifford Richard and Wanda Kotelawala who did a commendable job, no sooner the lighting of the lamps ended, introduced the commencement of the judging of Ms. Continental.

The contestants paraded before the judges in knee high dresses made out of attractive fabric in brown, black and white floral design.

Ms. Personality - Sathya Rukmali being sashed by Mrs. D. G. V. S. Ratnayake, Deputy Chief Corporate Officer, Sri Lanka Telecom.

All contestants were dressed in the same style. The excitement among the contestants and the audience began to heighten - who will win this segment of the Mini title? The suspense was to be held until the end!

Elimination

Elimination round moved in. It was a colourful blast! The contestants dressed in glamorous, glittering sarees paraded first together before the judges and after that singly.

The colours of their sarees in orange, red, pink, beige were dazzling with glitter work and they showed themselves off with a great deal of confidence. This was the first round and it was interesting to know who will be backstage when the comperes call out the numbers of those who qualified for the second round. Came the second round and with it the excitement heightened. Eight finalists had to be selected and the judges had the arduous task as to who to eliminate.

But kudos to the contestants. They kept cool and smiling quite prepared to face the inevitable....and then all to soon came the all important Question Time on which hinged the qualification to capture the crown.

Question time for the 8 finalists was laced with anxiety and nervousness but the contestants we must proudly say made strong attempts to conceal their nervous feelings.

Ms. Photogenic Dulanjalee Thilakaratna being sashed by Patrick Gregory, Key Accounts Manager, Alpha Orient Lanka

Some of them chose to answer the judges in Sinhala while some others felt comfortable responding to their questions in English. When the turn of Kherishma Selvaratnam came round the question posed to her by the compere Clifford Richard was 'What do you think the role of a woman is in today's world?" and pat came the reply with confidence that "women are born leaders and we are better than men" which we guess gave her the edge over her peers.

When we asked her after her crowning glory how she felt about her success she was jubilant "I feel happy I'm glad I won it. I feel like I'm over the moon!"

You answered your question with a great deal of confidence weren't you nervous? "I was, but, I did my homework so I was able to answer.

My mother was more excited than me. She pushed me into taking part and I saw her clapping enthusiastically when the results were announced!" quipped the elegantly dressed Kherishma.

An only daughter with three brothers Kherishma admits she was a tomboy when she was young playing rugby and cricket with the boys but with the passage of time her hobbies have moved to reading and to window shopping.

Presently she works as a banking trainee at the Nations Trust Bank and will soon move over to be a Customer Relations Assistant. She had a spell of schooling in Oman was fortunate in completing her A Levels there and moved into doing her CIMA. I'm doing my second stage in CIMA and am quite interested in accounts. In short I like figures!" Would you take part in a national Miss Sri Lanka contest? Yes I would. Because I'd like that experience. What would your advice be to young persons who are silently nursing dreams of winning a beauty contest such as this? "My advice would be don't be shy about it. Have confidence, build it up, you owe it to yourself. Confidence should be in built with support from your parents and your family."Amidst thunderous applause Kherishma was crowned Ms. Lanka 2009 by the Editor in Chief Sunday Observer Dinesh Weerawansa.

And so a new beauty was crowned!

Many personalities came forward to help in making Ms Lanka 2009 the success it was. The choreography was expertly handled by Jith Pieris assisted by Nirmala Dissanayake while the official designer was Melani Jayaweera.

Every year the team from Technique International (Pvt) Ltd. School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, Make up and Dressing is responsible in making the contestants into the swans they turned out to be at the finals.

Ms. Crowning Glory Dilini Niranjala being congratulated by Loretta Karunasekera

This year the team was led by Nirmala Dissanayake and Geetha Kanagarathne. The team comprised Melani Jayaweera, Mary Pieris, Gomathi Vasuti Bala Vithya, Sharmila Sarathchandra, Lakdu ambepitiya, Preshanthi Maborama, Nilushi Kariyawasam, Swarna Prathip, Anne Perera and Eshanka Abeywardena.

Entertainment

The special co-ordinators according to Gwendolino Kuhathiva were Lucille Dahanayake, Mazahir Jabeer, Ramya Weerakoon, Asoka Casie Chetty, Indira Perera, Kanthi Basnayake, Wanda Kotalawala, Chanaka Anuradha and Manoj Senaratne.

Entertainment in the form of dance routines turned out to be a pleasant surprise. During in between waits the audience were treated to some exciting dancing by Shyana Seneviratne whose Bollywood act and the Spanish dance was danced with a lot of emotion and split second timing.

The other dancers too Mary Pieris, Lakdu Ambepitiya, Nalinda Lokuge and Janali Shereen seemed to enjoy themselves on stage.

A break in the entertainment turned the spotlight on the Fashion Designer of the Year 2009 which was presented by Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratne recently. She focused the outfits of the Fashion Designer of the Year 2009 Gihan Ediriwira who displayed his winning entries to an appreciative audience.

The song bird Natasha Ratnayake was scheduled to entertain the audience but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond her control she was unable to share her vocalese with her fans.

A word of mention for the music by DJ Indika which was appropriate for the occasion even through now and then the decibel volume tended to increase much to the discomfort of the audience.

Gifts

Gifts for the contestants were given by Unilevers, Asian Fabrics, Hermes International (Pvt) Ltd., Vision Com, Strands Hair and Beauty Salon, Salon Ramzi, Siddhalepa, Ramya Holdings, Ceylon Continental Hotel, Colombo, Technique International (Pvt) Ltd., Abans and Amidha Jewellery.Gift vouchers were given by Sri Lanka Telecom PEO TV to the value of Rs. 9,550. Siddhalepa issued fifteen gift vouchers to the value of Rs. 5,500 each.

Also signature treatment at Siddhalepa Spa and Gift pack were give aways to all guests. Asian Fabrics extended their support by gifting five vouchers for textiles at Rs. 2,000 each. Gift packs to all contestants were given by Unilevers.

Technique International has retained its prime position as an organisation for bringing a little sunshine to the otherwise dark world. They have inspired people of different cultural orientations and helped many of the less fortunate.

They justify their existence as students of a beauty school to carry on the light of progress and excellence, not for themselves but for the protection of the welfare of others. In this connection this 15th Ms Lanka 2009 - Beauty for a Cause had as its main objective to support Scholarship Programmers for deserving talented students in Vocational Training which is of utmost importance in today's competitive world.

It would be a further step towards challenging the academic excellence and well roundedness of these young people who will be chosen for training.

The Runners-up

The 1st Runner-up Dilini Niranjala received the Trophy and Sash from Hermes International Pvt Ltd., a Basket of flowers from Sterling Flowers, a Gift Voucher from Technique International School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy Scholarship to the value of Rs. 10,000 for the Make up Artist Course, and a gift of Jewellery from Technique International (Pvt) Ltd.

The 2nd Runner-up Udarika Kasunhari also received the Trophy Sash and Basket of flowers from Hermes International Pvt Ltd and Sterling Flowers respectively and Gift Voucher from Technique International School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy Scholarship to the value of Rs. 10,000 for the Make up Artist Course.

The 3rd Runner-up Inoshika Madhuwanthi received the Trophy, Sash and Sheaf of flowers from Hermes International Pvt Ltd., and Sterling Flowers respectively. She too received a Gift Voucher from Technique International School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy Scholarship to the value of Rs. 10,000 for the Make Up Artist Course.

Finally, the 4th Runner-up Sathya Rukmali received her Trophy and Sash from Hermes International (Pvt) Ltd and Sheaf of Flowers from Sterling Flowers, a Gift Voucher from Technique International - School of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy Scholarship to the value of Rs. 10,000 for the Make up Artist Course.

The lucky winners of the Mini titles were:

1. Most Popular Contestant - Sunday Observer - Nilushi Madu

2. Ms. Continental - Kherishma Sel varatnam

3. Ms. Personality - Sathya Rukmali

4. Ms. Elegance - Kherishma Selvaratnam

5. Ms. Catwalk - Nayoma Ranjini

6. Ms. Talent - Sathya Rukmali

7. Ms. Body Beautiful - Inoshika Maduwanthi

8. Ms. Photogenic - Dulanjali Thilakarathne

9. Ms. Congeniality - Samanmalee Owen

10. Ms. Designer - Nilushi Madurangi

11. Ms. Beautiful Smile - Chandima Damayanthi

12. Ms. Exotic Eyes - Tharini Tissera

13. Ms. Crowning Glory - Dilini Niranjala

14. Ms. Asian Fabrics - Anupama Gunasekera

The Most Popular Contestant Sunday Observer

Nilushi Madurangi .....11,225 votes - winner

Tharini Tissera .....11,100 votes

Aparna Kottachchi ..... 5036 votes

Melita Fernando ..... 2602 votes

Sathya Rukmali ..... 1205 votes

Winners of the Raffle Draw, prizes donated by Abans were :

Wanda Kotalawala - 1st prize of a Pressure Cooker

Anupama Gunasekera - 2nd prize of a Toaster

Cherryl Andrea - 3rd prize of a Whistling Kettle

Udarika Kasunhari - 4th prize of a Non-stick Pan

Samanmalee Owen - 5th prize of a Pyrex Baking Dish

Sponsors of Ms Lanka 2009

Sunday Observer, Radio 1, TNL, Ceylon Continental Hotels, softlogic, Sterling Flowers, Trendy Wear, Hermes International - who donated all trophies and sashes, Asian Fabrics, SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka Telecom, Alpha Orient Lanka, D. Holidays, and Pico Events.

* Special gifts for contestants who gave fullest attendance and co-operation (of scholarships) for Make-up Artist Course from Technique International (Pvt) Ltd valued at Rs. 10,000 were awarded to:

Ruuchira Thilakarathne

Samanmalee Owen

Nayoma Ranjani