Colourful and vibrant show

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

While reminiscing the Fair and Lovely Diriya Sihinaya 2009 show last week what came to my mind was the reaction of the audience. They sat motionless and spellbound, their spirits brightening with enthusiasm as the show progressed. A loud and an excitable show both colourful and vibrant.

The show revolved around entrepreneurial skills of youths chosen from rustic and urban areas who struggle to make a living with their entrepreneurial skills. The Fair and Lovely Diriya Sihinaya competition provided an opportunity to showcase their products like designed clothes, fruit juices, restaurant on wheels etc to name a few. Perhaps the notable feature of Fair and Lovely Diriya Sihinaya 2009 was the innovative training provided to competitors to develop their entrepreneurial skills to kick start their own business. When Fair and Lovely Diriya Sihinaya invited applications for the competition they were flooded with 20,000 applications from women across the country. They all had one dream, to start their own business ventures using their entrepreneurial skills.

The final competition of the Fair and Lovely 's "Diriya Sihinaya 2009" was held in Colombo. The ten finalists were given cash prizes that amounted to Rs. one million. The competition was judged by the main host Nalaka Hewamadduma and the guest judges were Chairman of Ma's products Mario de Alwis, and Chairman of Laughs W.K.H. Wegapitiya.