She takes the Air Force family under her wing

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

An exemplary event was recorded for the first time in the history of Seva Vanitha Unit of the Sri Lanka Air Force when its new Chairperson Nelun Goonatilake commenced her duties by paying tribute to the invaluable services rendered by the past Chairpersons of Seva Vanitha Unit.

"I just did not feel like doing anything without felicitating them, because they have done so much earlier, for me to go forward from this point.

So I thought that I should appreciate it. I was fortunate to have seven past Chairpersons present at the event out of 10.

It was significant that the First Ceylonese Air Force Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force Air Vice Marshal Rohan Amarasekara's wife Aloma Amarasekara was the chief guest and Marian Goonatilake the fifth Air Force Commander Air Vice Marshal Harry Goonatilake's wife happened to be her mother-in-law.

Some of them met each other for the first time at the function and I am glad that I was able to make all of them very happy, Goonatilake said.

Nelun, wife of the present Air Force Commander Air Vice Marshal Roshan Goonatilake is an old girl of Holy Family Convent Kurunegala and was a primary school teacher for the past 12 years in Sri Lanka and abroad.

It was at the wedding ceremony of the late Air Force pilot Group Captain Roger Weerasinghe, Roshan Goonatilake's batchmate Nelun met him for the first time. She was a bride's maid at this wedding.

Nelun got married when she was as young as 21 and is nine years younger to her husband. Life was not easy since then for her as the young pilot Roshan was in operational areas throughout.

"He was called for duty one week after the wedding. He has never got an opportunity to attend to our two children's studies I had to help him to do his duty peacefully.

All servicemen's wives sacrifice their youth like this whole heartedly and I will do my level best for the betterment of the families and children of our brave men and women," she said firmly.

Her speech that day gave a strong message to all our women on the importance of human values, which the society is greatly lacking.

I reckon that fellowships of this nature where we meet graceful women of the past commanders should be a regular event to make each one of them also feel that they still belong to this wonderful family because our primary mission is to promote love, sisterhood, peace and harmony among ourselves."

Implementation of a scholarship fund, establishment of "Guwan Gam" to build houses for the families of the airmen who were killed and missing in action, and those still serving and do not own land or house, are among the projects of the unit.

A fund raising project is a must to do all these as we don't have funds, she said. Giving the leadership to form the Ex-service Air Women's Association is also one of her plans.

The Christmas Sale held at the Air Force Grounds last Friday for Airmen, women and their families was a great success. She appreciated the support and enthusiasm of the members.

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Wine and dine around the world

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

MOST people encounter foreign culture through magazines, television, artifacts, clothes or other items of similar nature. But if you had the chance to step into the Galle Face Hotel from November 25 to 27, you may have had the chance to encounter this in a different category-table decor around the world.

This exhibition was presented by the interior design and patchwork students of Kamini Witharane. It is an event held annually, in the form of a competition for the students.

The theme of this year's show was "Fine Dining around the World" and included 12 table settings in relation to different countries around the world. The Chief Guest was MP Ravi Karunanayake and his wife.

"I wanted to show how other countries entertain their guests at meal times. I am very proud to say that all the ideas in my exhibition have been my own. I never imitated or copied others' styles," stressed Kamini, teacher and organiser of the exhibition.

Born in Colombo, into a family of three brothers and one sister, Kamini grew up in a background which enabled her to reach the position she is in today. Her father, E.W. Jayakodi, worked at the Police. However, it was through her mother, Beatrice that Kamini obtained her gift of creativity.

"She was very accomplished in everything she did. She had a talent for music, sewing, cookery and creativity. She is the one behind my success. I am very grateful to her because she was an extremely good mother," Kamini was able to recall with a deep sentiment.

Kamini started to teach at the Department of Vocational Studies at Ladies College, Colombo, some years ago. From there onwards, she built up a name in the field of interior designing.

She also lectures students on needle art such as patchwork, applique, quilting, ribbon embroidery, cross stitch and Brazilian Work.

"All my patchwork items are handmade. I do not use a sewing machine. I believe that whatever is done by hand is priceless. I would like to advice people to do justice to the creations they sell," she said.

"Neatness and a well matched colour combination are essential. I believe that most women in the East have an innate sense to match colours. I myself have been told many times that I possess this quality."

Indeed, many interesting features in fine dining around the globe were highlighted at the show. The French table decor had a huge structure of the Eiffel Tower in the background while the table representing England consisted a fireplace, antique chairs, paintings, candles and roses. Lamps and glitter made up the Indian style table top and a tent set in a desert was portrayed as the table setting for Saudi Arabia.

A mixture of blue, red and white, the colours of the national flag of the USA, was used to decorate the table representing the United States whereas tulips from Amsterdam set among blue and white plates were displayed at the table labelled as Holland.

The Sri Lankan table decor had lotuses, betel leaves and plants like Hathawariya to bring out Lankan culture.

The Japanese table setting had a special "Ikebana", a flower arrangement done by Kalindi Wijethunge, Kamini's daughter.

Kalindi, too following her mother's footsteps is a teacher in that field. Each table included a menu to acknowledge its audience on the types of beverages, wines and meals that each country has to offer.

"The public response for the show was astonishing. We had a large crowd," beamed Kamini. "I am very grateful to Multilac paints for supporting me and thankful to my students for the encouragement they gave.

I believe that the best feature of this year's exhibition was that I had a lot of very young, energetic and enthusiastic girls taking part in the competition. They were very dedicated and made things easy for me in planning the exhibition."