Badra Jayaweera

Giving power to the people

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

She is helping us shape our lives in a whole new light. She is at the helm of ensuring that there is ample power to light up our homes, villages, cities and ultimately, our lives.

The electricity industry had been a men's club to date, with the idea that women are too delicate to handle the 'shock'. Badra Jayaweera shattered this myth by becoming the first woman in history to sit in the chair of General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)

Badra joined the CEB in 1977 as an Electrical Engineer. Her first appointment at the CEB was in the Construction Design Branch.

Since then, she has held several key positions including the Commercial Engineer of the Western Province, Chief Engineer Contracts and Supplies Branch and later Acting Commercial Manager. She was the Additional General Manager -Region One, before taking to the top slot as General Manager. She is a courageous woman who has overcome many hurdles in her journey to this position. Today the CEB is a Rs 130 billion revenue earning institution. Asked about future challenges she said that keeping energy affordable to everyone despite the increasing global oil prices is a huge challenge. "However we can now run the system without any power cuts. We are implementing a least-cost generation plan and using our hydro resources at maximum efficiency. She believes that certain changes are necessary and the Government is going to pass a bill to establish a customer oriented regulatory authority.

Asked whether she was excited about it she said "Yes, I know it is a huge challenge, it is a 24- hour job. Managing a work force of 14,000 islandwide is not an easy

task. But nothing is impossible, if you trust and have confidence in your staff."

Badra is the youngest of five children born to their teacher parents. After her secondary education at Visakha Vidyalaya she entered the Peradeniya University and graduated in 1974 as an Electrical Engineer. She is a Charted Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Engineers of Sri Lanka and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. Badra's past experience and the exposure she had received from numerous professional courses she had followed here and abroad armed her to handle the current.

She has brought up two children, a daughter and a son. Both followed in their mother's footsteps and become Electrical Engineers. She became a grandmother three months ago "My family has been very supportive of my work throughout," she said.

While engineering the country's power grid and her family Badra never failed to master the other crafts too. Needlework and craft is also in her domain. She finds time to decorate her house with patchwork and embroidery. Cross-stitched artworks, which adorn the walls of their well-kept house, fascinate anyone who enters there.

Despite her busy schedule, Badra keeps fit and healthy with a twice a week aerobics round. Her green fingers caress every tree and plant in her garden and it keeps her away from a strenuous lifestyle.

Revitalized with Vitamin C

One of the most popular vitamin additions to skin care products is Vitamin C. This anti aging vitamin has been studied and confirmed as being an extremely effective addition to skin care routines. When antioxidant Vitamin C is added to your skin, it helps your skin get rid of free radicals.

Since free radicals can greatly damage your skin, the use of Vitamin C is vital to your skin health! In addition, Vitamin C can help your body rev up its production of collagen.

Beauty benefits of Vitamin C

On a beauty note, adding Vitamin C to your skin care routine can help you look great on many levels. The topical use of Vitamin C revitalises your skin, allowing for improvement in the tone and texture. You will instantly look younger with smooth and silky skin on your face and body. It works to protect you against UVB rays and can help you combat sun damage, wrinkles and photodamage. These are some of the most common skin worries of women today.

Beneficial Vitamin C in cosmetics

When you start your venture for Vitamin C induced skin care products, there are a few things to remember. To find the best products with Vitamin C, be sure to look at the colour of the product. Those products with a yellow or brown tint should be avoided. Vitamin C often turns these colors when exposed to air and thus becomes ineffective in creating collagen and elastic.

Vitamin C offers cosmetic benefits

Using a daily Vitamin C product can help you repair and freshen up your skin everyday. You can get products which include Vitamin C derivatives (L-ascorbic acid and others) for use at home. Therefore, you can continuously reap the benefits of Vitamin C, without heading to the saloon.

Yogurt Body Mask

* 1/4 Cup Yogurt

* 3 T Honey

* 3 T Puréed Pumpkin OR

* 3 T Puréed Carrots

To Make: Use slightly cooked pumpkin or carrots. Drain, and purée in a blender. Pour into a bowl with the yogurt and honey.

To Use: Draw a warm bath. Lather your face and body with the yogurt mask. Sink into a warm bath and soak for 10-20 minutes. Rinse in the shower, tone, and apply a light moisturizer.

Orange Scrub

* 1/2 of an Orange

* 4 T Cornmeal

To Make: Squeeze orange juice and pulp into a bowl and add the cornmeal. Mix into a paste.

To Use: Apply onto freshly washed face and body. Scrub gently for 2-3 minutes. Rinse, tone, moisturize.

Hair Spray

* 1 Lemon

* 2 C water

To Make: Chop up the lemon in a wooden bowl so that you don't lose any of the juice. Add the chopped lemon to the water in the top of a double boiler. Simmer the mixture until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain through cheesecloth or fine silk cloth and pour the liquid into a bottle that will fit a pump-type sprayer. Add 1/2 cup of water to thin the mixture if necessary.

To Use: Spray your hair with this mixture whenever necessary. Since it is gentle, with not alcohol or chemical additions, it can be used on children's hair too. Should be made fresh every few days and kept in the fridge between uses.

Tip: Substitute an orange for the lemon for dry hair.

Cozy yellow

Colourful mooods

Perhaps many of you are contemplating new decorating and painting projects and perhaps aren't aware of the impact that colour has on our mood. It just might help you set the appropriate mood for your indoor space.

Red packs a wallop, physiologically speaking, increasing blood pressure, heartbeat and energy in most people. It instills feelings of intimacy and passion. Red also increases the appetite, which explains why it is used so often in restaurants, and why it can be a good choice for a formal dining room.

Orange, like red, tends to warm a room, but in a more friendly and welcoming way. As a result, paints in various shades and tints of orange work well in living rooms and family rooms.

Yellow is also warm and welcoming, but it is more attention- getting than either red or orange. For this reason, it is a good paint colour to use in poorly lit foyers or dark hallways Blue, which is part of the cool colour palette, makes us feel calm and tranquil, so it is ideal for use in bedrooms. But since blue works as an appetite suppressant (perhaps because there are few blue foods) it is not the best option for a dining room unless you're on a diet.

Green is another relaxing colour that is much more versatile than blue.

Light greens are ideal for bedrooms and living rooms; midtones are good for kitchens and dining rooms (many foods are green). Also, because green is calming, it is often used in hospitals, workplaces and schools.

These general guidelines are a good starting point in your search for a paint colour. But remember that colour choice is a very personal matter. You're the one who has to live with your new paint colour, so choose a hue that suits you, your family and your lifestyle.

And after investing time to select just the right colour, make sure it continues to look that way long-term by investing in a top quality paint.

Rental Decorating Digest

Nutty Chicken Curry

Preparation time:

20 minutes

Cooking time:

65 minutes

Serve 4-6

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken

400 ml coconut cream

2 fresh green chillies, seeded

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons fish sauce

juice of 2 limes

Method: 1. Cut the chicken into serving pieces and place in a saucepan with the coconut cream and one cup of water. Add the green chillies. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is tender.

2. Roast the coriander, cumin, chilli flakes and shrimp paste in a dry wok or non-stick pan until very aromatic. Grind to a paste with the garlic, ginger and sugar.

3. Cook the seasoning paste in the oil for two three minutes. Remove chicken on a slotted spoon and put aside. Pour the liquid, with chilies, over the seasonings. Simmer gently until the oil separates and the liquid is well reduced, about 20 minutes.

4. Add the peanut butter, stirring until dissolved into the sauce. Return the chicken and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add fish sauce and lime juice to taste and serve over rice.