Manjula pens Harris' wisdom in sentences:

Nuptial bliss

Ruwini Jayawardana

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue... Every European bride has heard of this wedding day checklist hoping to banish bad luck before heading down the aisle. For the traditional Sri Lankan bride there are also certain written and unwritten laws which help add a touch of grace to the most memorable day in her life.

With over 356 years of experience of enhancing the striking features and personality of many young girls who are queuing up to be transformed by his expert hands Harris Wijesinghe had left no stone unturned in the field.

He is a pro in the field of wedding planning and his expert advice adds a natural ambience to the blushing bride be it the traditional Kandyan sari, low country bridal attire, Indian sari or western gown.

Harris has many words of wisdom to offer for those who are at the threshold of entering matrimony. However due to his hectic schedule he could not allocate much space to distribute his knowledge for brides-to-be. Then Lady Luck smiled, for a solution presented itself when Tharuni, ANCL's women's weekly, decided to print a series of articles advising young girls on how to shape their lives to become the 'perfect' bride.

Titled Manaliyak Venna Inna Obata (For brides-to-be) the team chose their staff journalist Manjula Malkanthi to pen the articles.

The most challenging task was to find some spare time in Wijesinghe's agenda but they were able to overcome the difficulty.

"I explained the procedure to him and he was very keen on the project. He always said that the younger generation needs accurate guidance. He believed that it was his duty to instruct them on how to prepare for the big day," Manjula said.

Between themselves Manjula and Harris were able to find time to discuss and compose a series of articles which flowed along the pages of the magazine for two years. Manjula would rush back and forth to meet Wijesinghe and scribe his words into sentences to nurture the readers. Many waited for the next part of the series eagerly each week so that they could follow the famous bridal dresser's guidelines.

"We got a lot of response from students of beauty culture and those who maintain beauty salons as well. Invaluable advice from how to design your sari jacket and undergarments to features you should consider when pinning the veil are discussed. A bride-to-be needs to have some knowledge on what she should go for. She should be able to give suggestions to her beauticians to help them decide on what sort of look she wishes to go for," noted Manjula.

Though the series came to a close after two years the demands kept pouring in. She composed the articles into a book named Manaliya Obamai (You yourself is the bride).

"That is Harris' vision. He says that the bride should not sport a dramatically different look on her wedding day. Everyone should be able to recognize her because. She should not be a showpiece.

Pre-planning is a necessity. She should finish her chores and distribute work among her colleagues and be in a relaxed state of mind to look fresh for the wedding," she said adding that she is adding the finishing touches to a book titled Hada Vada Kalawa (The art of make up) which will be launched in April. The book includes make up advice from several renowned beauticians. Manjula is a product of Buddhist Ladies College and Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya. She had shown her artistic streak from childhood when she had recited lines from the radio program Handa Mama by using a spoon for a mic.

Noting her skills G. Gunawardena chose her for Kakuli's role in the famous radio drama Muwan Palassa.

"I did the role for eight years. Later I wrote scripts, dubbed and sang songs for Rupavahini. The most famous out of these was Sudu Puncha. Though I was 32 I was able to form my voice to suite that of a six-year-old.

Though I lead a busy lifestyle I still take part in dubbing because I do not believe in sticking to one field. If you are multi-talented you should make use of your skills," related the Manjula who was a B Grade singer at SLBC's light song programs.

She says that Tharuni editor Gamini Samarasinghe, Sanath and Malkanthi Nandasiri are some of the key figures behind her success.