Esperanza: Night of hope
Text and Pix Bhagya Senaratne
The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light for others
in the darkness of mere being. - Carl Jung
|
BNS |
Ever thought of being the light in a person's dark world or the hope
in someone's life? The Rotaract Club, Faculty of Science of University
of Colombo, has thought beyond themselves and decided to light up the
lives of children who are differently-able.
Rather than asking people for charity, the Rotaract Club has come up
with a brilliant method of combining entertainment with money spent for
a worthy cause. The result: Esperanza!
Bringing in musicians from different genres as well as the big names
in the field, the Club has attempted to cater to all the musical needs
of the crowd, from music varying from metal to country rock to the
classic Sri Lankan baila.
It was a night much awaited! The entire Colombo city was talking
about it, and the result was mind blowing! I would have never thought
that it was possible to entertain such a vast crowd of music lovers in a
single night and truth be told, I was amazed!
The musical evening of hope at the Bishop's College Auditorium
started off with Hiran Seram and Dhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya singing a
duet; Lionel Richie's Hello. Their voices blended well and the crowd was
awed. The result: a musical success!
This success moved on to another with Ruwanthi Illeperuma covering
several songs, that of Leona Lewis and Lady Gaga's Paparazzi. With her
powerful voice she had the crowd captivated.
|
Sithija Dilshan’s drum solo |
Nemesis the Sri Lankan rock band which made it to the MTV list played
several of their originals such as Deshaya Namin, Statistics and none
other than Chakithaya, which got them to the MTV rankings.
Deshaya Namin which was written for the war heroes of our motherland
had the crowd mesmerized as they took in the words, whilst the rawness
of Statistics had the metal lovers wanting more.
The band's performance included a drum solo by their drummer Sithija
Dilshan, which was without a doubt, loved by the crowd. Mihindu
Ariyaratne's vocals captivated the audience starting from his solo
performance covering Audio Slave, through Nadee Ganga right up to their
original Chakithaya. The variations the band had up their sleeve were
truly amazing. This I believe gave the band a cut from the rest.
Just as the audience needed an energy boost, Battery came on stage
and recharged everyone! Starting off with a slower number covering Jason
Mraz's I'm Yours these guys had the audience in a snare.
Engaging in a musical dialogue with the crowd the band went on to
cover MJ's Black or White, as well as several Sinhala songs such as
shoobee doo, denna dena, siriya latha which had the crowd off their
seats and some standing on them! There couldn't have been a better
recharge for the crowd than the band Battery, which truly lives up to
its name!
Other bands that rocked the night were Wagon Park with their original
Koheda Yanne Malle Pol, Helter Skelter with a cover of System of a
Down's Ariel, and Gravity with a cover of Bon Jovi's Always.
These three bands were complete contrasts with one another, with one
being more of an old rock group, while another was more metal and the
third was soft rock. It was interesting how the audience's liking
shifted but all of them were able to ensnare their selected crowd.
Billy had the crowd up and about starting with the first song lassana
lokaye. BNS who were the last to perform were clearly speechless by the
audiences' contribution when singing sing-a-longs such as Ummadani,
Pethum Pem Pethum and Chandani Payala. None of the songs went unsung,
and everyone was up on their feet, dancing way. Randir's Oye Ojaye too
was well received, as well as BNS' hoiya hoiya and the Baila Remix.
It turned out to be a clearly musical night of singing and dancing,
which instilled hope for those that had it in limited supply.
|
Hiran and Dhanushi singing Hello |
Situated in Narahenpita, SERRIC (Senehasa Education, Resource,
Research and Information Center) realized the Special needs education
which arises with almost 10% of the total Sri Lankan population in need
of Special needs education as well as the pressing need to educate and
integrate children with special needs in society.
Initially established by the Sri Lanka Army, mainly for children with
special needs in war hero families, SERRIC has now opened its doors to
other children with Special needs, realizing the pressing need to
educate, create awareness and propagate the importance of the concept of
inclusive living.
The centre has gone a step further in ensuring the necessary
resources are provided for children and an environment conducive to
research and the broadcast of information is created.
The Rotaract club of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
was established in the year 2004, with the main objective of providing
valuable services to uplift the standards of the students of the faculty
and also to contribute to the community at every possible occasion.
The club has been actively participating in the events of the
Rotaract District 3220 and presently has over 50 members. The club is
sponsored by the Rotary club of Colombo Downtown.
With the belief that they must share their good fortunes with those
who are not as fortunate as them, the Rotaract Club of the Faculty of
Science initiated 'Project Senehasa' for the betterment of society.
This project Esperanza, filled with love and care, goes out to that
10 percent that needs a little extra attention to make it though their
day. |
