The Island leisure

By Namini Wijedasa and Srian Bulathsinhala reporting from Yala
The trees are sprouting new leaves this time of the year at the Yala National Park. The rains have come and the beasts are returning to their grazing grounds.

Often, in the early hours of the morning and late hours of the evening, herds of elephant, deer, buffalo and peacock gather around brimming waterholes and drink their fill, finally sated after a long and harsh period of drought. Glimpses into the awesome world of animals enchant the tourist: a peacock quizzically observing a pair of stag with their antlers locked together in fight, monkeys frolicking with deer, crocodiles basking in the sun, the footprints of a leopard, and birds of many hues... Game wardens say that it is the end of the peak dry period and that the end of December and the beginning of the next year will see the elephants flocking back to the park.

A WATCH TOWER MAINTAINED BY THE ARMY

Yala is magical after the drought. But its beauty is overshadowed by fears. Disquietude that a visit to the wildlife sanctuary is an invitation to death at the hands of the LTTE. It is not unusual nowadays to be confronted with looks of sheer incredulity when you tell a person that you intend to spend your weekend in Yala. The idea is that the park is a hive of LTTE activity. Such fears were perhaps justifiable at the time when bungalows within Yala were torched down one after another. But security forces in Yala are now disclaiming rumours that the reserve is still unsafe and teeming with Tigers. In fact, those interested in implementing development plans in Yala say they have more trouble with uninterested and lethargic staff at the Wildlife Conservation Department head office than with the LTTE!

Brigadier H. A. N. T. Perera is the Competent Authority (CA) of Yala. He is the second officer to assume these duties since the post was set up following growing incidence of terrorism in the area. He says that the presence of more than ten army camps at strategic points in Yala has secured the area from terrorists. The main routes taken into Yala block I by terrorists have been effectively barricaded and men posted at points of entry. Much of the threat come from the areas of Ampara, Pottuvil, Kanchikudichchiaru, etc. "We can guarantee the safety of visitors to the park," he said. He added that more men are to be deployed in the near future.

There is a continuous recruitment drive, mainly to enlist men to the Yala-Kataragama security unit. This unit was set up after Brigadier Perera took over as CA. The special feature of the unit is that those who enlist are ensured they will not be deployed in the operational areas of the North and East. "Men fear to join the army because they do not wish to serve in operational areas," explained the CA, "However, the men of the Yala-Kataragama security are ensured of jobs in the south and therefore do not balk at signing up".

The deployment of the army in Yala has led to many changes, according to both villagers and Wildlife Department field staff. Initially, it was only for the purpose of cutting short the terrorists' path of destruction that they were installed there. Park wardens and trackers have, however, witnessed a marked drop in poaching and the conduct of other illegal activities in the jungles. A large number of poachers have been apprehended and brought to task. Conscious of the fact that poachers and other clandestine jungle operators know the terrain better than anyone else, the army has encouraged them to join the army. More than half of the recent new recruits to the Yala-Kataragama security are poachers whose services are of tremendous security value.

The presence of the army, say Wildlife field staff, has instilled a fear in these wrongdoers, making them naturally cautious. This has been a drawback to the LTTE because according to the army they were able to infiltrate into Yala by bribing poachers and cannabis cultivators. Many of the local inhabitants also say that weaknesses on the part of the police had resulted in numerous illegal activities which Yala is cleared of now.

The matter of utmost importance now, says the CA, is to develop Yala and upgrade the facilities available to tourists so that they are encouraged to visit. The park has tremendous potential for earning revenue. Daily income as high as Rs 200,000 has been recorded in 1994. "Yala must remain open to the public," stressed an army higher-up, "There is no reason to shut it". A closed park will only encourage terrorist activities.

The CA confessed to frustration in dealing with the officials at the head office of the Wildlife Conservation Department. Most of them, he said, have never visited the park and are only too willing to discourage visitors. The national coordinator for the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) which has been allocated funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for environment development in Sri Lanka - was herself discouraged from visiting the park.

"Yala has been low priority - or nowhere on the priority list - of Wildlife officials," said the CA, "They are not interested in leaving it open to the public, neither are they interested in developing it. When I ask for funds for development they say 'no money' even though they have an unspent sum of money from their annual budget allocation in their coffers". He said he has informed all those concerned, including President Chandrika Kumaratunga and higher authorities of the Ministry of Defence, about the uncooperative attitude of Wildlife officials. "Those at the field level in Yala are wholeheartedly interested in their work - the trackers, the wardens, and other staff. But they too are discouraged by the attitude of the Wildlife Conservation Department," said a senior Wildlife Department official. Quoting an example of neglect on the part of the department, he noted that some field staff of Yala are living in a derelict bungalow - in the section that has not been burnt down by the LTTE! Meanwhile, the museum at the Wildlife Conservation Department office in Patanangala has the most outdated reading material and booklets - apart from the fact that the stuffed animals are disintegrating.

More than half the tanks in the Yala National Park are full of silt. "With two-thirds of their capacity filled with silt, it is no wonder that water does not tide over the drought," said the CA, "When I asked for some funds to de-silt the tanks, I was met with the inevitable 'no money' syndrome". The army, however, de-silted four tanks during the recent drought using an idling dozer. Those tanks are currently brimming with water.

This strategic route has been blocked by the army to prevent LTTE infiltrations from the East

Much of the funds used for development in Yala come from GEF. National Coordinator, Nalani Amarasekera, has been visiting the park and looking at possibilities to upgrade various aspects. Among those projects implemented is the renovation of public toilets at the entrance. School children from the south were also given a field day at Yala using GEF funds because more than half of them had not been to the park despite hailing from its outskirts.

Tourists are filtering back to the park. Two of the bungalows burnt by the LTTE have been renovated and are available for bookings. A third is to be opened after rebuilding next week. As far as the army is concerned, there is nothing to keep anyone away.

Address delivered on the topic "Eco tourism, a businessman's viewpoint" by Mr. Chandra de Silva, Director, Ranweli Holiday Village, Waikkal, Sri Lanka, on October 20th 1998 at the 6th World Congress of Environmental Journalists held in Colombo.

Visitors have been travelling to natural areas under the guise of tourism in the early 90s which is a form of mass tourism. Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia, Golf Resorts in Hawaii label their products as Ecotourist products. Even the city state of Singapore promoted itself as an Ecotourism destination because of its renowned zoo. So also Canada's largest and the oldest fishing and hunting lodges. Western Samoa and Fiji did likewise although they were all mass tourism destinations.

In contrast, Sri Lanka was primarily promoted as a beach destination from the inception of planned tourism in 1967. Although round trips to cultural and historical sites, wild life parks etc., were provided as an additional facility to the beach product, fortunately these products were not labelled as Ecotourism.

Therefore, Sri Lanka can launch ecotourism from a professional base and put its act together to cater to the Ecotourists who have now emerged as a growing segment of the niche market of tourism. They are well educated and demand professional knowledge of fauna and flora as well as immersion to culture, history and the arts at some depth. They are ecologically sensitive while on tours.

The Eco Tourism Society of the United States, a NGO of very high repute both for its academic and practical work on this subject for over a decade, has summarised most definitions of Ecotourism as "tourism and recreation, both nature based and sustainable and improve the welfare of the local people."

In the Sri Lankan context I would like to add one more parameter to this definition and make it nature based and man based.

The bio-diversity of Sri Lanka is said to be greater per square kilometer of surface area than any other country in Asia. Man made resource base consists of a fascinating kaleidoscope of cultural and historical sites dating back to over 2000 years. Among the 300 monument sites from all over the world, Sri Lanka possesses six.

Ranweli Holiday Village is a good example of an ecotourist location, as Ranweli is situated in a peninsula with lush vegetation and the facility is reached by a short ferry ride. Ecotourists travel for recreation and search for authentic experiences that incorporate learning rather than contrived entertainment.

Eco Lodges are usually small and should not cater to more than 50 to 100 guests. A good ratio would be 10 bungalows to one acre. Ecotourists do not like crowds. Crowding reduces the quality of the experience. Researchers call this the experiential dimension.

Craftsmen who design and weave colourful mats from reedware, the village potter who demonstrates his skill in pottery, rope making with a wheel manually operated, lace making by village girls, expose the guests to traditional crafts of our country and soft learning experiences. The craftsmen are also benefitted as their products are sold, thus opening a marketing channel.

Ranweli is strategically located to serve as the perfect hub for day trips and longer overnight tours to Kandy, the capital of the last kingdom on the island founded in the beginning of the 14th century, with its Temple of the Tooth, sacred to the Buddhists the world over. Also easily accessible are Sigiriya, the world famous rock citadel built by a patricide king in the 6th century AD., the Dambulla cave temple 1st century BC., the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, the capital for nearly a thousand years from the 4th century BC and Polonnaruwa which became the capital in the 12th century AD.

The worldwide fund for nature estimates that of the US 55 Billion dollars earned from tourism in developing countries, about US 12 Billion are generated from ecotourism. These are figures as at 1997.

More and more people are looking for nature to relieve them from pressures of urban living. The Seychelles, Belize, Botswana and Kenya are a few of the many countries heavily reliant on nature tourism for hard currency earnings. Why not Sri Lanka ?

We have to engage in target marketing and attract the independent traveller. There are specialised operators in Europe and they have to be tapped. The image of this country as a mass tourist destination must be changed to a mix of mass tourist as well as speciality products such as Ecotourism.

This is not easy. Only a well planned marketing exercise by the Tourist Board will help.

When a seven year old views an art exhibition and inscribes words to the effect that the artist is getting better and better that remark surely has to be amongst the most genuine remarks ever made.

Having had the opportunity of a sneak preview of Rienzie Fernando's collection for his second exhibition "Thelithudaka Ridmaya" I must agree whole heartedly with the seven year old ! Rienzie's first exhibition featured fifty felt pen drawings on Canvas. His subjects varied from Birds to Leopards to Elephants. Rienzie has a penchant for Nature. And he reproduces this love faithfully.

"Thelithudaka Ridmaya" will be held at the National Art Gallery from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on the 18th, 19th and 20th of December. It comprises a dozen or so water colours and forty five felt pen on canvas drawings. Rienzie captures his subjects with the ease of someone totally in touch with nature. An interesting section awaits you at this exhibition, for Rienzie has experimented with the human form and captured these images as brilliantly as he did with the animal world.

Rienzie Fernando's work has matured and this artist has truly come of age since his first solo exhibition.

This may be one reason that his paintings bring so much pleasure to those who view them or possess them. "Thelithudaka Ridrnaya" is co sponsored by Union Assurance and Donalds.

By Zanita Careem
At 64, with 50 glorious years as playback singer, setting a record for the largest number of songs ever recorded by an artiste, (approximately 12,000 in 14 languages, Asha Bhonsle could well have rested on her laurels comfortably. But she didn't!

Last year she stunned the vast teenage audience by representing herself as Asia's top pop queen, bagging both the MTV and Channel V awards for a series charts, busting albumbs and videos.

Asha warbled her first song at the age of ten but her formal debut was in 1947 in a film called 'Chunariya'.

Asha simply sailed passed the then over crowded and talented roster of accredited singers until she was larynx to larnyx with her celebrity sister Lata Mangeskhar. Asha inherited sensuous timbre - something that runs in the family.

Asha is a singer who could sing anything from the classical ghazal or a Qawalli to a cabaret song or toe-tapping pop number. Maestros like O.P. Naiyar and Roshan tapped her infinite variety in an endless lists of hits. But her husband genius, R. D. Burman, who exploited the full spectrum of her versatility in such films as 'Dum Maru Dum', 'Churaliya', 'Sonare Sona' are but a few glimmering drops in her sea of phenomenal outputs of 800 songs.

She adds that all five sisters could sing, and that music is the common denominator for all of us" she says with a tinge of justifiable pride.

It is without doubt the distinctive voice of Lata and Asha that is capable of conveying the emotions of an intricate, nature lyrically reflecting the innate nuances of their personality.

Asha with her singing soul companion and husband R. D. Burman created an electrifying atmosphere. Though they sang no more than seven or eight full fledged duets the repertoire impacked on the audience filled the auditorium with ectasy.

Talking about music she said that she has a lot to achieve in classical music in the purest form". In fact, I'am planning to record a solo classical album. If it doesn't become too popular that's alright. It has never mattered to me whether I've sung for an 'A' grade or 'B' grade film. I can sense when a song has something special. At times some wonderful songs have been given to me, at times they haven't. There are times I have walked out" said Asha self effacingly. .

Winner of seven film fare awards and two national awards. Asha recently went to her classical roots and sang some of the tansens compositions for Sarod maestro Ustard Ali Akbar Khan.

Within months of her pop album, 'Janam Samjhakaro' broke records.....it was sizzling single with Code Red in an eight gazal album with Khayyam I'm being seen more than often on TV nowadays. Actually I feel as if I turned 60 just yesterday I am 64 but I sing with the same verve and I'm emotionally involved in my rendition as I did in 1960."

"Call it a co-incidence or whatever I have been the first one to attempt new styles way back in 1950 'I sang the first rock 'n' roll song for a Hindi film. I also sang the first cabaret song" she said evocatively.

About your voice I queried. No late nights no hard liquor. No tobacco, no ice cream do regular riyaz or voice training as part of my voice culture sustenance" she said formly.

About her future 'I want my music to be tuneless. Music must have that quality as the saying goes of soothing the sarage breast that is the test of assaying one's rendition of music" she said with an effortless finality.

Did you think that your voice has changed over the years?" That is for others to tell me about my voice".

Asha dubbed as the nightingale of the East continues to make waves in the music world.

She loves to be a celebrity. She says. "Celebrites are loved by the people. You become a celebrity because of the love of the people and I know that I have won the hearts of so many."

Asha is a woman of rare undaunted energy, constantly busy yet always exuding an air of cheery calm. She s a devoted mother and grandmother.Between hectic recording schedules, she finds time brows through books and art galleries. She is a vacious reader and lover of art. She is the 'Renaisance Woman, revelling in life and in everything life is to offer.

Mid '80's won her the 'Nightingale of Asia Award from the Indo-Pakistan Association in the UK which also established her as the highest selling artiste in Pakistan and the Gulf countries.

In 1995, Music from the movie 'Rangeela' became a major success. During the same time, Asha began concentrating on her roots of Indian classical music which led to the making of the album 'Legally' with Sarod Maestro Ali Akbar Khan. The album received a 'Grammy Award Nomination' in 1997. The same year she recorded an English song with pop group 'CODE RED'.

With around 12,000 recordings, she is the most recorded artiste in the world probably prompting pop group 'Cornershop' to write the hugely successful song of 1998 titled 'Brimful of Asha.'

Asha Bhonsle becomes the first Indian ever to have her hand prints in 'Planet Hollywood' Worldwide. At a well attended ceremony in 'Planet Hollywood' Dubai, Asha Bhonsle put her hand prints in cement, which will be displayed in all the 'Planet-Hollywood's alongside those of famous Hollywood stars. She also donated her trademark canary yellow sari and some personal effects which she wore in a movie to Planet Hollywood. These will be displayed in a glass case at Planet Hollywood in Dubai.

Asha Bhonsle show held at the Sugathadasa stadium sponsored by Lions Club International District 306C was held to help the homeless.

Mrs. Soma Edirisinghe, Chairperson of Swarnavahini and Swarna Mahal, was the behind Asha Bhonsle's visit to woman Asha's musical show is Mrs. Edirisinghe's fourth musical show in aid of the Lions.

In 1996 she organised the Alisha show to build a waiting hall at the Lady Ridegway hospital.

The musical evening at Sugathadasa Stadium was a great success, with the big hall filled to capacity.

The woman-friendly man is well worth taking note of in the spectrum of androgyny, because some of the most illustrious and sensitive men, have been spontaneously empathetic to woman and her 'otherness'.

An uncomfortable truth about women's hardships that has surface in these times of enhanced women-consciousness, is that men are not the only villains of the story, nor are they always the villains. Women abettors are as much there as the male players, available for the asking. The profile of the woman oppressor does not automatically conform to the gender divide. It does not emerge as a male profile. It is more composite, and veers towards the androgynous, if anything. It incorporates in its lineaments the women-friendly man as much as the woman hating man - or the woman-hating woman.

The woman-friendly man is well worth taking note of in the spectrum of androgyny, because some of the most illustrious and sensitive. Men of the century, if not down the ages, have been spontaneously empathetic to woman and her 'otherness'. Way back in the thirties, for instance, Pudumaipittan, the Tamil writer of true angst, poured his heart out in a hundred or so letters (now in book form) that he wrote to his wife. The letters are infused with a natural, woman-friendly spirit that softens the grim realities of gender relations in our society. True, they were written to his wife, and were hence private, not meant for the public eye. But private sentiments have a way of breaking out of the limited field meant for them, and joining up with the larger principles holding them up. When he says, for example, in one of his letters, "Why should we bother about people who discriminate between you and I? I shall have dealings only with those who give equal respect to both you and I..." the personal tone of that sentiment unfurls to the larger ideal of gender equality.

They were written in an age when communication between the sexes, even for husband and wife, was indirect, rigged with stern protocol. Direct, face to face communication was the rare exception. When this rare exception occurred, as it did with Pudumaipittan, it denotes a creative bending of the system and the scope present in it for the woman supportive man.

Apart from total identification with his wife, Pudumaipittan also built her as a writer. Kamala never became famous like him. But he recognised her talent for writing. And he urged her - with all the persuasive power of a pal and guru - to work upon it, and make it the liberative energy he knew well it could be. Amidst anxious queries about her health he exhorts her to finish a story for a magazine. And amidst anguished self-reproaches for his shortcomings as a provider, he urges her to begin on a new story for the special number of another magazine. His rationale was that his own support to her in the texts and trials of her life was, of course, beyond question. But her true standby was her own inner strength, her capacity to recognise it, and rear it as her shield and weapon.

Such a recognition of a separate and independent dimension to the woman seems to be the hallmark of the woman-friendly, feminist man. Her separateness and the germs of independence present in her have to be legitimised, the feminist man argues. Only from this legitimisation can her schooling into the obligational and functional aspects of life be a fair and just dispensation, his argument runs.

This idea of refounding woman's being as a pre-condition to her various roles, also comes in for vivid exposition in Gandhi's programme of satyagraha. Feminist man par excellence that he was, he believed that woman possessed trust (Vishwaas) and endurance as innate qualities. These were to be harnessed as steam power for the unleashing of truth, - that was the essence of satyagraha. From this endowment of her with inherent worth - as opposed to the inherent non-worth that she is endowed with traditionally - she was to outgrow the inferior positions accorded to her in society, and thereby redeem herself

Unlike Pudumaipittans Gandhi's feminism did not take birth from a physical-spiritual comradeship with his wife. With Kasturba he had lifelong disputes. But the disputes, and the ugly the traits of feminity. Eventually Kasturba the wife and individual woman was subsumed for him by the persona of the women of India.

Gandhi became the spiritual-intimate of women in general. From this balanced position of distance and nearness, authority and informality, sternness and affection, that came to him as initiator, he woke woman to an enhanced awareness of herself as the stepping stone to completion. In R. K. Narayan's novel The English Teacher, guru and loving husband come in for a most harmonious fusion in the figure of the English teacher. Although obviously the intellectual superior of his wife, the guru component of the English teacher does not lead, nor set the pace. The guru is submerged by the loving husband. The momentum to their domestic life is provided by the wife, by her natural sparkle and vivacity, which hold him in thrall. But it is yet a derived personality that she has. Her vivacity and spontaneous ways are obviously rousable only from the stimulus of his presence. Maybe theirs is a marriage of cousins - a conclusion plausible from the underlying discourses in Narayan's text as a whole.

However, that may be, the point is that the customary hierarchy of the genders has been fetchingly and tellingly subverted in the novel. And by extension, it mirrors Narayarn's own bent of mind too.

Such covert, underground and unsanctioned acts of liberalism have been going on in our society below the sanctioned illiberalisms, publicised more frequently, and of course, rightly. They will not carry weight with the hard-eyed, no- nonsense activist women of today. But they are important in our long history of misogyny: important as points of light in an otherwise irredeemable picture.

In the past belief in gods and demons was at its height. The gods were called suras, and their enemy who waged war constantly with them were the asuras. Legend has it that the battle between the suras and asuras was waged on the banks of Kalu ganga.

Suras victorius
The asuras pitched their camp towards the present Kalutara south, while the suras had their towards Kalutara north. In the end, the suras became victorious.

Folk-lore has it that the golden sword of the asuras was offered to god Kataragama after the asuras were vanquished by the suras.

Velapura is another name for Kalutara south, while Deshatara stands for Kalutara north. Historically Velapura had been the ancient seat of King Wickrema Pandya (a Pandyan prince) in 1052 A.D. when he was the overlord of the Ruhuna rata (Rohana) and had his kingdom in Kalutara.

The archaic name in our chronicle-Culavamsa for Kalutara of old is Kalanadititha. Velu is a semi-name of God Kataragama Skanda.

Plurality of names
In the Culavamsa (Vol: II), Kaluganga is mentioned in a plurality of names. Among them are Kalinadi, Kalathitha. Just as much as Matara means the great ford (Maha-ethera), so is Kalu-tara the ford across Kalu ganga.

Kalu ganga rises in the Peak wilderness range. (Sri Pada /Adam's Peak). The river is 70 miles long.

The Sinhala literary works flourished in the Kotte period of the 14th-15th, 16th Century A.D. with the writing of the classic Sinhala sandesayas (message poems). Among them were Monera Sandesaya, Paravi Sandesaya and Gira Sandesaya. Fascinating accounts Kalu ganga are in the Monara Sandesaya. Paravi Sandesaya tells of the ever flowing prosperity, while Gira Sandesaya describes the luscious fruits grown along the Kalu ganga basin.

Lucky Seven
Another popular tradition of Kaluganga is that it is connected with the lucky number seven or lucky seven. The Kalu ganga in its meandering course runs through rapids and down the rocky whirling pools, seven bends (vangu), seven miniature cataracts (diya eli), and finally seven devales. The seven devales are the Sabaragamuwa, Kuda Sabaragamuwa, Ella, Uggal, Alutnuwara and Malwala. The seven miniature water falls that are met with are Kalu ganga Rambala ella, Holumba ella, Paninagala, Naragala elle, Nambapana ella and Kiri ella.

by Kirthi Sri Karunaratne
Storming into the forthcoming season the five star hotels are offering oodles of exciting entertainment. Swinging from a Swiss food festival and all things Swiss, The Hotel Lanka Oberoi held a German food and musical extravaganza, to launch the season of good food and star entertainment.

The General Manager of The Lanka Oberoi Stefan Pfeiffer held a cocktail party in the Supper Club of the hotel with its breathtaking view of the city of Colombo, to introduce the food festival and music from Germany, to a gathering of distinguished guest and friends from the media.

To honour the event were the Ambassador for Germany and his wife Gerhilde, and Cecilla Von Boathmer and the Deputy Chief of Mission, of the German Embassy. Fashion took second place to the food and music played delightfully by a German group karl katz and the catz specially flown out for the promotion. A floral print in greys, blues and plum on white was the choice of the Ambassadors wife for her simple summery dress. Cecilla wore a lovely shade of blue with a many strand necklace of deeper blue beads. Angela Abeywardene teamed a black cotton saree with a narrow border and pallu in shimmering green and vivid fuschia, with a blouse in the fuschia. Her hair she wore in long flowing locks, making a chameleon change to her image.

There was a fine display of dancing by the "Aliance" Dancers from Russia to keep an invited audience enraptured when the General Manager of The Galadari Hotel, Mr. Chandra Mohotti asked a sparkling group of people to Dinner at the Colombo 2000 to announce the opening of the night club at the hotel. The five women and single man danced through several items of differing styles, with a series of quick changes of fabulous costumes and head gear. It was apparent the dances had their basic training in one of the Russian Academies of dancing, and to enhance the performance were the beauty of the costumes. Among those present too were a rhapsody of style. Sarees mingled with dresses and salwars besides western clothes Chandra Mohotti, the wife of the General Manager, set off her magnificent heirloom pendent of diamonds and pearls on gold, with the simplicity of a black saree, with only the sleeves of the blouse embroidered in cut work. Her accessories were in gold. A beautiful peacock blue shot with green, in the saree Pam Marshall wore. The Indian silk was bordered in green, kum kum pink and gold in traditional style. The pallu too was a weave in the same colours, and the border edged the sleeves of the blouse too. A heart shaped pendent in deep green Jade made a complimentary ornament. Saxe blue linen made the smart dress with a coat style top and long sleeves Public Relations Manager Nirukshi Rupesinghe wore this evening. Simple elegance, for an evening of fine dining and fine dancing.

Silver Wedding
The General Manager of the Browns Beach Hotel Felix Rodrigo and his wife Rebecca hosted a party for thier close friends and relatives to celebrate their Silver Wedding. At this delightful and relaxed evening at the Grand Oriental Hotel was a galaxy of people from many lands the charming couple have befriended. Playing old favourites and cheerfully responding to the many request was Beverly Rodrigo on the piano, providing nostalgia, with the finesse of his touch on the keyboards. Once again a wide choice of styles were evident with the hostess in a champagne silk lace two piece gown. The top had a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves which she teamed with a slim long skirt. She had pearls for ornaments, and little white rosebuds adorned her hair.