Palitha Handunge and Susantha Kandaddarage are two photographers from Kandy who have shot some unique and unusual photographs which they will be sharing with the public soon.

Handunge and Kandaddarage developed an interest in the art of photography from their school days and started their career in school photographic clubs. They later engaged in local photographic club activities in Kandy. In the last few years they have extended their services on a national level and served as executive committee members of the Institute of Sri Lankan Photographers. Handunge is vice president, Alliance Française Kandy and Kandaddarage is a member of Alliance Française Kandy.

The photographs on display will include sunsets, sceneries, nature and wildlife, flowers, human figures and unusual events and happenings. The photographs are attractive and interesting due to the subjects chosen by these two photographers and the colours and themes captured on film.

A simple event or a colourful flower that would very easily pass our minds and eyes has been carefully photographed with precision and detail by these photographers for the public to enjoy.

While their previous works have been selected for many national and international photographic exhibitions and competitions, Handunge and Kandaddarage have also won awards for some of their photographs.

However at this exhibition Handunge and Kandaddarage will present some of their new photographs, which are expected to get a good response from the public.

Palitha Handunge works as a senior audio visual production officer attached to the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya and Susantha Kandaddarage is the chairman of Iris Digital Colour Laboratories Pvt, Ltd. Both are engaged in teaching photography to school children and university students through their photographic clubs and societies.

The month of November in France, and especially in Paris, is dedicated to the art of photography. The Alliance Française de Kandy has celebrated this event in their premises during the month of November to coincide with the photography exhibition in Paris. From 2002 the Alliance Française de Kandy has held photographic exhibitions annually.

The exhibition will be held at the Alliance Française Art Gallery, 642, Peradeniya Road, Kandy from November 16 to 21.

Violin and piano recital

An evening of classical music will be presented by Ananda Dabare (violin) and Eshantha Peiris (piano) on Tuesday, November 18, at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.

The concert, which includes Cesar Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano in A major, Tchaikovsky’s Meditation, Brahms’ D minor Sonata for violin and piano, and Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccio, presenting a variety of Romantic-era music ranging from the deeply profound to the dazzlingly virtousic, to the unabashedly tuneful, and promises to be a treat to all lovers of classical music.

Ananda Dabare is no stranger to the local classical music scene, having established himself as a sought-after violin teacher since his return to Sri Lanka in 1993. He had previously received a scholarship to study violin in Russia, honing his skills at the Moscow Conservatory and the Odessa Conservatory, where he earned his degree of Master of Fine Arts.

He is the concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and founder and director of the Krasna Chamber Ensemble.

Pianist Eshantha Peiris has recently returned from New York, where he studied piano performance and music composition at New York University.

Since his return, Eshantha has been actively involved in the local classical, jazz, and choral music scenes, and has established the Aumkar School of Multicultural Arts.

The violin and piano recital by Ananda Dabare and Eshantha Peiris on Tuesday, November 18, begins at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt box office.

Alliance Française to host Menaka & Soundarie

Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu – soprano and Soundarie David Rodrigo – piano, a duo of well known musicians will give a varied programme featuring music of Handel, Gounod, Mozart, Kern,Walton, Debussy, Faure and Donizetti amongst others at the Alliance Française de Colombo on November 21 at 7 pm.

Menaka, a Fellow of the Trinity College, London and a Licentiate of the Royal School of Music in both piano and singing, has been a frequent soloist with the Symphony Orchestra since her debut in 1989 playing Saint Saens’ Second Piano Concerto in G minor. She has also been a soloist with the orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, Saint Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, J. S. Bach’s St. John’s Passion and arias from Faust, Marriage Of Figaro, Don Pasquale, Die Fledermaus and works by Deva Surya Sena to name but a few.

More recently she has been involved in fusion music for sitar and voice. This year She was invited by the Neemrana Foundation to perform the role Frasquita in the opera Carmen in New Delhi. Menaka also plays the violin with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka.

She has been a winner of the Sawasangeetha Scholarship for Western Music presented by the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in 1987/88. In recognition of her contribution to Western music in Sri Lanka she was a recepient of the Award of Excellence in Music presented by the SAARC Women’s Association in 2002.

Entrance is free, strictly by invitation. Please contact Alliance Française de Colombo, 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 7. (Tel 2694162 / 2693467)

The 35,000 square-feet colonial era building has undergone a Rs. 6 million makeover inside and outside to match the chosen theme for this Yuletide season — ‘Picture of Elegance’ — offering shoppers an oasis of style and grace reminiscent of a bygone era of grandeur.

Grand chandeliers dangle from the ceilings, striking silver and gold patterned wall paper adorns the walls, and ornate picture frames embellish the displays, creating a setting far removed from the mundane and crowded spaces that shoppers have come to accept in the festive season.

"We wanted to give shoppers an extra-special experience this Christmas," said Odel’s founder and CEO, Otara Gunewardene. "Shopping during the festive season can be a hassle, and we know that our customers have their share of pressures and stress. Here, for at least one brief, shining moment, they can step out of the mundane and into a world of elegance and style."

With this in mind, Odel has made arrangements for a choir, opera singers and a jazz ensemble to entertain visitors on alternate days throughout the Christmas season. The popular store Santa Claus will be back with gifts for children, spreading good cheer among the naughty and the nice.

PH Books’ latest collection of stories for children: Butterfly Kisses And Turtle Tears by Prashan Thalayasingam has now been released. Tao and Leah ride the waves and learn about the world together. They meet others along the way, and with each fleeting meeting their world gets a little bigger, and a little more interesting. The book is available at all leading bookshops in Sri Lanka from Barefoot to Vijitha Yapa.

He is a member of the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates’ Association and has held the position of general manager previously at Hibiscus Beach Hotel, Kalutara, Hotel Casamara, Kandy and Coral Rock Hotel, Hikkaduwa.

Perera was president of the Kalutara Hoteliers’ Association from 2006-2007 and president of the Kandy Hoteliers’ Association from 1999 – 2000. He has also been a management committee member of the Tourist Hotels’ Association of Sri Lanka for the last 10 years. He counts over 32 years experience in the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka and abroad.