My trip to Sri Lanka began on a recent Saturday afternoon in New York City, and ended 24 hours later in Colombo. In between were three airports, two long taxi rides, one three-hour layover in Delhi, and several near-death experiences on the harrowing night-time drive from the Colombo Airport to where I am staying in Polhengoda.

I had been informed that Sri Lankans drive on the left side of the road, but our driver apparently had not heard this, judging by his preference for driving his van in the exact centre of the narrow two-lane highway. When a car approached from the opposite direction, he swung the van just far enough left to avoid a head-on collision; then it was back to straddling the centre stripe.

It seemed to me like the first rule of Sri Lankan driving was that every car should come as close as possible to a collision with every other car on every possible occasion. The second rule appeared to be that both drivers should honk before, during, and after every such near-collision. As far as I could tell, there were no other rules.

The next day, my girlfriend and I took a bus to Mount Lavinia. We enjoyed cold drinks at a beachside restaurant, and then walked along the surf for a while, enjoying the warm water and setting sun. I had heard that Lavinia was a vacation spot, so I was surprised to notice that I was the only non-Sri Lankan on the beach.

Although several luxury condos were under construction, evidence of the tsunami was still everywhere: fallen palm trees, ruined storefronts, and abandoned apartment buildings dotted the beachfront. Some of the abandoned buildings now house poor fishermen and their families, who I saw loading up motorboats and pushing off into the waves. The scene reminded me of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where entire neighbourhoods were destroyed and survivors lived for years in "temporary" housing.

When people ask me what the biggest difference is between Colombo and New York, I don’t mention the climate, the food, the culture, or even the ubiquitous signs congratulating President Rajapakse for his glorious victory.

For me, the most obvious difference is the air pollution, especially on the roads. Although New York has eight million residents, it is one of the cleanest big cities in the world. Because there is a good public transportation system, most New Yorkers choose not to drive.

The buses and taxis are much newer than Sri Lanka’s buses and trishaws, so they emit less carbon monoxide, and the famous subway, of course, emits no pollution at all. But in Colombo I find it unpleasant to walk down a major road because of the fumes from passing vehicles. In time I’ll adjust to the air and won’t notice the pollution, but for now it’s a real nuisance.

There are also many small differences that Sri Lankans probably don’t notice. For instance, near where I am staying there is an outdoor water tap where poor people wash themselves. I’ve never seen one of these in America, which can be an unfriendly country if you aren’t middle-class or rich.

Another thing that surprised me was the advertisements for skin-lightening creams like "Fair & Lovely" and "Fair & Handsome." Although these products exist in African-American beauty stores in America, they are extremely controversial because they seem to imply that whiteness is better than blackness. Michael Jackson was heavily criticised by African-Americans in the United States for dyeing his skin white, although Jackson always denied doing this.

To see another side of Colombo, I travelled this week to some of the city’s poorer districts. In Slave Island, I walked past men selling vegetables on blankets on the ground and a crippled beggar reaching her hand out to me for money.

Spotting a sea of colourful flags, I walked inside the Hindu temple — Shiva Subramaniam Kovil — where an annual festival was taking place. Bare-chested men carried an idol in a circle while worshippers followed behind the procession. Some people carried lighted torches; others played drums and pipes; others threw flower petals at the idol.

Next, I visited a wholesale market in Pettah, which was as crowded as Times Square on a Saturday night. People were selling potatoes, onions, and other foods from a long row of ramshackle stalls with corrugated tin roofs. Others used loudspeakers to sell lottery tickets. One man was selling toy soldiers that crawled along the ground when you wound them up. This reminded me of the recently-ended civil war, which affected Pettah in so many ways.

High above the market, a large billboard emblazoned with a Sri Lankan flag proclaimed "Sri Lanka Reborn: United We Stand." I recognised the phrase ‘United We Stand’ because it is engraved on all American currency, and I wondered if the advertisement had intentionally borrowed the words to evoke America’s own civil war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865.

To understand Sri Lanka better, I bought a ticket to last Wednesday’s cricket match with Pakistan. I grew up watching baseball in America, so my girlfriend had to explain the rules to me. Once I understood what was going on, I enjoyed the match immensely, and became an instant fan.

The biggest difference between sports in America and Sri Lanka is the fan behaviour. The Sri Lankan cricket fans were louder, rowdier, and more passionate in every way than the too-well-mannered American fans I know. This is both good and bad. Sri Lankans are more supportive of their team than Americans are, and seem to be having much more fun. They were having so much fun, in fact, that I was nearly crushed to death in the queue by fans eager to get into Premadasa Stadium.

Colombo will be my home for some time and I am sure I will view it much differently when I leave than when I first arrived. However, I’m always curious about what newcomers to America think of my country, and perhaps you are curious about what a newcomer to Sri Lanka thinks about yours. If you see a tall, sunburned American on the street sometime soon, please feel free to strike up a conversation. I am always ready to learn.

It is commonly known and accepted that ones left brain functions when logic, analysis and deep thinking is required and the right more for creativity, whether it be advertising, music, film or simply any art form. I was at a dinner last week and I used my left brain to decipher the thought process of those who asked me, so you’re a musician? To which my apt response was, of course.

It was very clear to me those ignorant individuals, were of the view that individuals in the music industry were left brain dead. Well I would like to remind them of the 80/20 rule while shedding some much needed light and ventilation to their dead and judgmental left brains.

Let’s start with the 80/20 rule, which in this case is that at least 20% of musicians do use their left brain from time to time and 20% out of that 20% manage to be quite successful at what they do. Those that make it to the top in an international context are only 20% out of the 20% that manage to be quite successful. So if you are not a musician and couldn’t make sense of those numbers, don’t go around judging the intelligence of musicians, since right now you have something in common with 80% of the people you look down upon.

Having mentioned the numbers, as if it were an IQ puzzle, we should look at the reality, which I live as a day to day night life and the public in general have no clue about, much like many around the world, still have no clue as to where Sri Lanka is situated and think it is a suburb in India.

For the record we aren’t, and honestly not that big as yet, no pun intended. Nevertheless, read on and take some time to educate yourself on the most misunderstood industry in the world, whether you’re a lecturer (like me), corporate manager, nurse or just retired with time to kill.

Music is no different to any other industry. In a nutshell, SWOT and PEST analysis is carried out and there is marketing (promoters, media, brand managers), finance (collection agencies), H.R and production (musicians, producers, writers, arrangers, engineers etc). More than 80% of the general public are aware of the functions of the production department (which is right brain, 80% of the time). This is not the ’50s or even ’80s, times have changed and so has the music industry.

Music is all strategic and is only the product /service. The minute an artist or some individual creates a melody, lyric or riff, that is only 20% of the work done. The other 80% is all the work that is generally carried out in other industries, whether it is banking, education or plastics.

When working with top local acts like Natasha Rathnayake, that are signed to international management companies such as We-Enhance Inc, the music is as important as creating a brand name for the artist. So the first thing we managers do is, identify along with the artist what he/she has to offer as a Unique Selling Proposition.

This takes months to identify and then once done, it requires a conscious and coordinated effort from a whole host of people from both the creative and corporate fields to work in synergy, in order to present this brand, just like Apple introduces a new gismo every so often.

Detailed marketing plans are drawn with time lines in order to execute the promotions with various local and international media to communicate the artist’s arrival into the industry. Once that has been carried out, financial plans are made in order to get appropriate funding from sponsors, investors etc.

After over a year of planning and months of execution, if all goes according to plan after having dealt with external uncontrollable forces, there is a household name, multiple endorsement deals, hit records and eight figure returns in the artist’s and managers drawing account.

This is not to say that wedding bands and lobby acts go through the same process. This is because there are two segments in the music industry. For simplicity we can call it the "live band industry" and the "recording industry." Overseas the live band industry musicians are constantly striving for opportunities to be signed by the recording industry executives, however sadly in Sri Lanka it is not so. These talented individuals seem content with playing the same song list of covers day in and day out.

The recording industry is where the money is, where the planning, implementation and growth strategies take effect. This is a tough place to survive, much like the FMCG industry or the restaurant business. High on competition, no barriers to entry but staggering returns for the unrelenting, focused, highly ambitious individual.

So next time you meet a musician, use your left brain to find out if they are recording industry or live band industry before you pass judgments, and then use your left brain to be interesting enough for anyone to carry on a conversation with you.

Keeping It Real: A tribute to Yasmin Ahmad

They say the brightest stars burn out the fastest. Which might explain why, a fortnight ago, Leo Burnett Colombo lost one of its dearest friends and greatest creative mentors — Yasmin Ahmad.

Yasmin succumbed to a stroke just a few weeks after her 51st birthday; leaving behind a legacy that far outweighs her short lifespan. A legacy not only as one of the most revered adwomen of her generation, but also that of a critically acclaimed film maker.

As Executive Creative Director of Leo Burnett Malaysia, Ahmad put the KL office firmly on the map; most recently with a Gold Lions for her commercial, Tan Hong Min, which promoted inter-racial harmony.

Yasmin hated superficiality and ‘ad-land’ ads. Instead, she fuelled the trend for real campaigns, concerning real human issues that were — to coin a Burnett phrase — Human Kind. The sort of advertising that could make people fall-in-love with a billion dollar oil company like Petronas — Yasmin’s celebrated brand. Marketers, she felt, largely saw housewives as "research monkeys."

On one of her visits to Sri Lanka, the outspoken celebrity delivered the keynote address at an IAA forum, provocatively asserting: "Housewives are our mothers, our sisters and our daughters. It can take me a lifetime to know my mother, but a large corporation believes it can know her intimately in a couple of hours. Who the hell do we think we are?"

In more recent years, the legendary storyteller drew global applause for her work as a director. The 2008 Gunn Report ranked her as the fifth most awarded commercials director in the world, while her film Mukhsin was awarded the Grand Prix from the Kinderfilmfest International Jury at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. Small wonder Malaysians called her "a national treasure."

Yasmin was also a treasure to Leo Burnett Sri Lanka. A gem of a friend. From the year the business started in 1999, this generous guru guided, inspired and bettered the organisation. Her spirited soul opened eyes, challenged the status quo and kindled the passion for creative excellence: She even helped the company get its very first international award. Many are the hearts she won at the Colombo office. Surrogate sisters and brothers who will feel her absence dearly. How poignant she should pass in the year that the agency celebrates its 10^th anniversary.

And how ironic one of her last commercials should be about an oration at a funeral; an oration that pays tribute to something Yasmin truly lived by; the importance of embracing people for who they really are.

Lankassist clicks

A brainchild of Vijitha Welikala, Lankassist will take Sri Lanka towards the future with an array of goods and services at hand. Lankaassist will with the click of a button bring home nurses, emergency medical attention, personal security and protection, drivers, janitorial services, body guards, crowd controllers, threat assessments, security audits, private investigations, handyman services, masonary, electrical, carpentry, electronic, plumbing among other services

Among the services offered through this website are drivers with or without vehicles, medical and family services, pet and animal care, religious services, property management, wedding services, event management, vacation services, gifts, flowers and food, personal service, temporary office staff etc.

Every woman’s dream would be to inject a bit of botox into the wrinkle lines of the face at some stage, hoping to look younger, more beautiful and hide her age. It is a most toxic chemical but for beauty’s sake most socialising women want it.

Botox is a trade name and is an extract from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In large doses this toxic extract can cause a disease called botulism, a rare paralysing illness often linked to food poisoning. It is considered as the most poisonous naturally occurring substance.

However, in minute doses it can be injected to paralyse the smooth muscles (not skeletal muscles) temporarily, and is most beneficial to paralyse the facial muscles of expression.

Wrinkles

Women generally hate the forehead wrinkles and the midline vertical furrow in between the upper eye brows (glabella furrow) that make them look older. FDA approved Botox as a treatment for glabella lines, in April 2002. Most Caucasian women suffer from "crow’s feet," a name given to those wrinkles that spread from the outer margins of the eyes, which is rare among Asian women.

Injecting very small doses of diluted botulinum toxin enables to weaken the underlying smooth muscles responsible for these defects. It can also be used for uncontrolled blinking (blepharospasm) and lazy eyes (strabismus).

Botox injections take only a few minutes to administer and is done without local anaesthesia. The substance is injected into the affected muscles by using a fine needle to avoid discomfort and pain. Generally, it takes three to seven days for Botox treatment to take effect. It is advisable to avoid drinking alcohol one week before undergoing this treatment. The intake of aspirin and anti-inflammatory medicines should be stopped two weeks before undergoing Botox treatment. It is advisable to avoid facials and other beauty therapy for the face during this period.

Botox seem to block the transmission of signals from the nerves to the injected muscles. The muscles could not contract without the nerve stimulation.

Wrinkles caused by gravity and sun damage cannot be treated by Botox. Laughing lines on either side of the mouth cannot be flattened by botox. For such situations a face lift would give the best results.

The effects of the injection lasts a maximum of six months.

The most common side-effect of Botox treatment immediately is temporary partial bruising. Headaches can also occur in rare instances. Meanwhile, some patients may develop eye drooping, which resolves usually in three weeks. This complication results from the migration of the Botox from the site of injection. For this reason, rubbing the treated area within 12 hours after the procedure is discouraged. Patients are advised to lie down for three to four hours after taking Botox treatment.

Expectant mothers and during breast feeding these injections are discouraged.

In Sri Lanka it is not practical to offer Botox treatment. Each vial containing the chemical for five doses needs to be used as soon as you open the vial. This means you need to bring four other clients who need the injections to be cost effective. Furthermore, each vial costs over Rs. 30,000.00 and is available in Colombo.

It benefits other medical conditions Stroke

Botox is most beneficial for those who suffer from a stroke where the muscles on the face are permanently paralysed on one side (hemi paresis). Injecting this chemical in minute doses to the non-paralysed facial muscles may give some cosmetic benefit.

It is also used in excessive arm-pit sweating. The chemical paralyse the nerve endings that supply the sweat glands.

Depression with frown lines 

Dr. Eric Finzi and Dr. Erika Wasserman as reported in Medical News Today of May 21, 2006, found that treating clinically major depressed patients with botox on the frown lines of their faces actually got rid of their depression.

They concluded that botox treatment on frown lines may be an effective treatment for patients with major depression who have not responded to routine pharmacological and psycho therapeutic treatment approaches.

This is similar to trials conducted in mental asylums, where researchers found that at a certain stage of their depression a face lift would have boosted their self esteem and the severe major depression could have been avoided.

Children with cerebral palsy:

This is a condition where children are born with subnormal brains, mentally retarded with many paralytic disabilities. It is also called Cerebral Diplegia

Children with cerebral palsy often suffer from uncontrolled drooling or dribbling, and this can be reduced with an injection of Botox, researchers report.

So far these children have been treated with scopolamine patches to reduce drooling, but Botox treatment were associated with fewer and less serious side effects.

Writer’s cramp is a condition where one gets involuntary (cannot be controlled) spasmodic muscle contractions of the fingers, hand, or arm during writing and also with manual tasks. This condition is difficult to treat and affects three to seven in every 100 000 people.

Forty people with writer’s cramp were randomly assigned to a course of injections containing either botulinum toxin (botox) or a dummy substitute in two doses, usually into two muscles, over a period of 12 weeks.
Of the 20 people given Botox treatment, 14 (70%) said that their condition had significantly improved, and that they wished to continue treatment. Their improvement was confirmed using validated disability and pain scales.
Only six of the 19 people in the dummy group felt that their condition had improved. One person dropped out of the trial.
One person, who received the dummy injection at the first session and Botox at the second, also registered an improvement in symptoms.
After a year, half of the trial participants were still receiving Botox injections, and were finding them helpful.
Side effects included mild and temporary muscle weakness and pain at the injection site. Symptom relief lasted from three to 18 months, with an average symptom free period of four and a half months.

This information is from the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery And Psychiatry (article dated December 24, 2006.)

These are patients who suffer from urgency and urinary incontinence (unable to control) problems unable to have a good night’s sleep, and social limitations.

These patients remarkably improved after Botox injections. The studies showed a reduction in incontinence, sleeping uninterruptedly, better personal and social relationships.

This study was carried out by Urologists from Guy’s Hospital and Kings College, London, and the study was published in the June issue of BJU International dated June 11, 2009.

After injecting Botox under the skin one would expect some bruising which is temporary.

• Headache,

• Respiratory infection,

• Flu syndrome,

• Drooping of eyelids (Blepharoptosis),

• Nausea and

• Indigestion.

In the U.S. many women seems to binge on Botox and the face may appear to have a frozen look.

There may be more uses of Botox for other diseases yet to be discovered. Presently, it is beneficial for cosmetic procedures and diseases described.

Would you like to venture an experience?

Only the ant remains,

Living out its fables,

Garnering the harvest for winter’s

Lean days, its storehouse of seeds and

Grain never empty, replenished day by day.

That grasshopper summer, vanished,

Consumed with age, silenced forever, its song.