Indu – making a beautiful impression

She walks in with a smile. She tilts her head and gives a soft smile. She is talking to a bride.

Indu Hewapathirana is aware that she is talking about a happy event. She takes the bride to the future — to the special day — discussing the colours, the clothes and the way she ought to look. It is a happy meeting. And this way, she has met a countless number of brides who come to her as unsure women in love who are trying hard to look their best on their very special day.

It is Indu’s task to make their dreams come true.

Indu Hewapathirana is comfortable amidst the array of those who dress brides — she stands out from the make-up artistes and hair dressers in the field. "I am comfortable in this competitive business," says this bridal dresser and beautician who counts over 17 years in the field.

The dream of a new bride

Brides and weddings may be not frequent happenings in our lives, but they are everyday happenings for Indu Hewapathirana who wakes up to make the dream of a new bride come true.

"It gives me so much happiness and job satisfaction to see my talent being portrayed in the beauty of each new bride," said Hewapathirana who has an exceptional talent in being able to bring out the best in each bride.

Indu’s compassion also helps in her loving outlook towards all. "I remember when I opened my salon, I dressed an orphan as a bride. My friends told me that this was ‘inauspicious,’ but I have had no bad luck whatsoever," she said with a soft smile.

As if dressing brides is not involving enough — the talented Indu Hewapathirana has made further inroads into the world of creative beauty. Excelling in t-shirt painting, making of bouquets, designing of jewellery with mural and crystal beads, Indu stands out also as a great creator of sarees.

"Working of sarees is viewed as a arduous task. But there is no pleasure without pain. My sarees are exceptional and these creations bring me great joy," she said.

Indu continues to smile. But her schedule is a heavy one. Providing a total bridal care package is a great responsibility, but Indu takes it all in everyday stride.

"Be it Western, Kandyan, Hindu or a Muslim bride, she should be an epitome of beauty of this special day. She must not only look elegant and charming but must glow with her own special beauty," pointed out Indu.

"There is the fear that ‘becoming a beautiful bride is an expensive affair,’ but this is certainly not so. I always concentrate on the budget of the bride and give her the best within the range she can afford," she said.

A student of Haris Wijesinghe, Indu spoke of her mentor with great reverence. "I will not be what I am today if not for the things I learnt from him. I have not forgotten and I am not one to forget," she said.

"Clients are usually reluctant to get dressed by assistants, this is why I want to do it all personally," said Indu, speaking from her salon, The Centre for Brides on the Main Road, in Battaramulla.

A past pupil of St. Mary’s College, Matara, Indu credits her artist father H.B.D.C. Dharmadasa as being the reason for her ‘inborn talent’ and her ability to reach the heights of beauty. "You reap what you sow," he once told me and taught me the importance of being kind, patient and compassionate," said the soft-hearted Indu.

"Being customer-friendly is an important quality. Brides are nervous anyway and when they come to you they place their trust in you and it is up to you to live up to that trust," said Indu who has dressed a range of brides during the past 17 years.

At every Catholic Mass the "I Confess" is recited. How many bishops, parish priests, priests, nuns, lay leaders and Catholics have really understood what it means when we ask our Maker to forgive us for what we have done and what we have failed to do? How many? I love the Catholic Church with all its richness, but my heart bleeds for its terrible sins; sins of omission and sins of commission.

Every Wednesday evening in Colombo, almost 5000 people flock to a prayer and healing service at St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya, to listen to a talented and very good lay Catholic preacher who is undoubtedly doing the Lord’s work. Why does this happen? I believe that this will not be happening if the bishops, parish priests, priests and lay leaders in my beloved Catholic Church did their job. They have failed. There may be some who do not agree with the approach of this lay preacher but what he does is keep the people in the Catholic Church and for this he must be appreciated.

The primary purpose of the Catholic and every Christian Church is to preach the full Gospel of Christ and his kingdom and bring every Catholic and Christian to an intimate, personal, deep and growing relationship with Jesus Christ which must result, not in a feel good experience, but in changed individual and corporate behaviour.

The primary task of every bishop, parish priest, pastor, nun and lay leader is to preach the Word of God, build a Christ-centered community and DO the will or work of God. "By your fruits shall you be known…You are the light of the world."

How many bishops, parish priests and others in the Catholic Church are more interested in putting up buildings, structures and monuments when the vast majority of their people are struggling to make a living, living in physical and emotional pain in their homes, struggling in their marriages? Ordinary people like me are not interested in doctrine but are yearning for a deeper knowledge of the Bible, and to grow in Christ. I am not talking about a fundamentalist view but a faith that respects all other faiths.

I am told that over 75% of Greater Colombo lives in shanties. What is the leadership of the Catholic Church doing for them? Bishops, parish priests and other leaders must get out of their comfortable mansions and residences and live among the least of our brethren. Remember the story of Dives and Lazarus as told by the Master? They must learn from two extraordinary Archbishops from Latin America; Dom Helder Camara and Oscar Romero.

I was 10 years old when I left what was then Ceylon and for over 25 years have lived in Southern California. These 25 years and more have taken me to numerous countries. My high school, undergraduate and part of my graduate work was completed in India, a nation where almost half the population, a staggering 500 million people, still live in misery. As a young man, I walked over dead and dying bodies outside the Madras, now Chennai, Railway Station, which became part of the life purpose of that incredible human being and saint, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

My family is known to the leadership of the Catholic Church especially because of my beloved uncle, the late Monsignor Dr. Manik Muttukumaru. He and so many others did and continue to do outstanding work. So many do this work unrecognised and unknown. But the world and Catholic Church he knew is gone! It is a new, new world, which demands that every bishop, parish priest, nun and lay leader in the Catholic Church be born again, in every sense of the word.

My new book published by Colombo Catholic Press, What It Means To Be A Christian pleads for a deeper understanding between Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders. Both have much to learn from each other, not grab each others members! My first job in California was with World Vision International, the largest evangelical Christian international development organisation in the world.

The great Evangelical Protestant Preacher Billy Graham never asked people who came to hear him to leave their churches. He never had a church but preached in crusades and filled auditoriums worldwide. He said: "I don’t care if you are Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Assembly of God, Anglican, Methodist or from any other denomination. Give your life to Jesus Christ, make him the Lord of your life and enter into a relationship with him today. Go back to your Churches and DO the will of God."

This is what the evangelical Protestant Churches in Sri Lanka and other countries should be doing. But what does a evangelical Protestant Pastor do when over half his congregation are from the Roman Catholic Church? Can they afford to lose members and revenue?

My question to every bishop, parish priest, nun and Catholic is: "Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Have you encountered him? Do you KNOW him or do you only know about him? If you don’t know him, how can you preach him? Does every member of your congregation see the Lord and a beautiful human being in you? Are you more interested in building your kingdom in your parish or diocese, protecting your turf and hoping for a higher office?

Do you do the right thing in your diocese or parish no matter what the cost to self, or are you afraid of what some leaders may say? Is there pride, self-righteousness and spiritual arrogance in you? Are you an obstacle to initiatives that will build the Kingdom of God, not yours, in your diocese or parish?

To the parish priests, are your assistants and other associates free to help build this Christ-centered community? Do you trust them? You must have one common purpose. "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." Remember what the Lord said to the religious leaders of his time. I plead with every Catholic to see their bishops, priests and leaders as human beings first and help them.

It was a prostitute who challenged the establishment when she walked toward the master in the house of Simon the Pharisee! You can bet that many of the men there had derived pleasure from her! It was a former prostitute who had the courage, not the 12 holy male disciples , to go to the tomb of Jesus and then run to tell the men that HE had risen! The men were terrified!

The Gospel is the most revolutionary message ever preached; a message of peace, love, forgiveness and reconciliation. It turned the world upside down! It must today!

The family is the most sacred institution in any society. It is under severe attack today. The divorce rate in Colombo is pretty alarming, especially among the young. Others simply stay in their unhappy marriages for their own reasons. Consider the lifetime scars on minor children when they witness unhappiness and often verbal abuse at home or a divorce. There are however couples who are really fulfilled in their marriages, who have their challenges and are both determined to make it work, who bring out the best in each other. But alas, these are increasingly few and far between.

This is part of what I learned in the research for my book. Who better to address this topic and help prevent these breakups than a person who has paid the price? Failure, it is said, is the best teacher. The pre-marriage seminars do not appear to be delivering the desired result. They must be re-thought.

In conclusion, I am a management educator and consultant who runs a global organisation. What my colleagues and I preach around the world is that every organisation must face the reality of itself today especially given the current unprecedented global crisis. The world as we knew it yesterday no longer exists. The Catholic Church is no exception and is also in crisis. It is the oldest organisation known to man! 2000 years old!

The most urgent task for the leaders in the church is to convene a serious conference to determine its purpose today, what has gone wrong, what it has done right. It must reexamine what kind of future leaders it is producing in its seminaries. The Mass must be a true celebration. The primary purpose of the sacraments, the Eucharist and the Blessed Sacrament must be to bring people to the Lord; to truly know him and not merely know about him.

The Church, its bishops, priests, nuns and leaders must be ‘born again’ every day. Fear must have no place in the church. Almost every recorded encounter with the Lord, beginning with the annunciation, began with the words; "Do not be afraid." What are we afraid of today? Let us begin today! I love the Catholic Church and my heart bleeds for it.

Why join the Navy?

aving passed the enlistment physical, Jon was asked by the doctor, "Why do you want to join the Navy, son?"

"My father said it’d be a good idea, Sir."

"Oh? And what does your father do?"

"He’s in the Army, sir."

Just before the first long deployment...

ust before our first long deployment, two Navy buddies and I were talking about the stress of leaving our families.

A senior officer, a veteran of many deployments, overheard our conversation and offered the following advice:

"You must be sensitive to your wives’ emotional needs," he said. "Never, ever, whistle while you pack!"

Investigating a homicide

Sick Aunt

The perfect job

Kiss per yard

alking up to a department store’s fabric counter, a pretty girl asked, "I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?"

"Only one kiss per yard," replied the smirking male clerk.

"That’s fine," replied the girl. "I’ll take 10 yards."

With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk quickly measured out and wrapped the cloth, then teasingly held it out.

The girl snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. "Grandpa will pay the bill," she smiled.