Once again it was the time for one of the most anticipated events in the Trinity calendar – held this year on the 2nd of December 2018. The service comprised nine readings from the Bible, each followed by carols which has relevance with the reading. The choir is known for singing in several languages, with Sinhala and Tamil having been made a standard part of the tradition since 1964. This year’s service was special as it marks the 60th year since the traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held at Trinity for the first time in 1958, and was undoubtedly a memorable evening of worship and praise to all those present. The evening commenced with choristers coming in procession, descending from the Principal’s bungalow to the Chapel holding lamps. The Chapel was lit only with candlelight imbuing it with a tranquil and beautiful atmosphere. The traditional solo of “Once in Royal David’s City” was sung by a Chorister from Grade 6, the Choir joined in harmony at the second verse, accompanied by the organ, as they gracefully proceeded towards the Choir stalls. As the opening carol “Adam Lay Abounden” by Boris Ord was sung a sense of wonderment filled the air as the congregation pondered upon Adams first ever sin leading up to the birth of Christ. This was also the context of the first lesson which was read by a chorister from Grade 7. Next was a Sinhala carol “Sandun Vimanen” which was accompanied by the organ along with the traditional thabla and thalampota. Upon the conclusion of the second lesson, a moving rendition of “O Little One Sweet” composed by J.S. Bach, reminded the congregation of Christ’s birth and how the son of man was yet once a meek and sweet little child. After the third lesson a Tamil carol “Andhi Neram Vaadai Kaalam” was sung. This was a clear depiction of the versatility in the choir’s choice of carols, which was accompanied by the same instruments used in the Sinhala carol. The fourth lesson was accompanied by “Virga Jesse” composed by Anton Bruckner. The complexity of this composition was quite notable as it brought about a sense of serenity with its impressive harmonies and also a feeling of rejoicing towards the end of the carol. The carol “Bogoroditse Dyevo” by Arvo Part told of the message the archangel Gabriel gave unto the mother of God in conjunction with the fifth lesson. The choir’s capabilities were clearly brought out by this performance and it was commendable performance sung in the Russian language. The next carol “See Amid the Winter Snow” had three soloists: an alto, a bass, and, keeping in line with recent years, an Old Chorister soloist. The chapel filled with grandeur as the chorus to this carol was sung; rejoicing in the glorious birth of Christ. The carol in relation to the sixth reading was “In the Bleak Mid-Winter” composed by Harold Darke. It comprised two soloists: a treble and a tenor, who were gradually accompanied in angelic harmony by the choir. This truly brought about a depiction of a cold and desolate winter time in which Christ was born in Bethlehem. Once again adding to the variation in the language and style of the carols performed, a French carol “Quittez Pastuers” arranged by Stephen Cleobury, was sung adding to the grandeur of the worship which resonated with the faithful and praising hearts of the congregation. The next carol had three soloists who sang throughout, accompanied by the choir: Peter Cornelius’s “The Three Kings” was sung by soloists who each represented the kings while the Choir sang the chorale. This particular performance was the perfect illustration of Christ’s godly nature and royalty as well as his humanity. After the carol “Hark the Herald”, and the congregation lit their candles and the lights of the chapel were switched off. The choir then began to sing the “Candlelight” carol. The simple but beautiful harmonies combined with the chapel lit only by candles to a truly spectacular and moving atmosphere that warmed and tugged on the heart of all who were present. As per tradition, the carol “O Come all ye Faithful” was sung as the Choir recessed to the west door, to end the last verse with a triumphant descant, marking the end of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. It was interesting to note that the Chapel continued to be lit only with candles until the end of the service. “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” was based on an order drawn up by E. W. Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury, for the use in a wooden shed that served as his cathedral, for Christmas Eve 1880 in Truro. It has since been adapted and used by other churches all over the world. A. C. Benson recalled: ‘My father arranged from ancients sources a little service for Christmas Eve – nine carols and nine tiny lessons, which were read by various officers of the Church, beginning with a chorister, and ending, through the different grades, with the Bishop’. The history of the carol services at Trinity is an interesting one. With records commencing from 1935, all carol services have been somewhat similar to the ‘nine lessons’ tradition with several lessons, except for the one in 1954 where there had been only two lessons with 16 Carols. In 1950 the carol service was broadcast over the BBC world service. Browse our FLICKR site for the full album.
Mr Lionel Perera, as the oldest living member of the Trinity family, has established himself amongst those who attend the numerous events in the Trinity calendar, especially cricket and rugby encounters along with events held in the Chapel. While speaking to Mr Perera, we realized that he is a fount of information on Trinity history and culture. It would be a shame not to share these lovely stories, and with that in mind, we bring to you an interview of this distinguished personality. He joined us on 7th of November at his alma mater for an illuminating session. Could you tell us about yourself as a Trinitian? I entered College on the 31st of May 1928 and the Principal was Rev. John MacLeod Campbell. I left on the 9th of August, 1943. So, I knew no other school. I was at Trinity right throughout. After Mcleod Campbell retired in 1935, he was succeeded by Rev. R. W. Stopford, who later became Bishop of London. So, he was at Trinity only for about 5 years and then he retired. I have told this to so many people but I’ll repeat it again: Shortly after I left College, I met an old boy and he asked me about my career at Trinity. He asked me which house I had been in. I said Garret. Then he asked me if I had played any cricket in College. I said the only cricket I had played was rubber ball cricket in the quadrangle. When he asked me if I had played any rugger, I said I have not even handled a rugger ball. When he asked me if I had taken part in athletics, I said no, not even in a house race. In our time, the house race was the race in which non-athletes competed. Then he looked me up and down and said “I say, you must have been one of those ‘soththa’ day boys who just came to school and went back home! “ How were sports at College in your time? The first time that we were beaten by a school at rugger was in 1932. I still remember the headlines in the ‘Sunday Times’; ‘Trinity College Beaten at Last: Splendid Victory for Zahira’. That was 86 years ago. The first time after I came to College that we had an unbeaten cricket team was in 1937. Our captain was O. L. Izadeen. We beat Wesley by an innings. Wesley were all out in the first innings by 36 runs. We beat S. Thomas’ by 8 wickets at Mt. Lavinia. My God! They had us by six runs in the first innings; second innings they were all out for 22 runs, and we won by 8 wickets. Then that year we beat Royal, S. Thomas’. Josephian and Antonian matches rain interfered with play on both days and both matches were drawn. Then in 1939, the Captain was G. P. Schoorman. In all my years at Trinity, that was the only year that we beat St. Joseph’s. And that was remarkable because we didn’t even have our captain. Our Antonian match that year was won by an innings, and was over by the lunch interval, and our star bowler got a hat-trick in both innings! The first Trinity- Antonian match played at Katugastota was in 1938 and we won by six wickets. How was the discipline? My gosh! Trinity boys were gentlemen, men! I don’t know whether this is true, but one of my friends once told me that a British Governor had said “Men of Royal and men of S. Thomas’, but gentlemen of Trinity! ” What do you remember of the Staff? They were quite different. We had a number of English masters on the staff at that time. Now, before my time at Trinity, there was a Rev. Pilcher. He was a great man, for social service. He used to take the boys out from the Social Service Union to the Katukele slums and he used to get into the drain first with his broom, clean it, then give it to the boy behind him and tell him “Now, man, it’s your turn! “. A great gentlemen to the Mahaiyawa community, and when he left it was they who missed him. Shortly after Pilcher came to Trinity, he had expressed a desire to study Sinhala, and so a Sinhala teacher was arranged for him. One day, after the lesson was over, the teacher respectfully took his leave of Pilcher. He said “Avasarai”. Now, the word ‘avasarai’ was new to Pilcher. He immediately handed his umbrella to the teacher and said “Awwa sarai nam, menna kude.” What were the clubs and societies like? As I told you, I was one of those day boys, I never joined but we had DSLU which was the Day Scholar’s Literary Union. Then of course you had the Houses also and we had the Astronomical Society and Trinity College Literary Union. (How famous was the TCLA during that time?) That was very good, we had our Annual Debate against S. Thomas’. So many people came, but I’m afraid I never attended any of those! So many teachers and sometimes visitors used to speak at the TCLA. How was going to school during the War? I left College in 1943, while WWII was still in progress. Our principal at that time was Mr Simithraaratchi. You know, the whole of the Junior School was commandeered by the government for the War! I don’t know how they managed to accommodate all the school staff and the boarders! The whole of the Junior School was taken over! How was the boarding during you time? I was never a boarder! (Laughs) How did you see the boarders as a Day Scholar? In my time there were so many boarders in my class. (How was their behaviour?) In every school there are rioters you know? You can’t say that they were all saints! You must have your fun. What is your fondest memory of
This article was originally published in a TCK Centenary Group’s newsletter In February this year (2018) when I joined a group from the Colombo Branch of the TCK OBA for the presentation of “Smart Boards” to the College Kindergarten, my mind went back to 1959. That was 59 years ago when I sat on the floor in the old Kindergarten hall; with the cement coloured in red, gold and blue oval lines, huddled together among a bunch of anxious five year olds. Sixty six boys were admitted to the lower Kindergarten of Trinity that year. Though the old Kindergarten hall is no more, replaced by the “Centenary Block” and most of the lovable old teachers gone to the great beyond, the feeling of being back in my boy hood home was dream like even for a 64 year old! It was wistful nostalgia for the entire group that went up to Kandy for this presentation. Walking up to the Main hall car park from the Kindergarten, we found the physical environment of TCK changed and different to what it was half a century ago. We lamented the demolition of the quaint old “Mission House”, TCK’s very first home, for a grotesque concrete monstrosity to stand there instead. We also admired some of the new developments that have retained the overall architectural character of the school campus. Above all, what was heartening was to learn that the Grand Old School appears to be in safe hands, well and healthy, at the ripe old age of 146. It was the five year olds of 1959 and the many friends who joined us on the way through Junior, Middle and Upper School that grew to be the 18 year olds to hold aloft the red, gold and blue banner in 1972 when TCK celebrated her centenary. We were small in number then. In 1959 the entire school may have had a thousand boys on roll. Even by 1972, we numbered 1500 more or less, with some A Level classes counting 6-7 boys ! Hence to make the “TCK Centenary Group” as we call ourselves, large enough to be a movement of impact, it was agreed that all who were in the 5th form, lower and upper sixth form classes (grades 10,11 and 12) in 1972, be included in it. What a wonderful agreement that was! The camaraderie that prevailed at TCK cut across a few years difference in age or grade. With almost two hundred in our group we are now a happy and proud arm of the larger TCK family, wrapped together in the red, gold and blue standard. As for this column, I was somewhat taken aback when our dear friend and evergreen Trinitian Channa Jayawickrama called me from Kandy a few weeks ago asking me to write a piece for the group newsletter. Momentarily I asked myself, why me did Channa call? After all, we had amongst us Ajith Samaranayake, the boy who was destined to be one of the finest English journalists in Asia, DMG (Dimma) Dissanayake, Ubayasena Banda and many others whose literary contributions while school boys were good enough for national publications. They could have “out written” me by “leaps and bounds”. Then sad stark reality struck me. Of the names I mention, they have all crossed the great divide and it is left to lesser mortals like me to chip-in in the absence of the better. I am unable in this article to make reference to all those from our group who have moved on to the great beyond. Perhaps that is done elsewhere in this newsletter. I cannot however, restrain myself from making reference to the likes of the two Rohans (Alawattegama and Paranawitharana) who left us far too early in life, Rugby Lion Y. S. Ping, that steel hardened Napierite P. Maheswaran whose death was a surprise to us all, and the rough and tumble Shathi Bahar. Shanti having enlisted with the Navy sacrificed his life in battle for the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. The portrait of Commander Bahar now adorns the walls of the OTSC in Asgiriya with some of the finest Trinitians who left their imprint on the sands of time. In writing this piece, I thought it best to go down memory lane to 1972 and recall how we celebrated our Centenary. It was an event looked forward to by the entire Trinity family. From Thanksgiving services to exhibitions and carnivals, drama festivals and a city walk to cap it all! All activities were organized by a group of dedicated old boys, teachers and the boys themselves. “Event Managers” were not around then! Forgetfulness compelled me to seek assistance from the College archives and fading photographs in my own albums. The celebrations began in November 1971, to coincide with a visit to then Ceylon by the Rt. Revd R.W. Stopford, former Principal (1935-41). He was by then the Lord Bishop of London. There was a traditional Thanksgiving service presided over by the good Bishop at the College Chapel. What preceded the service was a spectacular procession (city walk) from the Hall to the Chapel, winding its way down D. S. Senanayake Street, Kande Veediya, Kotugodella Veediya, Cross Street, back to D. S. Senanayake Street and to the Chapel. It was led by the Senior Prefect Ravindra Sangakkara carrying the College flag. Ravindra, later a Professor of Agriculture at Peradeniya met with a fatal accident just over a year ago; we remember him with affection. The procession represented the entire Trinity family; from former Principals, staff, old boys, minor staff and, the boys walking under their “House” flags. I vividly recall the lanky athlete G. T. A. Samaranayake now in the USA, Rugby Lion Jeffery Yu now in Canada, the amiable Ajith Senewiratne now in Australia, that steely rugby inside three-quarter Tissa Dissanayake now in retirement from the hotel industry, and myself leading the boys, carrying the Garett, Lemuel, Alison, Napier and Ryde flags respectively. What a show that procession was;
Overlooking the quadrangle stands a priceless monument that recounts a great era of the College’s history, the German machine gun. This is considered to be one of the first notable war trophies presented by the British Emperor to Ceylon after the First World War, and the first school outside England to be honoured this way. For almost a hundred years it has been a proud testament to the contribution Trinity made towards the Great War. A tally of 65 men from Trinity (including Principal A.G. Frazer) had fought in the war. 13 sacrificed their lives, 18 were wounded, two were taken prisoner and three were awarded commissions. Amongst the gallant warriors the names of Richard Aluwihare, Albert Halangoda, Frank Drieberg, Ajit (Jik) Rudra, Aelian Pereira, H.E. Garvin, John Andrew and J.W.S. Bartholomeusz stand out. Aelian Perera was awarded a commission with the Durham Light Infantry and J.W.S. Bartholomeusz received the Croix de Guerre of the first class for his valour. It was because of their bravery and sacrifice that the school proudly embraces its war trophy. The machine gun is a Maschinengewehr 08, or MG 08. It was a standard German machine gun during WWI. The MG 08 had been captured from an enemy camp during a victory march. It was on the 16th of October 1919 that Sir William Henry Manning unveiled this hefty memorial on behalf of King George V. In his speech the Governor lionized the College, “To me Trinity College has a record and a Roll of Honour of which it may be justly proud. I find that 65 masters, men and boys gave their services overseas during the war and of these 65, there were no fewer than 33 casualties – 13 killed, 18 wounded, and two taken prisoner by the Germans. Now that is 50% of the number that proceeded to the battle front. It is a record, I repeat again of which Trinity College may well be proud of – a record, I am sure you will agree with me, which any battalion, any regiment, any unit of His Majesty’s service would be proud of.” A platform was made for the machine gun with blocks of rock from Asgiriya, on the bank beside Alison House. The glory days of this gun are long gone. Now it rests upon its rock cradle, reminding us of bold men such as General Rudra and Richard Aluvihare. The Maschinengewehr 08 has witnessed the school twist and turn from the days Ceylon liberated from England to its dark hours during the civil war. The gun keeps in our minds that Trinitians rise up to the situation no matter how hazardous it may be. Engraved upon its brass plate are the words: “Captured German Machine Gun, Presented to Trinity College by Majesty the King at the Conclusion of the Great War (1914-1919), in which 65 Members of this College served and 13 gave their lives.” Article by Parinda Ratnayake See the full album on our Flickr site!
“Unlike other concerts, it was not too long, although we simply wished it to be longer as the music was spectacular! One of the greatest music concerts I have ever been to, can’t wait for the next production by the Trinity College Choir!!” – A student from Middle School “The Choristers were all in sync and the music was also so good that, PERFECT would be the best way to describe it!” – A student from Upper School “I liked complexity and vivid genres that were chosen by the choir this time!” – An Old Boy “A lovely evening, I would not miss the opportunity to see the choristers in action again” – An overseas visitor “The concert is ought to be brought down to Colombo!” – A visitor from Colombo “I wished the music would never end” – A music teacher “This was the best event that happened in years and everything was so classy – we enjoyed it so much” – A member of the staff “You should have a repeat performance – there were many who couldn’t get a seat” – A grand parent “It was simply mesmerising” – A parent The evening of Friday, 14th of September will have indeed been a memorable one for all those who were present at the Trinity College Main Hall for the “Mind Your Music” concert; a fine work of art by the Trinity College Choir with live musical accompaniment on keyboard, guitar and drums. The hall was packed with an appreciative audience with all the seats being sold out a day before. Held once every two years, the theme this year was “Musicals to Movies”. As suggested by the name, it included many compositions by celebrated musicians performed in well known films over the years. The evening started with a solo and joined in harmony by the choir: a true children’s classic from 1930’s Wizard of Oz, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, originally composed by Harold Arlen. The calm and peaceful nature of Dorothy’s heartfelt song was brought forth with great success by both the choir and the soloist. Next was “As Time Goes By” from an all time great film Casablanca. The jazzy, bluesy and romantic song was brilliantly performed by the talented soloist and the choir, filling the air with the memories of what is truly a time gone by. The Ascot Gavotte, a memorable composition from the famous Lerner and Lowes musical My Fair Lady followed next, and yet again the choir performed an astounding rendition of this classic work of art allowing the audience to reminisce the plight of Eliza Doolittle, the flower seller disguised as a lady. At the end of the song, a clip from the film is played, where Eliza, fully dressed up at an upper-class racecourse, suddenly yells at her horse to “move your blooming a- “. Next, the air hummed with the bouncy strains of the clumsy 1960s detective and comedy animation series The Pink Panther’s theme song by Henry Mancini. A short clip played before the performance showed the choir is not afraid to laugh at itself, featuring a scene from the cartoon where a conductor, enraged by various sounds made by an audience member, resorts to the universal communication device of a gun. It is without doubt the audience was filled with excitement as the choir performed with much enthusiasm. The next composition was one that was introduced to the world by the foremost and the most influential pop band in history, “Yesterday” written by Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles in a dream. Lined up in the 1960s movie Help!, this was yet again another melodious performance by the choir and soloist combined. The theme to Top Cat, a well known American children’s animation series followed next was a fine work of the jazz genre that the choir together with a solo bass line on the piano performed with a great deal of excitement, showing that they enjoyed it as much as the audience. Get Yourself a College Girl was another classic film released in 1964. The song “Girl from Ipanema” is a well established composition by musician Antonio Carlos Jobim. This too was a solo performance accompanied together with the choir and instruments. A song for all ages would be an apt description for the next performance: “Edelweiss” by Rodgers and Hammerstein, taken from the classic musical The Sound of Music. It filled the audience with a sense of nostalgia taking them back to their very own childhood as they too were asked to join in with the choir to sing the final verses of the song. A Walt Disney production would always be an essential addition for a concert themed on musicals and films, as it was probably many audience members’ first introduction to music. The Basses and Tenors of the choir (introduced as the TTBB Boys) did not fail to fill in this requirement, performing a barbershop worthy “The Vulture Song” by the Sherman brothers from the Disney favourite, The Jungle Book. “The name’s Bond…James Bond”, a catchphrase known by many action film enthusiasts young and old. The James Bond theme by Monty Norman preceded next. The audience was indeed felt the thrill and anticipation as the choir performed this composition as they were reminded of scenes from a classic fast-paced spy story. Next was a piece that had quite the contrasting genre to the previous song: “Memory” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats was indeed a memorable addition to the list of songs performed by another soloist together with the choir. It induced a soothing but sad atmosphere as the choir progressed onto their next composition. Another astounding solo performance followed next from the 1980s romantic drama Arthur. It was indeed a pleasure to hear yet another solo performance accompanied by the choir and instruments showing the great potential and calibre of the Trinity College choristers. Rowan Atkinson was famous for his hilarious role as Mr Bean, a British sitcom aired in the 1990s. “Ecce Homo” by Howard
The Trinity College Choir will stage its biennial concert “Mind Your Music” (MYM) on Friday 14th September, 6.30 p.m. at the Trinity College Main Hall. Every concert of MYM is centred around a theme to showcase a broad array of genres and eras. For example, previous themes have included “Plain Song to Pop” and “Rhymes to Rhapsody”. This year, the theme “Musicals to Movies” is intended to shed a spotlight on the many influential creations on film and on stage, and the music used in them. The concert features a choice of music spanning through the ages from old to new, and the wide array of musical genres covered. Throughout its long history, The Trinity College Choir is known for its versatility in performing not only classical spiritual works, but also secular pop and jazz. The Choir consists of young Trinitians from the ages of 9 to 19 who enjoy singing regularly at events throughout the year, sometimes even during school holidays, both for events at Trinity and outside public events of others. The programme will consist of various themes and songs from famous musicals and movies performed by the Choir with live musical accompaniment on piano, keyboard, guitar and drums. A variety of musical styles will be on display from a swinging jazz, to a dark avenging orchestral theme, some which are a cappella, all promise to delight an audience of all ages. Disney classics sit side by side with spy thrillers, and a swaying bossa nova whose solemn language is contradicted by the comedy classic it appears in. “Musicals to Movies” will feature the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach, Freddy Mercury, Frederick Loewe, Henry Mancini, Howard Goodall, Lennon-McCartney, Richard Rodgers, The Sherman Brothers, and other celebrated musicians. The concert will be 80 minutes, taking the same format as the previous MYM 2016. More information will be regularly updated on the MYM Facebook event page and Trinity College Choir Facebook page. Programmes and Reservations Entrance will be by programme only, which can be reserved by email choir@trinitycollege.lk , or calling or sending an SMS to: 776 828 600. Reservations can also be made by purchasing a Programme Token (priced at 1000/=, 500/= and 300/=), available at the Trinity College Junior School office. Programmes can also be reserved online! Click here for more details.
We all might pause to think, “What exactly made Trinity ‘the best’ in all?” For most of us, being day-scholars, it is quite difficult to picture how it must be like to be a boarder at Trinity. However, the following speech by Jeffrey Arumugam (Grade 11), at a Friday assembly on 13th July, drew a picture in the minds of all those who were listening: – – – – – – “Today I thought of speaking about a topic which is not spoken of highly, it is about boarding. As you all might know, in the past, the heart of the school was considered to be the boarding. Which I believe should be the case at present as well. Boarding was started in the year 1898. As I was told by many seniors of the boarding, it was started by Trinity’s best ever Principal, Rev. A.J. Fraser to make the school more popular. It’s known to everyone that Fraser’s era is considered to be the golden era of Trinity. Rev. Fraser gave admissions to the students all over Sri Lanka, because he had boarding established. Everyone would agree that it was Fraser who made Trinity “the best school of all!” But I’ll add to it, he first made the heart strong by bringing boarding up to an exceptional level. Which ultimately paved the path for Trinity to begin its journey towards becoming the best. Now, let me tell you about life in boarding: The day starts in the boarding at 5:00 am. After that we are provided with tea arranged in the dining hall. After we have the tea, we move to our dormitory to dress ourselves at around 6:00 am, School Officers come for inspection. After that we move to our classrooms for prep time. Then, we have our breakfast at 7 o’clock. After having breakfast, we move to our assemblies or to our classes. This shows all of you how we are trained to manage our time. In the lunch interval we come to the dining hall to have our lunch, and after school ends we usually play or attend our various practices and return back to the boarding. Before studying we are taught to clean our dormitory. This shows how much we are taught to maintain our self-discipline. We start studying from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Then, we will have our dinner at 8:00 pm, and we go to sleep at 9:30 pm. In boarding we are taught to: Manage our time Maintain our self-discipline Organize ourselves Control our emotions Respect and care about each other Satisfy ourselves with what we have To celebrate the diversity of culture in Trinity As a boarder I have many dreams to achieve. Not only me, my fellow boarders as well as our boarding masters. All of us want to bring Alison and the Napier houses back to the way they were in the good old days. You might be aware of the greatest men that boarding has produced in the past like, M. Kagwa, the Prime Minister of Uganda and Mr Lakshman Kadirigama, one of the most distinguished politicians in recent years. We wish to have more boarders in the years to come, and to improve some standards of the boarding. I would particularly like to change the food menu! The time is insufficient to explain about every aspect of the boarding at Trinity. But as a boarder I urge all of you to try being a boarder at least once during your span as a Trinitian! I would also like to tell you about our boarding masters. Mr Alex Lazarus, the 1987 league winning coach, who is our head boarding master. If we do anything wrong he will punish with his well-known punishment known as the “Wewal kasaya.” I can’t explain the “wewal kasaya” you would have to feel it! Mr. Sivalingam always wants us to pass our exams. He especially wants me to pass my Tamil which is my first language. In the beginning of the period he always shouts at me, but by the end he is joking with me. I thought that I should tell everyone that, despite losing my beloved blood relatives, I’ve earned a new family that is complete in all aspects. Today I feel the comfort of being taken care of, supported and valued within my heart. I will finish off by quoting an extract from the current Senior Prefect’s first speech after joining boarding. “It’s true that it’s not rainbows and sunshine all the time, but at the end of the day if you can sail through the storms and make sure that when the going gets tough the tough gets going. That’s when you rise as true Trinitian!” As a proud boarder and a present Rydeite, I urge all of you gentlemen to experience the boarding life which I assure you is worth every minute. I would like to leave you all with the motto of Ryde house, finis origine pendet – the end depends upon the beginning. Thank you Respice Finem!” – – – – – – A long round of ‘applause’ was given after the speech by everyone present at the assembly, as the speech was considered “awe-inspiring” and “different”. Trinity College was prominent as a Boarding School since its inception. “Boarding life” has an immense contribution towards grooming a fully-fledged Trinitian. The hostels have always been metaphorically referred to as the “backbone of college”. We believe it is a place which inculcates and preaches values which beyond the boundaries of a classroom. A Trinitian is trained to be methodical, independent and selfless. It is a practical learning curve towards creating an excellent team player who could handle all adverse circumstances in life. Often, parents from all around the island and the world have sent their children to Trinity boarding, expecting to offer them a new dimension in education. Royal families in Uganda, Ghana, Brunei and Maldives to respectable communities in China and the Middle East have sent their children to the
The Trinity College Oriental Music Society participated at the All Island Music Competitions 2018 organised by the Ministry of Education, held on 30th of June and 1st of July at Christ the King College, Pannipitiya and Vidyakara Balika Vidyalaya, Maharagama. The members of the Oriental Music Society took part in 2 events: Instrumental Composition (Open Category) The Classical Orchestra of the Oriental Music Society became All Island Champions in instrumental composition (raag vasantha mukhari) under ‘open’ category. Instrumental Duet The instrumental duet (raag brindawani saaranga) was the second Runners-up in the All Island Competitions. The duet was performed by Bhashitha Wijesinghe in flute and S. K. Fernando in Violin, and they were accompanied by U. C. Rajarathne in Thabla and T. B. Herath in Harmonica. We are grateful to the Master-in-Charge of the Oriental Music Society, Mr. Upul Edirisinghe and Mistress-in-Charge, Miss. Arosha Weerasinghemenike who are responsible for the achievements of the Oriental Music Society at this competition. Review by Sheshan Abeysekara
The Western Music Society took part in the All Island Western Music and Dance Competition organised by the Ministry of Education on 24th June 2018. At the Central Province Competition the Senior Choral Group emerged champions with a score of 92 points. The Piano Solo performance by Abhisheka Surendrakumar was placed first in the Provincial level with a score of 89 points. Both the Senior Choral Group and the Piano Solo were selected to compete in the National Level Competitions held on the 24th of June at National Institute of Education Maharagama. In the National Level Competition the Senior Choral Group emerged All Island winners in the A1 category (competing with Wesley College, Colombo and Maris Stella College, Negombo) for the fourth consecutive year with a score of 87 points. Master Abhisheka Surendrakumar emerged All Island winner for the 3rd time with a score of 92 points. Review by Nikila Amarasena