Sydney Peterites swing to the beat of Techtones
New musical kids on the block – and they are good!
By Aubrey Joachim
The western suburbs of Sydney came alive last weekend when St. Peter’s College OBU held their ‘Parippu Night’ at the Marsden Park Community Centre.
The event this year was themed such as it brought on a traditional Sri Lankan flavour to the event. Attendees were requested to wear traditional Sri Lankan attire which added colour to the event. Making it even more authentic was the ‘Kopi Kade’ at the entrance which served Sri Lankan iced coffee to the people on arrival. The hall was tastefully decorated with dainty table décor decked in the college colours of blue, white and gold. The event commenced with the lighting of the traditional oil lamp. The hall was packed to capacity with over 200 attendees – several more having to be turned away due to capacity constraints.
The music was provided by a new up-and-coming seven-piece Sydney based Sri Lankan band – Techtones led by Old Peterite Hirun Anthony who hails from a musical background. This very talented group can dish out high quality English and Sinhalese music of various genres that will please a broad demographic of fans. The male vocalists were Hirun and Janith Kularatne. A new recent addition to the group is a very versatile young lady Krishadhi Ranathunga who was a runner-up in the popular Sri Lankan Derena Dream Star reality talent program a few years ago. This lady’s renditions of popular English songs were excellent. The ever-popular baila dished out in true Sri Lankan style was the best that has been heard in recent times and got the entire crowd onto the floor. They are certainly capable of keeping a party alive and exciting. Techtones will certainly make waves in the Sydney music and dance scene for a long time into the future.
The sumptuous Sri Lankan buffet dinner was provided by Flavour of Ceylon and included the usual Lankan favourites – including watalappam desert. During dinner an interesting trivia was run by Old Peterite committee member and tech-guru Malith De Silva using high-tech mobile technology and proved popular with the audience. In addition, a raffle and short auction drew plenty of attention while also raising funds for the scholarship program for students of the college. MC Senani Gunasekera kept the show alive and on track. As usual all old boys joined in the singing of the college anthem which is traditional in events such as this.
Sydney Old Peterites President Roderick De Silva and his young committee had put in an extraordinary effort to pull off an excellent event which the Peterites are usually renowned for. Above all, the event was financially affordable in order to attract as many Old Peterites. The event has drawn huge praise and feedback. Well done to all on a great outcome.
The author – is an Old Josephian and an Old Peterite – a product of the two best Colombo colleges!
