Though it was a Friday the event was well attended, and the arriving guests were invited to experience the clicking skills of our own photographer, Wasantha Wickramanayake, before being ushered in to the glamorous auditorium with tables covered in white and chairs draped in white with maroon sashes, giving it the ambience of a five-star venue.

The MCs for the evening Piumali Gunawardena and Ravi Chandrasekera got on stage at 7:10pm to welcome the guests and introduce the evening’s program. The main program commenced with the guests rising from their seats to the playing of the Peradeniya University anthem while beautiful sceneries of the university and its surroundings were displayed on the screen. Everyone’s attention was also drawn towards some beautiful video clips of Professor Sarathchandra’s Maname and Sinhabahu ably compiled by Lucky Randeniya.

This was followed by two charming dances performed by a bevy of colourfully clad young girls of the Manuki Ranga dancing school, which kept the audience mesmerised.

Next President Neil Horadagoda in his speech thanked the members and guests for their presence at Hantana Night 2024 especially, on a Friday. He then briefly went on to trace the history of the Hantana Night, the signature social event of the Association since its inception in 2007

He thanked the guests who had graced the Hantana Night during a journey which spanned 17 years and continued to support the Association by their presence.

Neil went on to speak about the fund-raising activities of the Association through volunteering at BBQs at Bunnings. He mentioned that the Association was able to raise over 12 thousand dollars through this process and that a proportion of these funds will be used to support local charities that included Beyond Blue, MND research initiative, Black Dog Institute, Heart kids and Kids with cancer while a proportion will also be used to support the studentship program. 

On a personal note, he mentioned that 2024 marked the second year as President and that in keeping to tradition he will be stepping down at the annual general meeting in November. On reflection, he mentioned the privilege he had in serving the Association but most importantly the ability to provide leadership to the charitable work. He acknowledged the huge support he received from Exco and their spouses in carrying out the many activities of the Association. 

Finally, he went on to acknowledge the sponsors of the raffle prizes for their support at the evening. He also thanked Bonny and Redemption for providing the music, Manuki Ranga Dance troupe for their performances and Dale Mendis of Caterplan for the excellent catering. Finally, he wished everyone a pleasant evening and memorable Hantana Night 2024.

The dancing session commenced thereafter. The pre-dinner session was mostly confined to music for ballroom dancing and the post dinner session was more inclined towards rock and baila which kept the guests swinging away. The unlimited single malt scotch and quality wines boosted the mood. The bar table at the back of the auditorium appeared to be the most popular spot!

With a break in the music the guests were invited to a sumptuous buffet dinner tastefully prepared and beautifully laid out by Dale Mendis and his crew.

Everyone anxiously awaited the raffle draw which had fabulous prizes. The first prize, two nights stay with full board at the award winning ARUNYA resort close to Kandy, donated by Lal Rankothge, was won baty Mano and Jayantha Abeysinghe, the second and third prizes, two Sri Lankan airlines Sydney/Colombo return tickets, donated by Sri Lankan airlines management, were won respectively by Madhavi Mahakumbura and Wasantha Hettiarachchi, the fourth prize, a Stanley Rogers 42 piece cutlery set, donated by Thusith Muhandiram, was won by Rosa King and the fifth prize, a $100 restaurant voucher, donated by Kandy Bites by Chef Ceylon, was won by Kumari Karunaratne. There were also two door prizes. PUAAN greatly appreciates these donations.

The night went on to its conclusion around 11.30pm swinging to the exhilarating music.

PUAAN is thankful to all the guests for their continued participation at this event.

Janaka Seneviratne and Neil Horadagoda

The photos from the event are below – please enjoy!