Today we live in a world that is captivated by visual appeal, in any realm. Of this, the lure of the female is indeed an enticement for many. Yet there is more to appreciate and understand in a person that manifests this beauty. We visited the studio of Srimali Fonseka at Colombo-05. This amiable and humble woman has much to talk about but remains modest.
A past student of St.Joseph’s College Negombo, she has travelled the world today. She explains “When I was in school I was not seeking a career in fashion or modeling. I excelled in dancing at school. After I left school I got married rather early in 2003. This was a pleasant experience”. Since then Srimali went on to work at the Royal Meridian Hotel in Dubai. This is where her senses were rejuvenated to the world of fashion and glamour. During this time her dormant talents for beauty culture and design inspired her to study fashion and other courses related to hair and beauty. She topped it off with a City and Guilds Diploma.
On her return to Colombo the young woman worked for Gerald Solomon at his salon. Srimali was asked to enter a beauty pageant by Wasana Danthanarayana, who has been able to spot potential in many young women. Being her first event she was not sure of winning any titles. To her surprise she was able to bag the Miss. Personality, Miss. Photogenic and Miss Body Beautiful titles culminating with the grand title of Mrs. Sri Lanka 2012. This was the first victory for this humble girl from Negombo. This crown enabled her to enter the next competition in KL, Malaysia where she competed with 19 other Asian beauties for the coveted Mrs. Asia title. Dazzling Srimali won this title - after many years, this win was registered to a Sri Lankan. Since then she has worked as a TV presenter, acted in 6 tele-dramas and starred in over 50 commercials. Srimali pulls out her smart phone and shows us photos of the event in Malaysia. She has organized and taken part in many fashion shows and bridal exhibitions.
In April this year she was invited to Florida USA, to represent Sri Lanka at the Mrs. World International pageant. She explains “this was my first visit to America. I was excited. At the last moment my hairdresser/makeup artiste could not come with me. I was on a cruise ship for 3 days with 30 other beautiful women. It was a cultural mix that was awesome. For the traditional costume night I wore my saree, and it got me loads of attraction. Can you believe I dressed all alone, did my own makeup? Suddenly my name was called and I was shocked- I had won the grand title”.
Srimali was elated but there was no one with her to share this joy. Subsequently she was invited by the SL High Commission in France, where she met the Ambassador. On her return Srimali has decided to engage in various tasks focused on charity, with priority towards working with soldiers (war veterans) and their wives and children.
Balancing all these tasks the beauty queen has a 13 year old daughter named Nathalie. The mother and daughter enjoy Sri Lankan food and Japanese dishes. Srimali Fonseka has shown us that persistence and dignity are key attributes in reaching this level of success. We wish her continued success.
(Pix: Vipula Amarasinghe)