Ronique - a place where hearts overruled minds....

The first teacher, the first class, the first friend… the first’s will always leave that special footprint in our hearts… also a first job….

Ronique....69..., ward place.…. purple…… orchids… the big white coloniel house…. wooden stairway… fingerprints… soo many memories… so much of life and love which flowed by to forget…

It was not just a job for most of us…. it was a dream of one person which everyone of us shared… a baby of one person of all of us try to nurture… a wish we all wished for and a belief we all had faith in…

Its just like yesterday, the good old days of getting updated on missed episodes on teledramas, gossiping about bosses while displays…. eating ashani’s toast in mornings….. fights between himaya and arosha….., niranjan’s classic tie collection….. eating anuradha’s lasgna…. make up orientations for me and gail by malika and anuradha….

Marketing meetings…., ashani’s daily presence in our room to come in and scold how loud the department was atleast twice a day…. somaratne’s crush on anuradha…., fights between finance and marketing followed by a stressed out katty….., sessions of teaching Katty Sinhala slang…., singing in marketing room when shamilal is not in office…., gail’s dancing lessons…., crazy birthday surprises…loong lunch hours which annoyed shamilal... spying and stalking... GOSSIPPING.... ;)

Launches at Lady Hilton…. launches and launches… Little Ronique…. MITHUN who introduced bribing to work and who became one of the women…. daily drama at designers room… a confused naughty kasun, a mischievous laughing warna a yelling himaya everyday was a cherry on the cake for us… (ohhh plus the red underwears)

Grand arrival of toby who I thought was the love of my life…. Avurudu ulela where Niranjan became “Avurudu Kumaraya” and how Kanchana got scolded by Somaratne for carrying away a board :P

The looks on faces when Himaya got a huge paper weight during Secret Santa …. when Mithun got a plastic bunch of roses for Secret Valentine and a letter by shamilal to Chandrani which we were all dying to read but never got a chance…. When shamilal realized we stole his blue couch… :P

Kanchana my first boss who taught me punctuality... made me watch world news because i didnt know who Condaliza Rise... I go prepared and on time for any meeting is the scolding I got from him… and the training, the confidence and trust he had in me keeps me going even today…

Shamilal, NOT my first boss but my favourite boss….. taught me ABC’s in marketing…., he was a brother I never had …. Not many bosses will be shell shocked when you cry and sweetly do something to cheer you up… he will always be the best boss anyone could ever ask for…

The reason I joined Ronique will always be Kanchana, my first boss…. But the reason I stayed for two and a half years will always be Shamilal….

Dear Ronique,
joining you will always be the best decision I made….,
you gave me
my first job which made me dream beyond boundaries….,
the best teacher I could ever wish for, an inspiration to last a lifetime…
the best boss I could ever ask for…
a brother whome I can wake in the mid night on a random day and jabber nonsense with… (mithun this is u :P)
a sister who forgets I exist….. (most of the time :P )
a lifelong friend whom I can count on for a hug when im feeling down….
i owe you for everything i've become today....

Today we all have moved on…. working hard to live our lives…. for what we still believe in … its never going to be the same… but we knew despite everything one day it will be a memory to look back and smile…
and today it makes me smile looking back at the
Great times
Fights….
Laughter, ball fists, banging on tables and screaming….
Messed up plans to tensed meetings....
Anger, Disappointments and Drama….

My home away from home for two and a half years…. an extended family I will always love…. the place which taught me that a career is not a job… the moments I spent will always stay a part of me….those days will always make me smile.... when i feel tired, sad and think i have no strength to go on....i think of the times i had at a place where beauty transcends time to make me alright….

In a world where fake people, lies, drama, backstabbing exist....in a world where values were measured only in rupees and cents....in a world where minds overruled hearts and souls..., so much love was shared... so much of memories existed... and still does...

coz
Ronique was a place where hearts overruled minds.... :)

pacheee......

Here I’m writing as promised on ur birthday…. Sweetie ur full of soo much of action and drama…. A note would be an understatement, I would have created an entire soap opera like “Praveena” if I had a sponsor to back me up with…… :P

The Carefree….. Naughty….. Tom Boy…
Your hair was like a helmet on a head, so we used to call it helmet cut,until you convinced us that it was Shah Rukh Khan’s hair cut in dilwale dulhaniya lejayenge LOL… because of u jabbering about him soo much, I started liking SRK (and now u dont like him because he is by ) you were one of the most kiddish annoying ones to be around with…. You used to draw tippex on our hands in class, again Hoshala was the innocent victim coz I drew on ur hand from the pen when u did that…. U used to sneeze loudly in class and once the entire class got scolded from 3K coz of that…. u dragged us when it rains to the corridor so we could do “dekho barish ho rahi hai” and run when a teacher passes by….
U used to know every dance step of Shah Rukh Khan and we had a time when we couldn’t stop you from dancing for “chaiya chaiya” in Kotmale during the trip…. Ur laugh was so infectious when u start giggling u make everyone around u join in…. u were rude and used to laugh at all of us all the time…. When nips ate all our food, when hoshala gets into a backstreet boys mood or maybe at a class monitor…. also when 3K’s dentures popped out while scolding the class… Remember the day I got slapped? Everyone were too shocked to do anything but stare u were the first to start laugh out loud…..

“Queen of my heart”, the pretty thing that every guy wanted to date…… ;)
I am soo tempted to write the list of admirers and the stories around….. but since its like attempting suicide I shall just highlight in point form…. ;)
Remember the guy who wrote on the walls of Shakthi “queen of my heart” :D
Remember the guy who came running to talk to u with polished shoes mesa dekak and banku dekak peralagena…
Remember the guy who drew a portrait of you on ur birthday….
Remember the guy with super pink lips…….. :P
Remember the guy who gave u a puppy? The one who drove behind u all night……? (sorry babes he will always be my favourite)
Remember the guy who was looking like Dino Morea? I truly thought he would be the one for u….
Weird Chinese guys…..
and then the pilot….. :D
Well technically, u had athletes, engineers, doctors, artists, bankers, designers etc……. and pilots :D

“pachi ge idala idala daivaye liyawila inne ara cheena kola da danne naa neda?” – Nipunika Solangaarachchi (sorry pachee I had to quote this… btw his name is Tyron)

Strong… determined…. Powerful London chic….
You reached into a new life when you were in London alone…. U believed in yourself, you fought for what u believed in, you struggled, you survived….

“Some things in life doesn’t come in golden platters, at times like that, we are left with our heart, soul determination along with a strong will power to carry us through all… if we can listen to our heart and walk towards our soul….., we can survive….”

I was and will always be proud of you for how you’ve walked through these months in your life with dignity and strength….. it was hard and it always will be to look back, but I know you will look back one day and smile at that phase in your life which made you stronger….
The tears, the pain…. the trauma …. will be ur biggest strength one day…..,
and then u can smile and say “it was worth the pain”….. and u will…., that’s my promise to u….

“she has a heart so good, every time she listens to it she ends up falling in trouble….”- Akila Kodituwakku

The Impatient Reckless woman who carries her heart in her sleeve :p
You coming back to Sri Lanka made us happy, and finally all my favourite people were back in the country… Babes you are the most reckless driver iv ever seen, the violent, careless woman who gets what she wants one way or the other….. I wanted to kill you that day when you drove all over Colombo till 4pm to find that restaurant to stalk “you know who”

“paaluwa okkoma makune pachi lankaawata awama thamai” – Nipunika Solangaarachchi

You taught beauty tips and grooming techniques to Nippa, (well you had to scream to make her do all those….. :P) (well aki and I are yet to practice things u taught us, neda aki?) Mostly…u taught me how to follow my heart and not give a damn about what the world say….to fight for what I believe in… and to STALK PEOPLE :P

“Pachee is not like a friend, she is more like a little sister who needs to be protected…., I always think “pachee ko? Monawa karagena da danne naa….”
- Hoshala Rajapakse

“Being with pachee is just like going on a wild crazy drive, just like when she is in the driving seat…. I’m tensed, I’m worried, I’m practically praying…. till she reaches a destination…., im not sure where she will turn, when she will break or when she will reverse…. :p“
- Nipunika Solangaarachchi

“she has been there for me, to thread my eyebrows, to go dancing, to sleep, to cook..….. she is so close to me and a part of my life…. im always looking out for her coz I don’t know what on earth she will be upto…. im proud of what she is today”
- Akila Kodituwakku

Pacheee…….,
I’ve never seen any other woman who stops to look at a “hot pair of alloy wheels” and with such a cleaning disorder…. (I know my room is a mess and THANK YOU for cleaning it on a weekly basis :)
You are very impatient u drive me mad, extremely unpredictable that every time I get a call from you I think “oh god I hope she is ok” you are one of the most caring and loving women I’v ever seen, you don’t give 100%, you give 200%..... and u expect same from the ones u love….
You carry your heart in your sleeve, so honest and true to yourself that you get yourself into a huge mess… u kick me randomly while sleeping, you poke me and wake me up when u want to talk about “ahem” and u stress me out so much I need a redbull if I spend two days with you at a stretch….
You are the best example of who knows how to screw situations in grand royal style….. :P and you are also the best example to follow your heart too much and end up in shit…. and the best example to follow your heart despite all blames you get to unscrew situations you screwed up by mistake… (the best quality I see in you and I will always be proud of you for going that extra mile to make an apology…. and fix back things you broke accidentally )

You are wild, you are crazy… too much to handle…. and should be handled with care…. Highly inflammable and explosive… and needs to be handled with caution….

You are one of my most favourite people in this whole world…,
One of the best gifts I could ask for,
I feel blessed to have you as a part of my life…. (although you give me heart attacks and shocks every two days)
Being with you makes me stressed….., makes me mad….. makes me happy and makes me MYSELF….
I will always be there beside you like I’ve always been, no matter where you wanna go…. (since we’ve been to hell a couple of times, preferably anywhere else)
From ironing my hair to cleaning my room, from watching stupid hindi movies to dancing to tamil songs….. from talking about old crushes to stalking men who haunt us…
you have been,
THE BESTEST BEST FRIEND i could ever ask for…..
I love you a lot…… (just saying : incase u haven’t realized it)