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We are looking for a wife

To be our son’s joy.

But we have criteria

For marriage with our beloved boy.

She must be smart

From educated kin

But putting career before family

That is an unholy sin.

So she must resign immediately

From her occupation

To care for husband and house

- A wife’s true vocation.

She must be adept

In every culinary skill

But also accept her spouse’s judgement

On all cooked meals.

We don’t want a timid bird

In our family tree

Nor a boisterous lout

- That’d shame our ancestry.

She must bear many a child

And treat each as king

But never forget that

Husband is god in all things.

If you can tick every box,

And match our fit,

Then yours is our world

And every freedom in it!

Kanya London

Sahani Gunasekara, 20, is a

Year 2 Economics student at UEA. 

So, tell me about Kanyä London.

Kanyä London is a contemporary saree brand, the designs are quite westernised and simple.

What made you start up the company?

Since I was 16 I knew I wanted to go into designing and have my own brand. However I ended up doing an economics degree because of my parents so when I started first year of Economics, I realised how I didn't want to end up doing something I didn't have a passion for, so that's why I decided to start Kanyä London.

What problems did you face at the beginning?

The problems I faced were finding the right resources for my sarees; materials, sewing machines, dummies and being able to keep track of finances.

How did you overcome these obstacles? 

Doing a lot of research, asking for samples from different companies and splitting the work with other people. Since I found it hard to keep track of finances, I got someone else to do it for me. Team work helps a lot!

What did you enjoy most about the company? 

The thing that I enjoy most about the company is the creativity, having my designs come to real life and then getting a positive reaction from customers.

What are your future plans? 

I hope to expand the brand and have a men's line as well. 

What advice can you give to prospective entrepreneurs?

The best advice I can give is that you can't do everything yourself. Sometimes it's alright to split up the work, having someone else handle things you're not good at. Plan and research, trial and error are the key words to starting your business. Last but not least, everything takes time, so be patient!

You can find Kanyä London's new Spring Collection at www.kanyalondon.com.

Instagram: @kanyalondon

UEA Global

Japanese Society stall

The UEA Global event was an opportunity for cultures to showcase their talent, cuisine and traditions. A variety of students represented their country of origin and performed dances, poetry, made their countries’ signature dish and set out activities for people to try. Below are just a few pictures of what featured in this colourful event:

Japanese Society calligraphy

The Japanese Society let visitors wear their beautifully vibrant kimonos, taught them how to craft an assortment of origami objects, sold their handmade Japanese themed notebooks and set out a range of fish and vegetable sushi for visitors to taste and enjoy. They also performed an upbeat soranbushi dance. 

The hypnotic Korean dance

The Korean Society also prepared some yummy snacks, including sesame snaps, and rice puff cakes. They allowed visitors to try on their traditional Korean garb, the Hanbok, and learn to write their name in Korean. 
They followed up with an absolutely mesmerizing traditional Korean fan dance, it definitely captivated the audience as everyone stared in awe at the elegance and beauty of their coordinated fan dance.

The Norwegian Society made visitors hearty traditional waffles with strawberry jam, cream and handed out visitors some of their traditional Norwegian candy- yummy! 

There were plenty of amazing performances including the Latin American traditional dance and salsa dance, the American cheer leading dance, a sweet solo performance from the Hong Kong society and of course, the Bengali society ended the event with thought provoking poetry by Eureka and Rahul, (both pictured below), as well as Afia and Aya, and a dance performance.

Bengali Poetry

Bengali Dance

Overall it was an amazing performance and effort by everyone involved. UEA Global was a fun-filled, culturally enriching event.