LIFESTYLE
Sandamini Perera
In conversation with Ashwini Vethakan
JOURNEY OF LIFE
Born in
1972
Alma mater
Vidyakara Girls’ School (Maharagama)
Family members
My husband (Chaminda) and our sons (Mesath and Sanmith)
Wanted to be
A simple woman
Is (but didn’t want to be)
Someone who never wanted to lead a busy life
Driven by
Pain and challenge
Would like to drive
People towards a better purpose
Moments you would like to go back to
My days in school
Best advice received
Believe that criticisms of me are expressed for my own good
INTIMATE AND INSPIRING
Happy place
My office
Likes to play
Any sporty and enjoyable activity with my kids and friends
Likes to watch
Travel shows, documentaries and movies
Most unforgettable event
The day I became a mother
Most forgettable event
It’s forgotten
Success to me is
Fulfilment
Purpose in life
Making myself and those around me happy
Items on the bucket list for the next six months
Visiting 10 unseen places in Sri Lanka, improving my ability to maintain the headstand position in yoga to 10 minutes and taking a 10 kilometre morning walk for an hour
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Mantra to live by
Success doesn’t come easy
Most hated chore
Firing people
Impressed by
Commitment and effort
Hobbies
Listening to music and dancing
Pet peeves
Negativity, impulsiveness and laziness
What you think about when you’re in the car
The blessings I have received in life
The best part about working in the real estate sector
Real estate is predominantly a male dominated field so it’s a major challenge for a woman to work among men
What you love about the sector
The opportunity to travel the length and breadth of this country
An aspect you appreciate about the real estate sector
When projects are in the process of being designed and constructed, I enjoy designing the interior and landscape – and seeing to every minute detail
Your approach to the business aspect of working in the sector
Purchasing houses or land calls for a lifetime investment – and in this scenario, I need to be very focussed, serious and careful
How the real estate sector has impacted your life
I cherish the fact that I’m in the real estate sector because it enables me to flex my creative muscles
Items on the bucket list following retirement
Practising yoga for long hours and enjoying a long holiday without my mobile phone, or having to see to any emails or WhatsApp messages
Three must-haves
Love, health and happiness
What you would like to have
Freedom, money and satisfaction
The most romantic thing anyone has done for you
Bringing a smile on my face the moment after I’ve cried
A little-known fact about you
I do get angry at times
FAVOURITES
Day of the week
Friday
Colour
White
Work wear
Loose-fitting clothes
Leisure wear
Dresses
Brands
Prime, Dilmah and Spa Ceylon
Drink
Water
Local holiday destination
Kandy
Overseas holiday destination
Europe
Chill out spot
Home
Cuisines
Sri Lankan, Indian and Japanese
Actors
Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Shah Rukh Khan
Movies
The Notebook and The Blind Side
Authors
Sidney Sheldon and Martin Wickramasinghe
Favourite quote from a movie
“Courage is a hard thing to figure out. You could have courage based on dumb ideas or mistakes.” – The Blind Side
Favourite local civil servant
Jayantha Dhanapala
Favourite international civil servant
Kofi Annan
Obsessed with
Nothing
Likely retirement destination
Sri Lanka, of course – it’s my motherland
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE
When you dance, you look like…
I’m having fun
The first thing you notice when meeting someone
If he or she is serious or easygoing
Recently laughed out loud when…
Very difficult tasks were achieved with the Prime teams
Saddened when
I’m let down
You’re challenged by
Things that become difficult
Children are…
Angels from heaven
Colombo in a few words
Lots of potential but taken for granted
Sri Lanka in a few words
The most beautiful country with potential but is ruined by corrupt politicians and an ignorant public
The world is…
What we build
PICK ONE
Memory skills on a scale of 0 to 10
Seven
Computer ability in one word
Average
Most productive in the morning, noon or night
Morning
A leader or follower by nature
Leader
Cook or foodie
Cook
Quality or quantity
Quality
The glass is half full or half empty
Half full
Work or play after retirement
Play
The most delightful word you can think of
‘Can’
Do you consider yourself to be a student or teacher?
Both
A technology that you think will transform the future
A scanner that would scan people
Your most used word or phrase
‘Will do’
Role model
My mother
Yourself in a few words
Simple, humble and flexible
Motto in life
Be simple, do your best and keep moving
