Manil Pathirana Founder, Boutique Ranmal

I first heard about Boutique Ranmal from my mother and her five sisters. They would often reminisce fondly of their time spent at Colombo’s premier fashion retail store. My grandmother used to share many a tales of all the times she would spend at Ranmal’s watching her six daughters get styled by the beautiful, statuesque and very fashionable entrepreneur of the store, and not to mention the stern look she had to often give her daughters when they were never ready to leave! My mother recalls her bridal trousseau being bought at the store, including an entire new wardrobe for her to take with her when she moved to London as a young wife, at the age of eighteen, and recalls how all the outfits she took with her were admired by all her friends in London; Boutique Ranmal, launched in 1976, was certainly a fashion-forward store!  

When I first met this dynamic entrepreneur, I was in awe! Aged gracefully, attired in a beautiful sari with a chain of pearls loosely draped around her neck, she looked exactly as how my grandmother had once described her. She had a magnetic personality and I simply couldn’t stop engaging her in conversation. I was fairly certain many a times during our first encounter, she may have wanted to catch a break, but she patiently kept on continuing to answer all my inquisitive questions. Over the years, I have enjoyed listening to many of her stories from yesteryear, a time when life was much simpler and far less complicated in Sri Lanka. I have quietly watched her work with Alzheimer’s patients at the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation (LAF) during several visits to the center for meetings when we have collaborated with their team to be their official Media Partners for fundraising events they have organized in the past.

She is creative, observant, courageous and empowered. She launched and managed a highly successful, fashion retail store whilst raising three young children, all of whom went on to become accomplished professionals in three different fields; Ranmali - Head of Arts, British Council and South Asia Representative for the Royal Academy of Dance, UK, Ranil – Director Hirdramani Group, and Sonali – Managing Editor, Bloomberg News, New York.  She is kind, empathetic and diplomatic, and she was the island’s first female entrepreneur in the fashion retail space; Manil Sriyanthi Pathirana. 

Share with us a summary of your personal journey? 
I was born into a loving and closely knit family, and lived down Fredericka Road, Wellawatta, my entire childhood. My father, M.S Gunawardene, worked for the Commercial Company as a Draftsman and my mother, Wimala, was a homemaker, from whom I got my cooking skills and green thumb. My mother grew roses in the heat of Colombo and made jam from the damson tree in the garden. My sister Nelun and I schooled at Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, where she was the academic, whilst I excelled in sports becoming Games Captain in my final year. I played netball, badminton, table tennis, and tennis and was blessed with friends who were like sisters forgetting caste, creed, or religion. My gang of friends, still friends to this day, consisted of the studious ones as well as artists, cookery experts and comedians! Others excelled as dancers, actresses, poets, musicians, tailors, and so on, who surprisingly were also adapt at being school leaders taking an active role to keep the school flag flying high. Of course, while we got up to all sorts of high jinks we were extremely quiet and coy when the Irish nuns were around! I'm sure many who read this will laugh at the recollection of what Pam, Rosemary, Mignonne, Anthea and I did or said to Mother Annunciation or Miss Strange. 

At the age of twenty-two, I was one of the first amongst my friends and cousins to get married and was at the butt-end of many jokes. Together with a kind and loving husband, Chandra, I learnt to manage a home, and was blessed with three caring children; Ranmali, Ranil and Sonali. My husband was a Management Consultant and an active member of the Lion’s Club. He was District Governor 306, Lions International. Today, I am surrounded by love in the absence of Chandra by the children, their spouses, Kumar, Debika and Frank, and my wonderful grandchildren, Randev, Raaya and Raneka.

Share with us a summary of your professional journey?
When my youngest, Sonali was three years old, we were living down Bagatelle Terrace in Bambalapitiya. In the same premises, my dear friend Stephanie Rambukwella had a popular beauty salon called ‘Capri’ in the flat above us. Stephanie gave me the idea of organizing a little sales outlet in my home for people to consign items they brought back from overseas trips. As Sri Lanka was still in a Socialist era and imported goods weren't available, I felt this could be a viable idea. In preparation for this I analyzed the types of clothes people wore, thought about what trends people followed and how many of the smart ladies I met, from all walks of life, liked to dress. Partitioning a little section of my house, I started the first sale with a saree given to me by my supportive friend, Stephanie. Very soon her clients from the salon and my friends who heard about my new venture supported me by bring in imported items for sale. When a building on Galle Road, very near to the renowned ‘Dasa Building’ became vacant, I was encouraged to start my own boutique store there. I launched Boutique Ranmal, named after my oldest daughter, Ranmali. At the time, there was no other store to rival my idea, so I had a short time of exclusivity by being the first. My shop window was a showcase of products and I learned to mix and match colours, designs and textures to make it interesting. I always chose one exclusive design and colour of a particular item because no one would be happy to see the same outfit worn by another at a social event. I kept prices affordable unless a client ordered a specific outfit for an engagement, wedding or special occasion. This boosted my popularity and helped me gain a footing in the market. 

I use to travel frequently to Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi, whenever the opportunity arose. I had many friends and contacts through the Lions Club and hence I was able to go to exclusive boutiques and select goods of my choice that suited the taste of my clients. My Sales team also began to understand the brand and quickly learned to select the type of things I would pick out for my clients. The success of the shop was reliant on good staff and first amongst these was a dear friend, Enid Perera, who was the Manageress. I also had the daughters of some of our helpers at home come to work for me in the shop. Everyone just loved arranging and selling beautiful items they had never seen before and dressing the mannequins and draping sarees and artfully placing items in the shop windows to tempt clients. 

The support of my helpful husband and faithful staff enabled me to spend quality time in the shop with my clients who always wanted me to personally help them choose clothes or accessories. 'Manil, what do you think?' was often a question once they saw something and I needed to be on hand to give them advice on whether something would suit them or not. I wanted my clients to look well and to feel comfortable in their choices. I also very much enjoyed the theatre, films, classical music concerts and sporting events including the Royal Thomian big match. I also helped advertise these events and fundraisers by displaying posters in the shop window. 

Share with us a career highlight?

I had the privilege of enjoying the patronage of Sri Lanka's First Ladies such as the elegant Mrs. Elena Jayawardena and the charming Mrs. Hema Premadasa, as well as a host of other distinguished ladies, socialites, film stars, wives of many prominent Ministers, top Executives and Corporates and so on. However, the highlight of my career was probably being part of many fashion shows helping worthy charities that fast-tracked Boutique Ranmal into being a household name in Sri Lanka and overseas. I must also mention the beautiful pure silk Kanjivaram and Ganga Jamna sarees dear Oosha Saravanamuttu snapped up to sport with her jasmine konde-malas and beautiful jewellery that she wore at all her ballet concerts, and everywhere she went. Similarly, my daughter Ranmali's involvement in the theatre meant that I was invited to be a part of all the big musicals and plays like My Fair Lady and Evita. The support for the arts was something I enjoyed providing through the shop and have been elated to see the success achieved for the wonderful shows at the Lionel Wendt that were put on by Steve de la Zilwa, Graham Hatch and many others that delighted audiences at the time. The shop was certainly the place to visit to buy everything from perfume to a trousseau, sarees for a special occasion or a swimsuit, but the shop was also about long term friendships. Over the years, many clients became friends. Some would bring things for sale and stay for a chat when they were lonely at home and others would drop in on their way home from the supermarket just to see what was on the shelves. We also had one lady who would come and talk to the mannequins while standing outside on the road! 

Were your friends and family supportive of your business?

I never had anyone demoralize or discourage me at any point in time and was always encouraged to do better with kindness and sincerity. My friends, Yvette, Pam and Sita, had similar establishments but we were good family friends and we met quite often at events in our homes where we shared our knowledge and helped each other to do better.

Why did you decide to wind up your successful business?

In 1983, during the riots in Colombo, the shop was nearly burned down by the mob. Chandra went out and spoke to them and tried to stop the burning but they wouldn't listen to reason. It was a terrible time and so many people lost loved ones and precious possessions. Many properties along Galle road were attacked and burned at that time and I was so thankful that my shop was spared. Our other fears were shoplifters, fire hazards, robberies and demonstrations or protests that took place. I wound up my business because I have always thought that everything in life has a time limit and as fashion became too colourful and shiny or too 'blingy' for my taste, I knew it was time to say 'adieu' with my older fashion sense and ideas. I wrapped up after a twenty-six year run. 
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before beginning your career what would it be?
I would probably say, 'be your own boss and go for it alone.’ I would encourage all young people to do the same. 

Share with us a few happy memories from the past?

I was very close with my band of cousins from my mother's side, the Gunaratne's. Us cousins got up to all sorts of mischief. For example, when I was about fourteen years old, my cousin, late Sunil de Silva (former Attorney General of Sri Lanka) organized a funeral for a rat to mimic a funeral of our grandfather. While lighting ‘the pyre’ we set fire to the banana trees and received a good scolding from our parents! We used to waylay the family matchmaker and find out about the proposals being brought for the cousins and make fun of the visiting grooms. These were the days of our childhood. Sunil and I were typically the ringleaders with the support of Navin and many others, while Sriya and others kept in the background. The smaller cousins like my sister Nelun, Dayanthe and the rest were sometimes not included because they were too young. The neighborhood where I grew up was very interesting. The young girls and boys gathered at different homes in the evenings under the mango, olive, jambu or guava trees to make achcharu and climb trees or play games. I eventually followed a Montessori Course ending up as a teacher at Muslim Ladies College, teaching girls in Grade Two. I also played the piano for drill and singing classes for the school. It was a very rewarding experience where I made friends with parents from all corners of the country enjoying attending their lavish weddings and functions where we tasted the best biriyani and watalappan! I was "Miss Manil" to all of them, and today when I'm at the supermarket or attending a function someone often comes and says, 'Miss Manil, hello!' and when I turn around and try to figure out who it is, as at times they are veiled, and I can’t recognize them from the fun-loving school girls of their youth. 

Share with us details of charities you have supported in the past?

My husband and I joined the Lions Club, and my husband, Chandra, went onto become a District Governor in 1983. I organized many fashion shows and coffee mornings for our annual fundraisers and was able to use my business at Ranmals to help our charitable endeavours. We also organized events such as the first Mrs Sri Lanka pageant, won by the beautiful Mrs. Rosy Senanayake, as well as the Charming Grandmother contest, Mother and Daughter fashion shows, Black and White Evenings of elegance and so on. All these events kept me busy and content. I was also a Founding Member of the Sri Lanka Housewives Association where I was also a Past President. I have been a member now for over fifty years. I helped organize fashion shows using our own members as models who were trained by former Beauty Queens such as Angela Seneviratne, who were always willing to help a worthy cause. 

Most recently, I have really enjoyed volunteering weekly with the Alzheimer's Foundation. I joined a band of friends including childhood tennis partners like Srima Seneviratne, and we look after and help entertain a group of Alzheimers patients every Monday. Lorraine Yu is an inspiration to us all for her twenty years of service. I bring my skills as a Montessori teacher to work with these patients and play the piano for a singalong that features songs they all remember whether it be 'Twinkle Twinkle' or Elvis Presley. It's quite a rewarding experience to witness our patients enjoy the music, filled with laughter. It is also a great way to reconnect with their past. We also have held sales and walks to raise funds for this worthy cause and I remain committed to doing all that I can for all the charities from the Lions Club, Housewives Association and Alzheimers, to name a few. 

How do you want to be remembered one day?

I'm Amma, 'Aunty Manil' and very specially 'Aachchi' to my three grandchildren, so when I think about how I want to be remembered along with all of the above, is as a good daughter, sister, wife and mother, and also as a faithful, fun-loving friend who is helpful.