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| Thursday, 17 April 2003 |
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Sunil Santha's songs, the finest poetry of the age - music maestro Colombo East group correspondent The 22nd Sunil Santha annual commemoration was held at the J. R. Jayewardene Centre, Colombo, amidst a large and distinguished gathering of musicians, poets, authors, scholars, dramatists, artistes and journalists. Hela Havula leader, poet Arisen Ahubudu presided. W. J. M. Lokubandara, Minister of Justice, Buddhist Affairs and Ethnic Integration and Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, Minister of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs participated. Ivor Dennis, Kala Surini, Latha Walpola sang songs sung by Sunil Santha. Troupes of girls trained by Nayani Wijesekera sang some creations of Sunil Santha with Sisira Senaratne and Indrani Senaratne. The event was organised jointly by the National Book Development Board and the Sunil Santha Association. Music maestro, Sudath Samarasinghe of the National Institute of Education making the keynote address sang many of Sunil Santha's popular songs, analysed them and elucidated their aesthetic values and specific meanings. He opened his speech with references to Sunil Santha's biography. Sunil had come first in the island at the School Leaving Examination and then qualified as a teacher. In 1938 he had proceeded to Shantiniketan and Bhatkanda University of Aesthetics and qualified at the highest level in vocal and instrumental music. He returned to Lanka in 1940 as Sunil Santha. Although he had studied the Indian forms of music there, his desire was to develop an indigenous form of music in his motherland. His maternal uncle, Rev. Fr. Moses A. Perera, a pillar of the Hela Havula introduced Sunil Santha to the Hela Havula through his intimate friend, Jayantha Weerasekera, the then leader of the movement. From then on until his premature death on 11.4.1981 he did everything possible to develop and propagate a genuine form of Sinhala song and music. Most of the songs Sunil sang to the unstinted admiration and joy of his audiences throughout the island were the creations of the scholarly poets of the Hela Havula such as Munidasa Cumaratunga, Jayantha Weerasekera, Jayamaha Wellala, Raipiyel Tennakoon, Hubert Dissanayake, Gunapala Senadeera, Arisen Ahubudu and others. The speaker emphasised that this was the finest poetry of the age. The speaker Sudath Samarasinghe stressed the need to introduce Sunil Santha's songs to the school curriculum. That would give the children a genuine cultural orientation and a nationalist outlook, which they sadly lack today. Sunil Santha was the one signer in Lanka who could pronounce Sinhala letters and words accurately and meaningfully. W. J. M. Lokubandara, Minister of Justice and Buddhist Affairs reminded that Sunil Santha's thinking on language, literature, culture, nationalism, music and song were influenced by Munidasa Cumaratunga's writings. Cumaratunga's poetical criticism which is unique, his poetry and above all his Virith Vaekiya and Hela Meeaesiya Book I have had a direct impact on Sunil. He became a forceful member of the Hela Movement from the late forties until his premature demise. It is not possible to speak of Sunil Santha and the Hela Havula apart because his contribution to the Hela Movement was so significant and great. The sterling personal characters of the two were very similar. They would not compromise their principles for anything. They never went after money. And national development was their main concern, concluded the Minister. |
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