Rare as an uncut diamond

Ishara Jayawardane

Erandi Banneyake 12 years old - released her second single on January 25. Her song is titled Children of the Nation. Prior to this in 2009, Erandi released her first single Island Girl.

The beautiful lyrics of Island girl and Erandi’s voice make the song wonderful to listen to. This is part from her song:

“I’m brown and proud, singing this out loud…

why don’t you join the crowd and sing this for a mother land…

I will never change, my love for you remains…

even though I’m far away, I still miss your golden sand”

Erandi’s second single is bound to be equally captivating to audiences.

“Children of the Nation is a song about all children, all of us together. Since my first song was about me, this time, the song is going to be about all of us. In Children of the nation, I sing in three different languages - Sinhala, Tamil and English, so all Sri Lankans can understand it in their own language. Speaking Tamil was a very hard thing because I didn’t know any Tamil at all…Sinhalese was okay, I can understand it but I can’t speak it, so I reply in English,” little Erandi said.

Throughout Erandi’s life she has been fortunate to have so many guardian angels in the form of her father and producer Krishan Maheson. Recognizing her talent from an early age, prominent figures in the music industry rallied around her to try and help her with incredible potential and blossom. In his own words, Erandi’s father, Mangala, said that Krishan Maheson brings out the best in Erandi. Everyone who loves Erandi encouraged her to develop her talents from the beginning.

Right throughout her musical transformation Erandi has been with Krishan Maheson who along with her father has taken on the role of her teacher. Island Girl was produced by Krishan and so was Children of the Nation which was recorded at Krishan’s recording studio. He also provided the lyrics along with Noel Arokiam and Dinesh Saranga.

By writing the English words needed to be sung in Sinhala and Tamil, Erandi was taught how to pronounce them. Children of the Nation includes four lines in Sinhala and four lines in Tamil and the rest of it is in English. The person who taught her all this is her father who is the apple of her eye.

“It was fun working with Krishan aiya, Noel ayia and Dinesh aiya. They were very kind to me so if I made a mistake they would say; Nangi, say it a little higher and they were very encouraging,” Erandi added.

“There were three objectives to Island Girl. One was creating an original song, the second objective was for us to bond and bring out Erandi’s talent and thirdly to create something to identify her and our own identity. She is not an Australian but she has been brought up there and I bring her to Sri Lanka often to show her that this is her country,” Mangala further said.

Mangala went on to explain that when making that song, the war was not over in Sri Lanka. They were trying to highlight the fact that Sri Lanka is a happy nation and were encouraging people to be united. The song was released before the war ended.

“Children of the Nations, is for the new generation of children in Sri Lanka who will take the country forward. It is still more of a patriotic song and our objective is to produce something in line with our own identity,” pointed out Mangala.

“Island Girl provided me with the experience to record my own songs. When I was young I always wanted to record my own songs. So I’ve done that. I also want to show who I am; I am a citizen of Sri Lanka, I am brown and proud. It is also about my father and me bonding” added Erandi.

Erandi’s ability to sing songs other than her originals is another feather in her hat. Erandi’s father was so proud of his daughter’s talent that he asked Erandi to sing Manic Monday and Hero in my presence and I must add that her voice was truly remarkable.

On behalf of all our readers I wish Erandi all the best for her future and may she continue to flourish in the field of music.