A dual celebration
Dressed in a simple brownish long sleeved bush shirt and trousers, he walks up slowly to the stage, bows to the audience, picks up the microphone and stands well behind just in front of the impressive display board featuring the ‘guru – gola’ duo and gives the cue to the orchestra to begin. For a good part of the next three hours, Ivor Dennis makes us feel his erstwhile teacher Sunil Santha is very much alive.
Ivor receiving a memento from Sunil Santha’s son Lanka
He may be 80 but his voice is still the same as we heard over the past five or six decades. Starting off with the first song he sang on the radio – ‘Kurulu paradeesaye’ (it was the title of the show as well), he then sang ‘Varen heen sera’ – Sunil Santha’s song which the master heard over the radio in the then popular ‘Amateur Hour’ presented by the well known actor Laddie Ranasinghe, and started looking for the voice he first thought was his own when he heard the song.
Thereafter Ivor picked a variety of songs bringing back sweet memories of the days we enjoyed the teacher and the student singing some of the best examples of Sinhala music. It’s a tragedy that these songs are hardly heard over the radio today though we are told there are over 50 channels. As Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said after handing over a token of appreciation to Ivor, the low quality of our music is something to be worried about. “Music can have such a great impact on society. Merely aping the modern trends is not going to help. Let us make an effort to use the medium of music and song to bring about unity, harmony and reconciliation,” he stressed.
In this age of numerous shows looking for ‘stars’ of one type or another, do we hear a single Sunil Santha number? Why are the judges feeling shy to get the newcomers to try singing those songs?
The more we listened to Ivor that evening we realised what we are missing. The simple lyrics written by Father Marcelline Jayakody, Rapiel Tennekoon, Hubert Dissanayake, Arisen Ahubudu and Sunil Santha himself are so meaningful. And of course, the beautiful melodies – all creations by Sunil Santha.
The organising committee deserves a pat on the back for the way they had planned the evening. It was basically a felicitation for Ivor on his 80th birthday. (In fact, his birthday was on May 28). Usually a felicitation ceremony is loaded with speeches. Here it was different – there was just one speech.
A student of Ivor’s at the Performing Arts University, Kolitha Bhanu Dissanayake – a renowned musician himself and academic, played tribute to Ivor for the most interesting way he had taught them. His subject was folk music and with a ‘rabana ‘in his hand, Ivor had demonstrated how folk songs were sung while explaining the intricacies of folk music.
The speaker referred to a sad day when the Vice Chancellor pulled up Ivor on a flimsy issue. Ivor stopped coming to the campus from the very next day. He was quite sure he was not at fault. “Just like his ‘guru’ he was a man of principles. If he felt he had not done anything wrong, he would not change his stand. With his departure we were the losers,” Kolitha Bhanu said.
Later Edward Jayakody expressed the same feelings reiterating that Ivor was a fine teacher and whatever they learnt about the country’s folk music was from the ‘guru’.
Among th guest artistes were Victor Ratnayake who sang the duet he had sung with Ivor in the film, ‘Kavuda Hari’ – a song which was an instant hit , T. M. Jayaratne and Edward Jayakody. Both T. M. and Edward sang Sunil Santha numbers. Leslie Fernando did justice to the ever popular ‘Kokiyange’. And a young singer Darshana Pramod accompanied by Ivor’s niece Amali Devmini rendered ‘Bovitiya’ showing signs of a promising future.
The evening was, from beginning to end, Ivor’s. It was a fitting tribute to his teacher and for us in the audience, it was a treat. To hear Sunil Santha’s songs from the one who always accompanied him was a rare delight. He sang some of his own numbers too. And to cap it all Ivor sang a medley of Sunil Santha numbers ending the show with ‘Lanka Lanka’ – which at one stage we considered as the unofficial national anthem – with the audience joining in.
As everyone wished, may Ivor be healthy and happy and continue to entertain us!
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Ivor Dennis to be feted at ‘Kurulu paradeesaye’We are fortunate that there is at least one person to continue the Sunil Santha tradition in Sinhala music. Ivor ...
Old Anandians’ songs to rememberAs Ananda College commemorates its 125th year, the Old Anandians Sports Club celebrates its 25th annual weekend outing this year ...
Sunil Aiya turns sixtyPopular and one of the most controversial singers in the Sri Lankan music scene Sunil Perera, celebrated his sixtieth birthday ...
Chintha sings at JKCMaiden concert of singer Chintha Priyangani will come alive at the Jana Kale Kendraya (JKC) in Battaramulla on 2 November ...
Much awaited ‘Sa’ DVD outThose who missed the final performance of Victor Ratnayake’s ‘Sa’ can now have the consolation of enjoying the DVD of ...