5th Column

My dear Amaradeva Master,
It is with shock and great sorrow that I write these words, hearing that you have passed on to the Land of Never Return quite suddenly. We knew that you were only a month shy of your eighty ninth birthday, but you attended a public function only a few days ago, so this is a great shock to us.
Of course, the nation knew you mostly as a singer. Your haunting voice was your hallmark, seducing us with your unmatched style, be it rendering the patriotic ‘sasara wasana thuru’ or the romantic ‘nim him sewwa maa sasarey’. You sang yourself into the hearts and minds of millions so effortlessly.

For years, our music was based on what was borrowed from either the East or the West. As you began to compose and develop music, that changed. That is why, perhaps your most notable achievement- apart from all those memorable songs – was to create a style of music that we could call our very own.

As your songs became immortal classics that stood the test of time, your fame grew far and wide and many honours came your way. The Maldives asked you to compose their national anthem. The Magsaysay award was bestowed on you. India and France conferred their national honours on you.

Lauded with such accolades, most people would have opted to make the most of it, amassing mansions and millions. As technology changed, other artistes around you jumped on the music video bandwagon in search of fame and fortune but you resisted that temptation too.
Ours is a country that has produced many great men and women. However, if we were asked to name our greatest king, President or Prime Minister, actor, writer, cricketer or soldier there would be a healthy debate as to who that would be. As for our greatest musician though, there is only one – you!

You also lent a helping hand to many an up-and-coming singer in your own silent way. You may been a ‘visharada’ or ‘pandith’ and the most sought after name in the music industry but that did not prevent you from singing a duet with someone who was more than fifty years younger than you!

So, what was truly great about you was not only your musical talent but your humility. You became a household name but, the more your fame spread the humbler you became. You remained the simplest of men, small in stature but big in heart, clad in your sarong and always with your disarming smile.

At a time when everything in our country is political and everyone seeks the blessings of politicians to achieve their goals, you always kept a safe distance away from them, although they all wanted to be seen with you. Be they Blue or Green, they all wanted to fete you but you refused to fall at their feet.

It is for these reasons – quite apart from your music and your songs which will surely remain with us for generations to come – that people will remember you. In a country desperately short of heroes, you were a true hero – and it is it not just because of your music but because you were a great human being.

The entire nation grieved your passing as you left the stage for the final time as the sun set over Independence Square yesterday. We can take consolation from the fact that it was so sudden, you did not have to suffer with ill health for even a day. You left us just as you lived – with minimum fuss.

Farewell, dear Amaradeva Master. You can rest assured that you left a rich legacy of not only songs and music but simplicity and modesty that is unsurpassed. Your place in our history is assured and you have become what your name implies: an ‘amara Deva’ or ‘immortal God’ of Sri Lankan music.

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS: Amaradeva Master, as we bid farewell to you yesterday, although most would have wished that you attain ‘Nibbana’ they may have also secretly wished, as you did in the song ‘sasara wasana thuru’ that you be born amongst us, in this nation of ours once again. And, as you also wished in the song ‘maa mala pasu’, millions of people not known to you would have hummed a sad melody. Truly, it is the end of an era. The sound has gone out of our lives forever. The voice of the nation is still.