Rekindling the love for Lanka
By Ramesh Uvais

Ten years ago Robert Taylor could not have simply escaped without being recognized as easily as he does today. Then, Britain’s Robert Taylor was almost a household name in Sri Lanka and was better known as ‘Mr. Follow Me’ for the pivotal role he played in designing and presenting the famous ‘Follow Me’ series – one of the most successful English educational programmes in the early nineties.

As a determined 22-year-old, Robert teamed up with Frances Winter, Andrew Bennett and Colombo International School’s Elizabeth Moir in dishing out that popular multi-media educational programme that attracted millions of Lankans, big and small.

Having fulfilled his mission here, somewhere in 1992, Robert left Sri Lanka not only with a contended mind-frame but also carrying with him big, big dreams and sweet memories about what he calls an amazingly beautiful country.

And today, after more than ten years, Robert is back in Sri Lanka on a brief vacation to rekindle his affair with the country he loved and cherished so much.
Ten years is indeed a long break. How did he manage to keep in touch with the country and what changes does he see in Sri Lanka today?

“I have always kept in touch with Sri Lanka through friends and websites. My bond with your country has been more of an emotional nature. Having worked with loads of Lankans I have found that the people are really warm and friendly and that’s marvellous,” Robert says setting the tones for frank speak.

While the world is moving at jet speed, or even faster, especially in areas like Technology, Robert says he regrets that little attempt has been taken by the authorities to keep pace with the ongoing global trend.

“When we met your late President Ranasinghe Premadasa during the ‘Follow me’ days, he showed great enthusiasm and motivated us to get the educational programme off the ground. But today I don’t see any such attempt towards educational development, especially in English language training,” Robert says showing me his temporary driving permit issued by the Automobile Association (AAA) on June 30, this year and the previous one issued on April 2, 1992.

“Just look at these. Do you see any change after more than 10 years. It’s the same old typewritten format. It’s shocking that the bureaucratic approach has not changed despite giant global technological revolutions”, Robert says, however stressing that such drawbacks were not reason enough to spoil the love he had for Sri Lanka.

The small screen was not a strange platform for Robert then, when he not only came on TV to present English lessons but also reached the masses via commercials like the Perma Sharp advertisement.

Recalling his ‘Follow me’ days here, he says he was proud to be associated with such a programme that attracted the attention of more than six million people during prime time. Besides fulfilling its prime task of providing an English language study course administered by Britain’s Warwick University and recognized by the Examinations Department here, the series also provided much entertainment via print and the electronic media. Robert also spoke of the challenging days during his involvement with the production of ‘Mayuri’ – another English language educational teledrama, with a Sri Lankan flavour.

“All those were done at the request of the Premadasa government as it realized the lack of proper English knowledge was going to be a hurdle to many Sri Lankans in career development,” Robert reminisces giving us a hint that he could even today design such English language programmes to suit Lankan tastes. Has he seen any major changes in the country during the last ten years?

“Though the majority say that things have changed here dramatically and were looking at better days ahead, from my personal viewpoint I don’t see such a big difference. Comparing newspaper reports then and now, I find that even ten years ago there were moves to resolve the ethnic issue but of course, today there is a global push to achieve this goal.

As an outsider who loves the country, I firmly believe that sustainable peace should only come through negotiations and compromise,” Robert Taylor who heads a well-known PR company in London explains, while his Finnish fiancée Tinka Tschamurov contributed little doses of smiles to our conversation.

“This is my first visit to your country and it’s been a tremendous place. I have been to some lovely, colourful places thanks to my personal tour guide, Robert. We look forward to make a trip to Trincomalee before we wind up our brief tour, but I’d always dream of coming back to this lovely country soon. It’s so irresistible,” Tinka says with a laugh while Robert endorses the same view vowing to make frequent comebacks in search of true happiness.

Sunil Shantha: The unsung hero
By Ramesh Uvais
Musicians, like old soldiers never die because their rhythmetic tunes remain forever to touch the heartstrings of music lovers, generation after generation.
The entry of Sunil Shantha into the local music scene in the 1940s indeed marked a significant milestone in the country’s music history.

As Sri Lankans, we may hold different views in terms of religion, politics or any other beliefs, but when it comes to appreciating the music prowess of Visharadha Sunil Shantha, we all stand united under one single banner.
One feels, the impact made by Sunil in a brief but wondrous spell of less than a decade, was simply astonishing if not miraculous.

Born to a Catholic family at Kepungoda in Pamunugama on April 14, 1915, Sunil had his early education at Jaela, Dehiyagatha Vidyalaya before entering the Maggona Teacher Training School in 1936. Having got his maiden teaching appointment at the Galle Calvary Hill, he served there for three years as the Music and Arts teacher.

In 1939, he left for India to follow music courses at the Shanthinikethan and Bathkande institutes and passed out with flying colours four years later. On his return to Sri Lanka in 1944 armed with Visharada degrees both in music and singing, Sunil was rated as a Special Grade radio artiste. That was the beginning of a fascinating musician who strived hard to search for a truly uncorrupt Sinhala rhythm to our music tunes.

Then too, there were critics who scoffed at people who tried to be creative but Sunil never gave up his mission because he was stunningly committed to the task of creating a new Sinhala music tradition that could be called our own.
Starting in the early days with renderings like Olu Pipeela, Handapane, Suwanda Rosa Mal Nela, Diyagoda Hemathena, Mihikatha Nalawala and Lanka Lanka, Sunil Shantha went on to create more than 200 memorable musical gems – all carrying the stamp of a true Sinhala flavour.

This was the era when another musician of repute, Ananda Samarakoon was also trying to establish a foundation for a truly Sinhala artistic music, but he was unable to totally deviate from the trend of imitating foreign tunes. In this backdrop, Sunil Shantha joining hands with Ananda Samarakoon boldly made giant strides strongly advocating the need for a musical tradition of our own.
Then came in 1952, what was seen by many as the biggest blow to the Sinhala music arena, when Radio Ceylon got down India’s Ratanjankar (also Sunil’s Bathkande Guru) for an audition at Radio Ceylon.

Sunil and Ananda strongly criticized the move saying they were not prepared to let a foreigner test the skills of Sri Lankan artistes. Finally, the Ratanjakar boycott led to their dismissal from the Radio Ceylon, thus virtually marking the tragic end of an illustrious career of a true Lankan son, whose only ‘crime’ was trying to establish a purely Sri Lankan identity.

According to one of Sunil’s Radio Ceylon colleagues – veteran musician and vocalist, Narada Dissasekara, he together with some top Radio Ceylon officials had acted as peacemakers to bring Sunil back to the base, but the headstrong traits in Sunil never made him cow down to any such compromise.

Meanwhile, certain Radio Ceylon rival elements that were apparently jealous of Sunil Shantha’s rising popularity began to celebrate Sunil’s exit by distorting and damaging the discs containing the songs of Sunil Shantha.

Later, a former Radio Ceylon Director General, S. B. Senanayake had entrusted Narada Disaasekara – who also worked as a Sound Engineer – with the task of rectifying the damages and bringing the discs back to normal condition.
Narada, speaking to the TV Times explained the extent of painstaking efforts he took for months to bring the discs back to normal. The country should pay tribute to their efforts, without which we would have not known if there was a man called Sunil Shantha.

Narada also told the TV Times another story, which was not known to many. “P. Dunstan de Silva was another Chief at the Radio Ceylon under whom I worked. One day he told me that when he met Ratanjankar in India, he had inquired about his students Lionel Edirisinghe and Sunil Shantha. Mr. Silva said he had told that Lionel was heading a music institute in Sri Lanka and was working hard in developing the Indian music styles while Sunil Shantha was trying to create a new Sinhala music formula. Ratanjankar had at once said, “Why should Lionel worry much about our music.

We are there to take care of that. I think Sunil is doing the right thing”, Narada said outlining briefly the sufferings Sunil had undergone after he was ousted from Radio Ceylon.

It is so tragic that Sunil Shantha had to spend his life’s last lap in his Dehiyagatha hometown suffering in abject poverty – eking out a living selling textiles, repairing radios, bicycles, cameras and kerosene lamps.
A heartbroken Sunil breathed his last on April 11, 1981, weeks after he lost his youngest son in a swimming pool tragedy.

Like Sunil Shantha, today his songs are also looked upon with dignity and honour – but if only the relevant authorities had allowed him to indulge in his pet passion for many more years…. the tone of our own music tradition might have certainly been different today.

This deep grief and pain of mind must have surely gripped the soul of Sunil Shantha when he bade farewell to the nation, which also comprised stupid bureaucrats who never bothered to realize his worth.