Ceylon Today Editorial

Sunil Santha to Amaradeva

06 November 2016

From Sunil Santha to Pandit W. D. Amaradeva, Sri Lanka has come a long way in recognizing its lyricists and singers on the Sinhala music scene. Whilst Sunil Santha had to pump petrol, working at a petrol shed to make a living, because his songs and his singing didn't bring him enough money, despite his remarkable talent, Amaradeva however had to undergo no such hardships.

Recognized by politicians and connoisseurs alike, they ensured that he lived a comfortable material life, free of want or need. Amaradeva who died on Thursday was cremated with full State honours yesterday, whereas Sunil Santha died, virtually a pauper, unheralded and unsung.

Another prominent Sinhala artiste who suffered a similar fate as Sunil Santha was C.T. Fernando. He who literally dazzled the Sinhala music scene with his baila in the 1960s, but, with the change of government in 1970, he was branded a UNPer and was put into cold storage.

The sole broadcasting organization at that time was the State controlled Radio Ceylon, and its successor the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). There were no private radio stations or TV channels, then. The living of a songwriter and a singer was virtually in the hands of that State broadcasting organization. They could either make or break artistes.

If an artiste fell foul with the powers that be, political or otherwise, woe be unto him, because that signalled the end of his musical career. The recent examples being C.T. Fernando and Sunil Santha, though, however talented lyricists and singers they were, because they had rubbed the shoulders of the men and women who matter, the wrong way, it heralded the end of their careers.

It may not be wrong to say that Sinhala song writers and singers were able to practise their professions, free from the whims and fancies of politicos and petty bureaucrats, coinciding with the advent of the J. R. Jayewardene administration of 1977. That change brought with it not only the open economy, providing greater opportunities to artistes, but also the appointment of broadcaster Livy Wijemanne to head the SLBC, a few years later.

Wijemanne was a professional. He had no time for petty politics. And though the changes after 1977 ushered in the TV to Sri Lanka, the only public voice media in Sri Lanka was still the SLBC. It had the monopoly over voice entertainment airtime in Sri Lanka. Perhaps, as far as the English radio listenership was concerned, that era, though 'recent' as nearly 40 years ago, may be termed as the golden era of the SLBC.

With the liberalization of the public broadcasting media by President Ranasinghe Premadasa in the early 1990s, which brought with it private radio and TV stations, the market economy took over this sector, which, previously was a State monopoly.

The likes of Amaradeva were no more dependent on the State for their livelihood. The market recognized their talent and such artistes flourished, regardless of State patronage or not. An opportunity that other geniuses on the Sinhala music scene such as Sunil Santha and C.T. Fernando who went before, weren't privileged to enjoy.

They operated in an era under the shadow of a monopolistic State, where not least broadcasting was also in the hands of the State. The State, even as far as the music scene was concerned, decided what was good and bad for the market.

Market forces took a backseat in that era. It therefore followed, so also talent. The State had the monopolistic right to decide which singer and which song was good or bad for the market. And at time, under the pretext of their political leaders'/government's name, unscrupulous bureaucrats took advantage of this situation, either to uplift artiste/s of their choice and in the same way to bring others, who were not to their taste, down, in an era where talent took a backseat.

It may also not be wrong to say that the period between 1977 and the early 1990s, i.e. before the broadcasting sector was opened up, politicos themselves were in the forefront, if not promoting, then encouraging talent on the Sinhala music scene to flourish.

Three such examples are Victor Ratnayake, a great fan of Jayewardene's and, probably, indirectly, Sunil Perera and the Gypsies, and H.R. Jothipala by Premadasa. They were talented in their own right, but were also probably given an impetus by the politicos who lived in that era.

The culture of creating, moulding, encouraging, recognizing and rewarding talented artistes needs to be fostered, with the State creating the enabling environment and market forces thereafter taking over, if Sri Lanka is to produce more such Amaradevas, C.T. Fernandos and Sunil Santhas in the future, to further illuminate the culture of this island.