- As told by his daughter Savitri Ibrahim
Saranagupta Amarasinghe[/caption]
For example, there were instructive songs such as Regina Perera’s Komala Baby and Daru Velasanin Nagita sung in the 1930s, and Rukmani Devi and Prisila Opatha’s Mother’s Advice can be pointed out, but in the beginning of the 1940s, record companies began releasing a wave of children’s songs with easy-to-sing, simple, and sweet melodies for children to sing.
Birds Fly with Joy, the Children Wake Up in the Morning is a very popular children’s song of the past and is still fondly remembered by our grandparents. Saranagupta Amarasinghe, a well-known musician in the country, composed and sang this very popular song, which is still recognised today.
The Morning Brunch spoke to Savitri Ibrahim, Amarasinghe’s daughter, in order to learn more about his service to the advancement of the music industry of Sri Lanka.
Born on 22 February 1904, Amarasinghe was an alumnus of Richmond College, Galle. Educated at the Shanti Niketan in India, he came to Sri Lanka in 1937 and began his career as a music teacher. He was the first music teacher at Sripali Vidyalaya, Horana and the first to become a music teacher at a teacher training college in the country under the public service. He also composed school songs for colleges such as Horana Sripali and Galle Richmond, and taught music at Southlands Girls’ College in Galle Richmond College, Buddhist Girls’ College in Colombo, Girls’ High School in Kandy, and several other schools.
He later became the Principal Music Teacher of all teacher training schools in the country. Ibrahim told us that Amarasinghe’s closest friend at the time was a well-known educator and principal of the Teachers’ College, U.G., and with his help, Amarasinghe was able to create a number of children’s songs.
“All these children’s songs were recorded by Lanka Film Company Ltd. This record label existed only during the period of 1938-44,” Ibrahim told us, adding that it was called the “SW Series”; the album was released in blue, with the support of HMV Records and then (as well as now) Siedles Electronics.
Ibrahim also told us that the song Dal Adima is famously known as a song by Amarasinghe that brings out the various cultural elements of the country in Sinhala songs. This song is also included in the songbook Sinhala Folk Songs composed by Amarasinghe for children in 1944.
Amarasinghe also composed and sang the “net-drawing song” using the same language styles and vocabulary as his song “fishing light”, inherent in the language of fishing. The poems that fishermen sing when they cast their nets are called “abbawans”. In the language of the fisherman, a net is called “jalio” or “ambavo”. The part “odi hodi helai helai lam” sung at the beginning of the net is called “waruwa” in the fishing language. Ibrahim highlighted that Amarasinghe took care to bring out true Sri Lanka heritage in his songs.
Another song he composed and sung, Shadjaya Rishabha (D major) introduced a permanent portion of the song, followed by four Hawaiian guitars or a mandolin, followed by four harmonised tabla beats, followed by two violins harmonised.
“Although it is a simple song sung in two tones, the middle part of the song gradually and elegantly elevates the tension by applying harmonic notes (syllables) above the first two tones,” Ibrahim explained, adding that due to its simple melody, the song was also used in schools. The melody patterns of the song Hoya Hoya, which was later sung in Chithrasena’s sea seal drama (Karadiya, 1961), are very similar to the melody patterns used in this song.
Amarasinghe also composed many songs with Hubert Rajapaksa and Devar Suriyasena, who later followed his singing style and musical tradition. He also composed music for songs such as Suralo Sapa De and Lanka Me Deepa sung by Hubert Rajapaksa. “Saranagupta Amarasinghe was the first to sing Sinhala folk songs and vannam in simple melodies using western melodies and instruments on a research level,” Ibrahim added.
A distinctive feature of Amarasinghe’s singing was his deep, western voice, which was unique to him. Even so, Ibrahim stated that owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person.
In addition to singing and directing music, he wrote many children’s song books for young children. The book Sinhalese Songs for Children was a government-recommended children’s songbook for use in schools at the time. He wrote eastern and western melodies for children in the age group of seven to 12 years and published four volumes of books with melodies, songs, and charts.
In addition to his anthology, he composed many songs such as Co-operative Song, Police War Song, Baladaksha Manavika Song, Viharamahadevi Upahara Song, and Sathya Sri Sai Baba Bhajan Song. Ibrahim told us that Amarasinghe was a close friend of D.S. Senanayake and Dudley Senanayake, and was a popular figure in many political arenas at the time.
Ibrahim commented that Saranagupta Amarasinghe is the pioneer of musical creation and is a legend she will always look up to.