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Commemorating Lionel Ranwala...
Lionel Ranwala (27 November 1939 - 13 November 2002), was one of the foremost Sri Lankan musicians a researcher on folk-music and an outstanding teacher. Ranwala's forte was his extensive research into the folk music. After W.D Makuloluwa, he preserved folk tunes and melodies in their original form and brought them into the contemporary Sri Lankan musical arena. He studied music at the Panjab University, Chandigarh, India and acquired considerable knowledge in the field of music. Ranwala was famous for his extensive researches and innovations, especially in composing music based on folk melodies. He firmly believed that the Sri Lankan identity in music lies in the folk songs and melodies which are associated with the traditional livelihood of farmers and working guilds. He commenced his teaching career at Arawwala MMV in 1959.He taught music at several leading schools including Ananda College, and Royal College, Colombo during a 38-year career. He popularised indigenous music in schools and formed the first 'Hevisi' band in a school - at Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya in 1964. Ranwala was also a veteran actor and dramatist. Among his outstanding roles was in the first Sinhala opera 'Depano' directed by Makuloluwa. He also wrote and directed several children's plays. He acted in several teledramas.His last teledrama was "Rangamadala Samugani" which was telecast in Swarnawahini. He travelled to far flung villages in his quest for collecting folk-songs which have been a dying tradition. Thus, he preserved them for posterity. A campaigner for the conservation of indigenous music, he released several cassettes containing experimental folk music, prominently 'Ahase Innavalu' in 1999. He formed the 'Thaalama Foundation' for preserving folk music. "Gama Avulannang", "May Awurudu kale" and "Wannam Sawudam" are some of his famous songs. Eka gediyay pala gaththe, Beeri Ali are popular dramas produced by Ranwala. He has two sons, Chirantha and Sahan. The elder, Chirantha is a presenter and producer at Swarnavahini. Sahan is also working at the Swarnawahini, but after his father's sudden death, he has now taken the initiative to preserve and make people aware of Sinhala Folk Music, in the same way his father did. Ranwala died, following a sudden accident at the age of 63, in 2002 at Talawatugoda. His wife was seriously injured in the accident. Recently his 64th birth anniversary was commemorated with the Ranwala Foundation organising a vivid function in which his CD titled "Gama Avulannang" was launched.
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