Murder most foul of music and melody!
Pundit
Dr. W. D. Amaradeva is a living music legend who translated the vision
of music into actuality and reality. His creations provided musico-therapy
to the depressed mind.
The vibrant Victor Ratnayaka, though not a Visharada composed
nationalistic music to prove what was musicology. The voice of Visharada
Nanda Malini, the 'Princess of Local Melody', offered a smart
partnership quite harmonious in vocals. She has progressed into more
complexed textures in her career.
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Nanda Malini |
Pundit W.D. Amaradeva |
Victor Ratnayaka |
For decades they sing enlivening complex lives of music lovers. And
those compositions certainly possess a dynamic interaction. That is a
part of the phenomenon of human life and culture.
A nation cannot be full in the absence of music... and it means
decent music, lyrics and melody. That is a particle of the freedom of
the soul. Unfortunately, in this era of high technology, violent crimes
are inflicted on valuable musical compositions of our legends.
Today, vulgar music has taken centre stage. Well, such criminology
began from a social ill from the West called 'rapping'. In reality, it
was nothing but raping of a beautiful composition of another.
Now it has reached the climax of 'prostitution' with vulgar musicians
changing lyrics and music of fine creations of yesteryear on so called
'non-stop' productions of audio cassettes and compact discs.
The private electronic media and FM channels add insult to injury by
entertaining and accommodating such anti-cultural material for
broadcast.
The culture of those vulgar productions is pernicious. It is nothing
but pretentious, preposterous hooliganism in the true sense of life in a
civilized society.
Those pig-ignorant self proclaimed musicians or singers, or Piss
artistes as they could be labelled for the immense damage caused to
national creations, tend to suffer from an epidemic similar to brain
fever.
They do not deserve plaudits in any decent electronic media in a
democracy, as vulgarity should not be allowed to erode the cultural
values of a country. The production of indecent 'non-stop' audios or
videos have become a non-stop menace today.
Pundit Amaradeva, a national asset is a Magsaysay award winner. His
contribution to the Sinhala music industry stands unparalleled.
A private FM channel in a broadcast of a 'non-stop' cassette of a
vulture music group recently allowed the perpetrators to kill the heart
rending melodious composition of Amaradeva popularly known as Shantha
mey raa yaame in the following vulgarised lyrics; Shantha mey raa beela,
hondata vadila miniha... gama natavai pissa' (Shantha drunk this night,
full intoxicated and makes the village dance). In the same 'non-stop'
the vulgar singers destroyed Victor Ratnayaka's glorious rendition, Api
Okkoma Rajawaru to sing Api Okkoma Kello, Okkoma Kollo, Ape Somi Loke
Gajamithuro, (We all girls and all boys are best of pals in our fantasy
world). No wonder Victor Ratnayaka says he want to quit the music scene
in the face of today's hooliganism in music.
That was not all in that shameful 'non-stop'. Nanda Malini's loveable
song, Mandanawa, Karanawa was raped as, Mandanawa Karanawa Kiya Denna,
Enna Yanna, Mage Anda Paalui Lamayo (Let's go on this excursion, the
reason is my that bed is empty). Nanda Malini would shed tears if she
ever heard those filthy lyrics to such a melody of harmony.
Not stopping at that, the vultures of music proceeded to insult the
legendary H. R. Jothipala, the man who sang vibrantly to the lumpun
class in towns. Jothipala's ever green hit, Oba Nidanna, was vulgarized
to - Oba nidanna, oba nidanna mage ande sathapila, ona suwaya mama
dennam, obe rasa bala (Sleep, sleep on my bed, I shall give you comfort
while tasting you).
Musicians from the time of H. W. Rupasinghe Master to Sunil Santha,
Amaradeva to Premasiri Khemadasa, Victor Ratnayaka to Sanath Nandasiri,
Rohana Weerasinghe to Edward Jayakody in the oriental and classical
style contributed immensely to build a Sinhala music industry.
We had the Sinhala calypso style from the late Neville Fernando and
the advancement to Sinhala pop by the late Clarence Wijewardene, who
introduced the electric guitar into Sinhala music. They all upheld
discipline, decorum and pride in their compositions and those pastoral
themes were never detrimental to the interests of the society.
They touched the hearts of a generation to emerge into a kind of
national consciousness.
The vital question before us is - Who is responsible for the
country's art, culture and music? If there is a Public Performance Board
for films, why not a Censor Board to combat this menace of prostituted
cassette/video material? This country owes much to legends like
Rupasinghe Master, Sunil Santha, Rukmani Devi, C. T. Fernando, M. S.
Fernando, Mohideen Baig, Dharmadasa and Latha Walpola, Amaradeva,
Jothipala, Victor Ratnayaka, Sanath Nandasiri, Nanda Malini, Neville
Fernando, Nimal Mendis, Clarence Wijewardene and Milton Mallawarachchi
to name a few.
They were truly path breakers in the sphere of music. Their
adventures in music formed a saga of their own.
The vultures who have taken the centre stage of music are 'music
terrorists' in the true rythmn of the musical cord.These Bohemian styled
bog-standard music burglars of Byzantine complexity are brutish men who
corrode confidence in the national music of excellence.
The decadence of a modern Western society should not be allowed to
haunt the civilized sense of pitch in music, of a literate country like
Sri Lanka.
The promoters of our culture now must rush to safeguard the quality
of national music and declaim against music vultures who destroy
creations of legendary musicians of this country.
Because, music of a proud nation, is a decorous, decorative and a
disciplined art of life. |