  Thush and Rish
by Nilma Dole
You can hear the crooning sounds
of Thushara Peiris and Rishani Ekanayake at the Eden Gardens hotel if
you’re ever heading Down South. The husband and wife duo make a great
couple with their singing abilities and their music medley.
The band, aptly named Breath because music is all part of life and
life is only sustained by breathing. “We wanted a subtle and easy name
for our fans to remember us by hence we named ourselves Breath,”
explained Thushara. Husband and wife play with Priyantha Weerasinghe who
also chips in when the band is playing but the couple really is the
heart and soul of the band.
“Even though I was working in the mercantile sector after leaving
school, my passion was always music” said Thushara. He added, “My music
guru Thilak only taught me how to play the guitar when I first started
out in the music field.”
Thereafter Thushara went to form a band in 1992 called the Bangles
which had seven members and it came by as a popular outfit back in the
day. “We played for 3 years covering a multitude of songs like Sinhala,
English, Hindi and many other languages” he said. Eventually the band
disbanded due to various commitments on the part of the band members as
it was a touch and go situation in the music industry in those days.
“It was in 1995 that I had the honour of playing and learning under
the legendary Kumara Ekayanake who uplifted the Sri Lankan English music
circuit” said Thushara. He commented, “His popular band KET played
almost at every function and every event making it a strong and good
outfit so it was with Kumara that I really learned that making music is
an art which takes dedication and focus.”
 Sadly, Kumara and his family migrated to Australia in 2008 which left
Thushara thinking about forming his own band with the experience he had.
“By now, I was familiar with various instruments and developed a lot of
my music skills with the keyboard” he said. Soon, his band Breath got a
fresh breath of life and they play at events, parties whilst also having
a gig contract at the Eden hotel.
“It was quite recently that I got my wife Rishani to sing as well
because you need a female voice to complement the music” said Thushara
whose song ‘Mey Paluweng Inney’ has been doing well in the Sri Lankan
charts. So then Rishani was added to the outfit to give the band a touch
of class.
With a smile, Rishani said, “I was involved heavily in the beauty
culture industry, dressing brides and being a beautician. Music is a
passion and I can sing but I didn’t expect to join my husband.” Having
no regrets, Rishani and Thushara make a good team and with this
successful collaboration, they have been blessed with a daughter Inashi
Akarsha who is now nearly 3 years old. “We get plenty of support from
our fans and it’s easier working with your wife because there is trust
and mutualism” said Thushara.
Advising the younger generation, Thushara said, “You have to be
open-minded and learn to suit the times. Make sure you get your basics
right and also understand your unique style in order to develop it.”
Thushara said that one needs a good knowledge of music and how the music
business runs if you ever want to be successful in the field. So take a
breath of Breath with some music for your soul!
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