Chandana Liyanage seen with his family. He attributes the success of his music career to their encouragement and support
The father of Sri Lankan street drama, Gamini Haththotuwagama, picked Chandana Liyanage for his street drama troupe after seeing him play the guitar in the university cafeteria.
Chandana, an I.T. professional, presently based in Edmonton, Canada, remains an unsung hero of Sri Lankan drama music despite his outstanding services as a musician, singer and actor.
“It was in my second year, and on Friday evenings we used to hang around in the canteen singing. The only musical instrument was my guitar, accompanied by banging on the tables and chairs,” said Chandana during an interview with Sunimal Balasuriya on Sakman Maluwa programme on Toronto-based Sawana Radio.
“Several days, Haththotuwagama watched us, and one evening he invited me to join his drama troupe. I readily agreed, and my guitar added a new element to street dramas. During earlier performances, they only used loud drums. After the guitar was introduced, the singers had to keep pace and harmonize in a disciplined way,” said the musician.
The first song Chandana played on Sakman Maluwa was a recording of Haththotuwagama’s song set to the tune of Bob Dylan’s Blowing in the Wind with Sinhala and Tamil lyrics, a perfect backdrop to the play made to promote ethnic harmony
It was a trip down memory lane for me as I fondly remembered the beloved dramatist who lectured to me at the University of Kelaniya. Haththotuwagama composed the song for a one-hour long street play called Manusath Dakma.
Talking about his past, Chandana told Sunimal that he comes from a musical family and learnt music while taking part in cadetting in Kalutara Vidyalaya, his alma mater.
He joined the Haththotuwagama’s gang in 1979. “We were operating on a tight budget. Some of us chipped in with whatever we could afford, and people who invited us for performances paid our travelling and other minor expenses. Kurunegala Devasannaramaye priest Yohan Devananda was one of our biggest fans who he gave us Rs1000 a month and lent his premises in Ibbagamuwa for rehearsals. When I joined, there was no guitar till an arts organization in the Philippines presented one.”
During his university days, Chandana wanted to study music properly without relying on his instincts alone and met Visharad Lelananda Rathnayake, a music teacher at Kelaniya Dharmaloka Vidyalaya. “I joined a musical troupe started by Rathnayake Sir. Our patron was Professor D.P.M. Weerakkody.”
Chandana’s career took to new heights as he joined a troupe backing famous singers in Sri Lanka and providing music for stage plays. His first drama was Tarawo Igilethi, for which Gunadasa Kapuge wrote music.
Chandana also presented a one-man show while reading for his maths special degree at the Kelaniya university.
The music troupe backed Sarala Gee programmes at the SLBC (Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation). Chandana is also a B Grade Sarala Gee singer.
He had provided music for 12 Sinhala stage plays. Some of them like Hena, Ya Deka Noratha Ratha, Subha Sarana Gatha, Sirith Wandanawa, and Sakki are landmarks in the local theatre.
His first attempt at providing music for a stage play won him an award presented by the National Youth Services Council in 1984. The play was Sayanaye Sihinaya directed by Janaka Perera. He earned the same award in 1986 for Athula Peiris’ Suba Saranagatha.
“After migrating to Canada too, I composed music for a play in Sri Lanka called Sulanga Mata Katha Karai produced by Janak Kumbukage and won a merit award.”
Chandana acted in two dramas in Sri Lanka: Sakki and Satyanganawi for which Premasiri Khemadasa provided music. Vijitha Gunarathne directed them.
Chandana played his guitar for Kalaye Rawaye musical show, a collaboration by Gunadasa Kapuge and Sunil Wijdesiriwardane. “It was a trend-setting musical show, and for the first time in Sri Lanka, Kapuge introduced a one-hour discussion between the audience and the producers after the performance”, he said.
He described his music teacher D.P.M. Weerakkody as a gifted musician with rare talents. “He had a sight impairment but had a sharp hearing to compensate for his disability. I learnt to write musical notes under him, and he was such a genius that he could teach us to write musical notations without the use of musical instruments.”
Asked by Sunimal, whether the street drama troupe could effectively convey a message, Chandana said that Haththotuwagama’s group went to the people, unlike the mainstream stage, to educate the common man on social and political ills maligning the nation.
He drew a real-life example of Dario Po, an Italian playwright who produced a play titled Accidental Death of an Anarchist. “Police took into custody a man in Milano and on the following day he died mysteriously. The cops said that the man committed suicide by jumping from a fourth-floor window. But Dario, who was not satisfied with the police version, produced a drama saying that the cops killed the man. He staged it for one and a half years in factories and public places, and ultimately people began to protest, compelling the government to have an impartial inquiry. Finally, the policemen were punished for the death of the man. That incident proved that such plays could go a long way to attract the people’s attention to social injustices”.
Vijitha Gunaratne adopted the Dario Po’s drama into Sinhala, and Chandana had to leave Sri Lanka because of his involvement in the play as the authorities were annoyed by its direct criticism of the existing government.
A unique feature of the play was Haththotuwagama agreed to act though he had vowed earlier never to act in a mainstream drama. “One reason for his decision was that Sakki was produced like a street play. I also acted in it along with famous stage stars like Deepani Silva, Granville Rodrigo and Radley de Silva.”
He left for Saudi Arabia immediately after Sakki in the late 80s and began the next phase of his musical career. “I never thought that I would be able to be engaged in music in Saudi Arabia due to the restriction of Islamic traditions. But to my utter surprise, I got enough opportunities to carry on with my part-time passion as there were a lot of talented Sri Lankans.”
He played a beautiful song he recorded in Saudi Arabia set to his music during the interview. “This melody was written by a teacher called P.K.W. Perera from Badulla. I did not meet him after that.”
The next stop was Canada. First, he settled down in Vancouver and, within six months, was back on his familiar territory in addition to his busy professional life as a software developer.
He took part in cultural festivals organized by the Buddhist temple in Vancouver “There was an invitation from the Sri Lankan community to present a concert in aid of the temple. In 2007 we organized an event called Gam Maduwa featuring popular Sinhala dramas like Jasaya Lenchina and Nari Bena. I also volunteered to dance in the Salu Paliya,” he said.
A remarkable thing that happened during that time was the emergence of Ven. Sirinivasa as a prominent lyrics writer. “I suggested to the priest to stop using old Bakthi Gee and other songs and compose new melodies to celebrate cultural and national events. The priest showed me one of his compositions, and it was quite good. I encouraged him to write more, and from then onwards, he started writing lyrics, and today he has written about 70 songs, some even being heard on Sri Lankan radio.”
After coming to Edmonton, where he resides now, he took part in community events introducing original compositions of Bakthi Gee at the events like Vesak and Poson.
A father of one daughter and two sons, Chandana attributes the success of his musical career to his wife Rukmani and the children who encourage and support him. Without such cooperation, Chandana may not have been able to scale the heights he has achieved in his music career, he said.
I know that the Sawana interview is the first programme that sheds light on Chandana’s contribution to Sinhala music. He is quite laidback and shuns publicity, and though I know him for decades, I did not know about many of his achievements until he revealed them to Sunimal during the interview.
Toronto-based Sawana Radio is the brainchild of former SLBC programme producer Vasantha Lankatilake, supported by his wife Champa Godakandearachchi. – Somasiri Munasinghe © www.newstrails.com
