Singer who faced uphill battle to master his craft
By Somasiri Munasinghe
Judging by the emotional appeal and hypnotic range of Srilal Amarajeewa Fonseka’s voice I was initially surprised why he is not among the top semi-classical singers in Sri Lanka. The richness and meditative quality of his voice makes me place him somewhere between two contemporary greats, T.M. Jayarathne and Amarasiri Peiris, and when I interviewed him for newstrails.com, I unravelled a man with a born gift for singing, but had to delay blossoming into a fully-fledged vocalist mainly due to professional pressures.
I thought his is a voice tempered and trained over decades mastering classical music but that’s not so. The only classical training he had was in Canada, raising the question whether he is the first truly great Sinhala semi-classical singer in Canada.
Srilal believes he had acquired his talent from birth. “From my childhood I liked to sing the melodies I heard over the radio and was invited to sing in school events and village festivals becoming something like a village superstar. I was initially encouraged by my father who selected songs for me to sing, accompanying me to wherever I had an opportunity to show my skills,” says Srilal who was born in Nattandiya, had his primary education at Walahapitiya Maha Vidyalaya, and moved to Nattandiya Dhammissara Central College. His passion for singing had to take a back seat as he studied sciences.
He joined a Sinhala literary association while studying at the Colombo University singing for various functions and in the early 80s, when the students got together to launch an album of Sinhala songs, he had a chance to record his debut song titled Piyaneni, as a tribute to his father who passed away when Srilal was a teenager.
“It was worrying to me in some way as I had no chance of improving my singing skills. After obtaining the degree I found a job that allowed me no time to pursue my passion for 15 long years,” said Srilal adding that in a third world country like ours what was more important for a young graduate is to find a well-paid job to establish in life, rather than pursuing a passion that brings no income.
Srilal will sing his original melodies at Arundathie Miyasi Walawa 2018 due to be held Mississauga on June 16
He was employed as an air traffic controller for 15 years at the country’s main Katunayake Airport. “It was an extremely stressful job as it required 100 per cent fitness of one’s mental and physical health with constant tests and interviews to monitor one’s fitness for the job. The control tower was situated in an isolated, high security area cutting me off from the association with other staff members” Srilal said.
During those 15 years he had little time to practice his singing other than appearing on a rare party or some other function, taking care not to miss early bed times, ‘trying to live a stress-free life to be behind the mike in the office every day at odd times communicating with pilots venturing the skies with lot of lives in their charge, seeking our guidance’.
“I could revert back to my passion of singing only in Canada after I migrated in 1998. The first three or four years were extremely tough as I had to find a job to get established in the new country. I went for some interviews for air traffic controller but despite my experience and knowhow I was little over aged. The job is tougher in Canada than in my native country,” says Srilal adding that he studied for a few years at Humber College and changed his profession to an IT-related field.
He had to begin his singing all over again and learnt classical music, combined with voice training for the first time in Toronto. “I trained under singer Kithsiri Jayasekera for a brief period and under Anju Chaudhry, a pupil of great North Indian singer Manna De, I was able to uncover my hidden skills and master classical music in a scientific manner.”
Under Anju’s guidance, Srilal mastered raga melodic structures in Indian classic music tempering his voice in emotive cadences with ability to excel in improvisation techniques.
He remembers with gratitude Sunimal Balasuriya and Vasantha Lakatilleke of Savana Web Radio for helping him to revive his singing career in Toronto and connecting him with many Sri Lankan artistes in the city.
Srilal who has so far recorded 25 of his own songs says he has become very popular among thousands of fans on social media. Some of his songs have been written by top lyricists in Sri Lanka including Ven. Rambukana Sidhartha Thero, Rathna Sri Wijesinghe, Ananda Padmasiri, Chandradasa Fernando, Dhammika Bandara, Omandi Sanjeevanie, Prasad Siriwardhana, Shamila Hussain and Wimal Weerakkody.
Some of the most talented song writers in Canada have also written lyrics for his songs. They include Sunimal Balasuriya, Chandraratne Bandara, Anuruddha Weligamage, Bandula Kuruwita Arachchi, Champa Godakande Arachchi, Dr. Priyantha Kulasekera, and Athula Kaldemulla who is based in Australia.
Music for his melodies has been directed by Visharada Rohana Dharmakeerthi, Dr. Rohana Weerasinghe and Visharada Darshana Wickramatunga.
Srilal has sung duets with top-notch Sri Lankan singers like Visharada Nelu Adhikari, Visharada Shanika Sumanasekara, Devika Chathurani and Pavari Amarasa.
Srilal believes that many of his songs appeal to Sri Lankans living abroad, isolated from their culture and loved ones. Most of his melodies resonate with a sense of loss, unbridgeable distance and alienation from familiar surroundings mixed with subtle nostalgic overtones.
He has presented two solo music performances in Toronto in 2014 and 2016 and is planning his third show featuring his original melodies on Saturday June 16. Titled Gee Arundathie Miyasi Walawa 2018, is due to held at Maja Prentice Auditorium, 3650, Dixie Road, Mississauga beginning from 7pm. The master of ceremonies will be Sunimal Balasuriya.
Singers who will be backing him in duets and the chorus will include talented Canadian Sri Lankans Anushka Abeywardena, Buddhi Amarasena, Lochana Kandambi and Minupama Balasuriya.
Music will be provided by Priya Mithuro musical outfit comprising of Chandana Basnayaka, Mahesh Sirisena, Prabhath Jayathilaka, Indika Withanachchi and Kavinda Weerasekera.
