H.M. Jayawardane: Self-effacing simplicity
Musician H.M. Jayawardane who passed away on April 8 at the age of 69 maintained humble, unblemished human qualities throughout his life.
Born in the backwoods of Siyambalanduwa to a farming family, Jayawardane’s self-effacing simplicity was a rarity in the competitive field of Sri Lankan show business.
When he was given the best music director’s award for Sunil Ariyarathne’s Muhude Lihini in 1983 he publicly refused to accept the award. The reason: He thought that honour should go to Premasiri Khemadasa for his music direction in Thunveni Yamaya.
No doubt Thunveni Yamaya’s haunting music raised the bar in Sinhala music. So was Jayewardene’s music direction in Muhudu Lihini.
Pandit Amaradeva who won the award for best singer for the same film asked Jayewardene why he refused the award while Khemadasa himself berated him for doing the unthinkable.
Reflecting on what happened at the awards festival that year, Jayawardane said he did not regret his decision at all because he believed Khemadasa was the worthy recipient while admitting that he had a lean period professionally after he refused the award because lot of directors did not want to work with him. A film maker’s dream was to win any number of awards for a career boost and to popularize the film.
Jayawardane was married to singer Malani Bulathsinhala who passed away eight years before him. Their son Kasun Kalahara is one of the most talented singers in the forefront of the younger generation.
Just like his modesty which many would have thought went beyond accepted norms, he displayed by example what extremes he could go to express his love for his daughter who passed away at a young age.
When his only daughter died of dengue he was devastated and started spending the nights on her grave at Boralegamuwa cemetery grieving over her death. Speaking to Akila Dhanuddara during a TV interview, the musician said: “I could not bear the loss of my only daughter. It was heartbreaking to see her die of dengue fever during the early days of the dreaded disease when nobody knew how to treat it. My wife complained to the police about my habit of sleeping on my daughter’s grave in the night and the cops came and forced me to go home. More than anything else, Malani feared that I might be attacked by a wild animal or a snake.”
Growing up as a child in rural Siyambalanduwa, Jayawardane had no interest in life other than helping his farmer parents in their seasonal cultivation. His life changed when he got through the fifth-grade scholarship exam and went to Passara Central College for higher education.
“There was a music class in the school but I did not attend though I had a secret liking to play the flute. When I went to my village on school vacation I bought a flute for 50 cents from a friend and learnt to play it at home,” said Jayawardane adding that one day his music teacher heard him playing the flute in the school bathroom and encouraged him to attend his classes.
The rest is history, though his success came after many setbacks and relentless efforts, I think, mainly due to his diffident, self-effacing attitude, coupled with his dislike to be in the lime light.
He was unsuccessful at the OL exam and left school with no proper idea of what he would do in future. He did lot of jobs while living in his village. He did farming with his parents, sawed timber, worked as a handyman and functioned as the village postman for a brief time. In the meantime, he applied for a vacancy for a flutist at Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation orchestra.
He went for the interview, played the flute before a panel of judges but he was not selected. Unwilling to accept defeat since he knew he was better than many others who appeared at the interview, he decided to meet Pandit Amaradeva. He had never met the legendary singer. Jayawardane went to his house at Borupana, Ratmalana, and sought his help to join the SLBC.
Amaradeva welcomed him warmly and asked him to play the flute in his presence. He played Victor Ratnayake’s Sihil Sulang Ralle and Amaradeva was highly impressed with his talent. Jayawardane was asked to come for the interview where the singer was to be on the interview board next day.
Jayawardane also remembered his history teacher at Passara Central. He was none other than film director Vasantha Obeysekera who started his life as a teacher. He went to Obeysekera’s house in Bambalapitiya seeking his help too. The film director gave him a recommendation letter. Jayawardane got the job but this incident shows that whatever talent one would have, it is mainly personal contacts that mattered when it came to finding a job in a country like Sri Lanka!
During Jayewardena ‘s legendary career spanning more than four decades he directed music for a large number of films and backed almost all the leading singers except H.R. Jothipala and J.A. Milton Perera. Asked why he could not compose music for the late crooners he said he liked them but never got the opportunity to create tunes for them.
Aradhana was Jayawardane’s first film for which he directed music along with Rohana Weerasinghe. Both musicians shared the award for best music direction.
About thousand songs he created for two generations of Sinhala singers remain extremely popular and enriched with Jayawardane’s own inimitable style. The bulk of his tunes were created for Nanda Malini. He has composed tunes directing music for a large number of popular singers like Malani Bulathsinhala, Sunil Edirisinghe, T.M. Jayarathne, Edward Jayakody, Karunarathne Divulgane, Bandara Athauda, Somathilake Jayamaha, Victor Rathnayake, Amaradeva and Chrishantha Erandaka.
Jayawardane’s dislike for publicity and fame was well known in music circles. Nanda Malani said he went missing during a felicitation ceremony organised to honour the musicians’ services to Sinhala music industry. There was a commotion as people started looking for him until someone spotted him seated in a corner.
Jayawardane faced another tragedy, when his wife, Malani, died in the United States while she was on a tour performing in a series of music concerts. She was found dead in a bathroom at a house she was staying. Her death was caused by an allergic reaction to hair dye.
H.M. Jayawardane’s final rites was held on Wednesday April 10, at 3.00 at the Borella General Cemetery.
The musician was ailing for some time in Colombo South hospital and there were many social media posts condemning the lethargic attitude of the authorities and some of his colleagues to come to his aid.
His life would have taken a different path if he was a go-getter in hot pursuit of money, but he chose to a live an uncomplicated life full of simplicity on his own terms and his greatest gift to the nation is the tremendous body of work he left behind for posterity. – Somasiri Munasinghe
