Prashantha Lal's favorite song

What more is needed where there is  rock-rib ,  tender heart and words in-genuine?
Prashantha Lal de Alwis. Pic source : Internet

Sing one must, even if one does not have the right pitch or one does not know the right note. The words will take you a long way, bathed by rain drop, over road, stone, monument, ripple water and everything. Song is a moment of joy. Most of the time. Song is memory. I have found.  I remember the early mornings years so long. I cannot exactly name the days. Every morning was a song –time. The radio played. I sang. There are songs that have pained. Love lost and yearning. And the next moment sorrow –cut a dream or hope.

Aththamma use to sing. Even before the radio had started singing for me every morning.  After lunch most of the time was spent on bed or at a door step, both of us seated and singing. They are the earliest memories of Aththamma, a love much more aggregate to the sum of it. She was full of song and story.

A song can put us into different moods. It has a way of flooding emotions back to us. When beats go high or when the phases between words are less, they make us dance. Or at least make us tap our feet. It happens unthinkingly. A slow rhythm might be boring. It all depends on how you absorb a song. We all hear the music we like as something special , as something that defies the mundane , take us ‘out of ourselves’ and put us some elsewhere.

In musicology, it is presumed that music also has a social function. Thus music expresses one’s identity. It encompasses arousal- related functions too, like calming down, encourage a community to come together or make awareness as to how one should live, productively.

Of all, there’s a song Aththamma sang when I was small. A favorite.

කාකයෝ පියාඹති

කුරුළු නාද දී

තාම  ඇයි  නිදීමතේ

නැගීටිමු  ඉතින්

My child,

Why still asleep?

Even the crows fly, chirping all over

So wake up.

It’s not that complicated. A few words. So simple. But textually powerful.  These words woke me up once to find the right motivation. And they do still. Thanks to Aththamma I still sing them to myself and sing to others. They are cherished and will be cherished for years to come.

Nandamalini sang a great deal of songs, appealed thousands of hearts. Pawana and Sathyaye geethaya were such. A call for a return of civilization, a return to our identity. Political or otherwise. And among all these politics there are songs she has voiced for  children, born and yet to born. Like ‘ahasin basin – sanda madalin basin ’. So tender and inspiring.

අහසින් බසින් සඳ මඬලින් බසින්

මිනිසුන් මැද පුතුනේ මිහි මඬලේ ඉඳින්

කඳුළු සුසුම් විඳ මුවහත් වෙමින්

රට වෙනුවෙන් දැය වෙනුවෙන් නොසැලී ඉඳින්

සුපසන් නොවේ ලොව නුඹ මේ උපන්

නුවණින් වැඩී ලොව සුපසන් කරන්

විරුවන් ලෙසින් රුදු රණ බිම් මැදින්

නුඹගේ ගමන් මග ඉදිවේ බලන්

Land from the sky, from the moon up above

Live on earth, in the midst of the men

Groom yourself my son, with tear and sigh

Stand ever so firm, for your land and your race.

This world ain’t made of goodness -

My son,

Go brave, like soldier in violent battlefield

To life’s preferred destinations

Grow wise, and spread rightness.

It was Wednesday. 2015 May 13. A hot day. Mr. Prashantha had just begun browsing through the Evidence Law. He has a way of switching from lessons to day- to day things. And to lessons again. With him lectures are never a boring thing. He certainly knows to keep us alive. Quite eloquent, open and a story teller, not in bad sense. Indeed, he knows things. He stopped for a moment. Went all the way back to the time he taught a group of pilots. A President’s Counsel now. Consul for Seychelles. Teacher .Corporate Director. He walks and has walked .Like us. But in different feet in a different world. He is made of wisdom. He thinks life is softer than fear. He believes there is life more than to breathing. He started singing. C.T Fernando. The song:   Awadiwanna Awadiwanna.

දුක සැප  දෙක පෙරලි පෙරලි යයි

යන කාලය නැත නවතින්නේ

ඊයේ වගේද අද ටිකක් සුබයි

අදට වඩා හෙට හොද වෙන්නේ

This song , though old some might call it is epic. It is as epic as any other beautiful thing. It will make you feel that life is easy. Very magnetic and playful, rhythmically. The song has a mystic driving energy .What strikes the most for me is’ ඊයේ වගේද අද ටිකක් සුබයි - අදට වඩා හෙට හොද වෙන්නේ’ ( Today is as  good as it was yesterday , but tomorrow will be even better), thus suggesting that everything is going to be fine. Be positive! Yes.  It takes all the way to famous Merlin Monroe who thinks good things fall apart so better things fall together. Things go wrong but there is a time when they’ll be right too. So empowering.

අවදිවන්න අවදිවන්න

දීප්තිමත් දිනකි උදාවෙලා තියෙන්නේ

සිතනවාට වඩා සොදුරු

විනෝද බර ලෝකෙක අපි

ජීවත්වන්නේ

Singer, thus pleads everyone to wake up and see the bliss of life. It’s a bright and joyful day. Than you think.

Why some songs are  so effective?

Whether the song is your favorite or not, they can pump you up. The trick lies in music .Or words. I tend to believe. They elicit positive emotions. Stirs up the spirit of optimism. Energize you. And get you into that ‘I can do anything’ notion.

I don’t recall what happened when Mr. Prashantha sang. All I remember is that some mimicked him. Some clapped. Some had wide smiles. He said, 'It is my favorite song. Amazingly motivating’. There was no need for a ‘yes’. We already knew. It did certainly boost us too.

There was something extra to his lesson on ‘confessions for evidence’ that day. ‘We should try new things as we live on. Do something that is out of your way. Take life easy .We win. We lose. That’s the beauty of life. Just be active and keep doing things.’ He stopped. Gasped for a while. I think a breath escaped my heart. I was humbled.

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There are buildings , and then us

Pic courtesy: www.visitcolombo.com

Take a walk in Colpetty streets. Colpetty looks beautiful in the morning. Let it be 6.30 am. You will see a low fat sun tugged on to a faraway building. Bluish clouds moving fast. So soft. You will see the sky in pink with a few orange spots here and there. Look to your right and left. There’ll be buildings one after another. Neatly erected in a row. Be it a bank, a cloth shop, an apartment, a shopping mall and whatnot. And in between buildings  you will find a little paththara kade or a bulathvita kade or a mudalali with  broken tvs , used radios and iron leftovers  waiting eagerly to make some business. In  wide Economics land is resource. Land is ground for production. Land is where machinery is put for labor. I have found . It is business even  between lines that demarcate buildings where there is no enough space for breathing.In such a given small space it is not easy to move oneself  . Business , however is possible there. Indeed , if one wants to make a living , use one must every possible resource. Colpetty has taught one thing.   Big or small does not matter. Take the risk .Or loose the chance.

But this is not about Land. Or how land helps in production. This is about buildings that are put up on land. Buildings are everyday things to us.  We see them on way and back to home. Buildings come in different sizes and shape. Some buildings rise up, up and away the green trees and lamp posts. But some may be short. Some are dismantled. Damaged. Or wrecked out of pattern. Some look new. Classy. Buildings come in color. Some discolored .You will see buildings that are so high, slanted and aquiver. Buildings differ from one another. Some are made of cement. Some are of less cement. Or cement-less. Some buildings are breathtaking. Pretty. Some will look ugly. And boring. Buildings too have stories. In and out. Some buildings are open to all of us. But some are not. They might require a pass or only a certain kind of people will be taken in. Like VIP’s whom we may call.

This world is also made of people like buildings. They come in different size and shape. They come in different skin color. Depending on the ultraviolet radiation that one receives some may be dark skinned, some light skinned or tan.  Every building does not have the same door and window. Not every building has the same kind of floor. Or the same kind of tile.  An architect will decide what will look best on a building or house.  And DNA decides the color of hair and eyes. Singular and unique. With time buildings surrogate. Errors caused by a constructer can damage buildings. They can lead to leakages, a short in electricity or not so straight floorboards. Likewise, you’ll come across people with dislocated bodies and damaged legs, hands or anything. There are people, thick or thin or not so thick and not so thin too, like buildings.

A building's footing ( foundation) is made of cement. A foundation with excess cement can result in cracks easily. A less cement one can be rough and not so strong. Cement-less is impossible. The amount of cement used will tell you how strong or a weak a building is. Likewise we are made of emotions. And they come in proportions too.Some are very sensitive and weak. Even the slightest thing can make them upsetting.  Some are short tempered. They have the potential to destroy another. Very strong. Perhaps made of excess cement, let’s say. Buildings are made of anecdote. So does people. The people you meet will have different kind of stories to tell. Not all people are interesting. Even buildings. Some drip word and create excitement while some are silent and boring. Some are conservative. Some believe in liberalism. Some will only enjoy the company of people who come from a particular class or community as theirs. Some will have access to anyone they come across.

Buildings differ, although they stand in the same street one after another together. Buildings sure know about co –existence.

People are buildings . Don't you think? But  we don't appreciate differences among us like buildings do. 

There is a lesson to learn. Perhaps buildings to come will spare them. At least for the next generation.

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Anuradhapura

Somewhere in mid- April
sky heats up,
'nawa nagaraya' sweats
to the drought-heavy days.

Every mile ahead -a drive to north
to the other side is a spell of river,
lap of water.

Basawakkulama
painted in blue light and cloud pattern
hits the tank bund -so soft
with a hush
breaks through ,
and ripple dance in a historic beat
soil sucks , gently.

Pic Source : Internet 

Men flutter and drift in bare feet
to the chant of pirith
circling the dagoba
a song of healing,
a call for meditation.

So men become gods
in this city
so thin , so stealthy
coaxing his buffaloes in day break
for harvest
and harvesting.

It is a city that swathe
and wakes
to the drumbeat of getaberaya
and drone of prayer weaving its way from 'udamaluwa'.

It's a city made of king and queen
chronicle and myth,
And ecclesiastical.

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Elephants and the 'elephantness'

This is  the last article  I wrote for 'Jeans' in The Nation newspaper that was dedicated to kids.




Let’s take simple stuff. The world is round. Agreed, because Copernicus said so. Water runs downhill. Agreed; that’s the natural order of things. Everyone thinks everyone knows everything.  We tend to believe what we see. We know why birds fly in flocks as sun dapples through a staunch of a Jambu tree. We know why dogs are chained. We know why fish has gills. At some point, we are been told fish breathe with gills. Birds fly early morning in search of food for their little ones. Dogs are chained because some of us fear them or they might harm people. Bite them or scratch them. That’s it. We grow up with these set standards. We don’t bother to search what actually happens or has actually happened. Somebody has discovered them for us already. Life is easy.

Pic Source : Internet

Think of elephants. For some of us, elephants are favorite animals in real life.  If you take a drive to the rural towns, you’ll come across some if you are lucky. Elephants are adorable. They thrill us. We like to watch them cuddling each other. We enjoy looking at them bathing in streams.  May be they display an equal sense and emotion to people. We are amazed by their gigantic bodies. In jungle theory, elephant is the biggest of all. He is also the wisest from all other animals. They are the strongest. They can carry up to 9,000 kilograms, which in turn equals the approximate weight of 130 adult human beings. They are capable of uprooting trees. They help in transporting both passengers and goods.

Keep all these facts aside. Elephants are cuffed in human civilization; mainly because they need to be disciplined or need to be kept tamed. Fear is what makes us keep the huge beasts tied. We are been taught they are strong. We are been taught elephants can destroy people. We don’t want the elephants to know it’s their true potential to crush the people who control them. So, they are kept chained since their younger age, eventually creating a notion within them that they will never be able to break free. They’d sure have the strength to break chains. But they won’t, even when they are big enough. That’s because tying them up in toddler times have taught them they are meant to do what the owner likes.

You and I are elephants. And there are plenty of mahouts. You will recognize them as you grow up. And the mahouts will tell how things are. The mahouts create limits to keep elephants within their orders. They will tell that the sky is blue. They will tell you water has no taste. They will tell you red represents arrogance. They will tell you that flowers bloom in the morning and die with sunset.  They will tell you that only birds can fly on their own. They will tell you what to do and what not to do. They will decide what is best for you. They will set standards.  Elephants that stick to the mahout’s standard thrive.  And the naughty elephants will be ruled out.  So the elephants get frightened. And they’ll have these standards carefully saved in their minds. But some will not bother having them saved at all: The extra ordinary ones.

For now, think the sky is not blue. If you carefully look, it is actually white at times. Might even look like ash. As the sun drops down it will turn red. You’ll also see pink and purple patches. Water does have a taste. How about some water from a well? It would taste different from the water we get from tap. Water in a river might taste not the same because of ground water algae. Red is not only arrogance. Red also means bravery and ambition. Some might even say red is for passion. Not all flowers bloom with sunrise and blemish in twilight. Why only birds fly? Why not us? We do fly. We can take ourselves to far-flung cities if we want to. Take a flight to England, visit a chocolate factory, climb up Pidurutalagala or swim in the Dead Sea.

This is actually simple. Equations and set standards cannot solve what is around us. Sometimes they are beyond the mind. All you need is to broaden your vision. And you will be that extraordinary one.

Published in The Nation , 4th May 2015

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