REMEMBERING PANDIT AMARADEVA

91st birth anniversary falls on Wednesday

The 91st birth anniversary of music Maestro Pandit W. D. Amaradeva, falls on December 5. “Unlike today there were no cut-throat attitudes in the good old days. My mentor Mohamed Ghouse Master was a man who gave priority and appreciated true talent in the right spirit. He was a colossal figure in the music scene then,” he had said.

“But he was such a noble man that he moulded me into a bigger stature than him. Such values and admiration have deteriorated today. He got me to play the violin in his orchestra for the second Sinhala film ‘Ashokamala’ which also marked my debut as a singer. I was stunned when watched the movie during the premiere to find that Ghouse Master had also given me

Ian additional title of ‘Assistant Music Director’ in the movie. Later in life such gracious qualities were instilled in ourselves too. My students like Nanda Malini, Narada Dissasekara, Amitha Wedisinghe and others will bear testimony to this fact,” he told Daily Mirror Impulse in one of his last interviews. Touching upon his humble past, he gratefully recalled how the people of this country had contributed towards his success as a musician.

“I have been using every available opportunity to share the knowledge I acquired in music with the young generation of this country. In the fifties I was sent to India on a scholarship raised by funds by the people of this country. The scholarship fund spearheaded by the late legends D. B. Dhanapala and Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra was organized by the ‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper. It is the people of this country who contributed towards this fund to send me to India where I enhanced by knowledge in music under great Indian music gurus. Therefore, I always believe that I belong to the people of this country and I am grateful to them. I am a people’s singer,” Pandit W. D. Amaradeva said in one such interview.

“I was seven years when my father presented me with a hand-made violin. That paved the way for me to master the instrument. I remember joining my father and elder brothers to the cinema to watch yesteryear Hindi movies. I used to take the English mandolin along with me and play it when the songs unspooled on the silver screen. Another unforgettable incident in my life is the day the very first fee I received after singing for my first record was pick pocketed in the tram car while I was returning home,” the master said recollecting some unforgettable occurrences in his life.

His wife Mrs. Wimala Amaradeva, who also shares his birthday, had been his biggest strength in life.

Speaking national anthems, it is a known fact that Pandit Amaradeva was the man behind the Maldivian national anthem.

“It is a known fact that Pandit W. D. Amaradeva was the man behind the Maldivian national anthem”