DR.HARISCHANDRA The passionate music lover
The death of renowned consultant psychiatrist Dr. D.V. J. Harischandra came as a shock to all of us and especially to the millions who knew him via television programmes.
He passed away just ten days before his 75th birthday which would have been celebrated today had he been alive.
DickwelleVidanage Jayaratne Harischandra was born on March 11, 1928 in Mihiripenna, Galle and was the second among five brothers and one sister.
His father was a school principal of repute and also an ardent music lover. His father had his own violin and harmonium which were later used by Dr. Harischandra.
My association with Dr. Harischandra dates back to decades and the biggest tribute I could give him was to appoint him as the Chief Patron of the Bharatha Lanka Kala Padanama. He indeed possessed all the qualifications to hold such an esteemed position.
When I published a book titled ‘Swara Deva Naushad’ based on Indian music giant Naushad, I wanted to present the first book to some renowned personality in Sri Lanka before presenting it to Naushad. Having known Dr. Harischandra’s passion for Hindi cinema and its songs, I decided to present the first book to him.Then I told him that I and author Deeman Ananda were planning to present the book to Naushad in Mumbai. He was so keen to join us saying his biggest dream was to someday meet Naushad, Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. I still remember the radiance that splashed on his face when he met Naushad in India.
From what I learnt from his family members, Dr. Harischandra was such an ardent Hindi film lover that he would come home after watching it, write all the songs and details on a book and also enact the scenes of the film to his younger sister Kamani Harischandra (now Gunawardana). Following discussions with family members recently, we are planning to set up a foundation in memory of Dr. Harischandra and it will be instrumental in carrying forward all matters relating to him in the future.
Sam Samarasinghe, Chief Organiser, Bharatha Lanka Kala Padanama