REMEMBERING LIONEL RANWALA

The 16th death anniversary of veteran musician, singer and folk music enthusiast Lionel Ranwala falls tomorrow, November 13. The main interest of Ranwala who was born on November 27, 1939, was Sinhala folk music. He successfully blended Sinhala folk tunes and melodies to popular Sri Lankan music, preserving their originality. He studied music at India’s Punjabuniversity. The revolutionary character in terms of promoting folk music started his teaching career at Erewwala MMV in 1959 and taught music at several leading schools including Ananda College and Royal College, Colombo. He popularised local music in schools and formed the country’s first school ‘Hevisi’ band at Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya in 1964. Ranwala was also a versatile actor and dramatist. One of his most memorable roles came in the first Sinhala opera ‘Depano’ directed by Makuloluwa. He also wrote and directed several children’s dramas. He acted in several teledramas including his last “Rangamadala Samugani”. He travelled all over the island collecting folk songs for posterity. A staunch defender of indigenous music, he released several cassettes containing experimental folk music, notably ‘Ahase Innavalu’ in 1999. He formed the ‘Thawalama Foundation’ for preserving folk music. “Gama Ahulannang”, “Me Awurudu Kale” and “Wannam Sawudam” are some of his popular songs.