Gifted with the art of composing - Dr. Rohana Weerasinghe

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

Dr. Rohana Weerasinghe hardly needs any introduction. Making an indelible mark in the Sri Lankan music industry over 30 years, he remains one of the best musicians in history. His music never fails to enhance the power of the words in a song. “I try to understand the meaning in the lyrics and create a mental image out of it. Then I think of a melody which suits that image which is followed by music composition,” Dr. Weerasinghe said, explaining the process of composition.

Traditional music which reflects the atmosphere of the eras in which Lenchina and Selestina lived; melancholic cello and Hawaiian guitar music which represents the sorrow of garment workers in Re wada muraya awasan wana kanisamata by Sunil Edirisinghe are just a few examples of Weerasinghe’s excellence. Reviewing his music Prof Carlo Fonseka wrote, “To review comprehensively, let alone appraise critically, Rohana’s assembled body of musical creations, one would have to be familiar with some 2,000 songs and the music he has created for 125 teledramas, 30 films and 20 dramas. To be a competent judge of his work one should have knowledge of several kinds of music, lyrical poetry and the role of music in film, teledrama and drama. I fail all these tests.”

Rohana Weerasinghe said that he always tries to give prominence to composing music for the lyrics rather than getting someone to write songs for his melodies. “Creative music is now available as a subject in the university curriculum, but during our days, we didn’t have a proper place to experiment with music. I observed Pandit Amaradeva, Kemadasa Master, Victor Ratnayake and Prof Sanath Nandasiri. They were the best people. Observing them closely, how they composed music helped me to create my own style,” he said. “I saw how they understood lyrics and converted it into music, how they combined the background music with the flow of words, how music was composed with the melody. It helped me improve my gift,” he reflected.

Rohana Weerasinghe was born in Black pool, a rural village in Nuwara Eliya in February 14, 1949 as the youngest son of Dickmadugodage Henry Weerasinghe and Sepalin Weerasinghe. “My singing talent was first recognized. I remember running to the temple to listen to the gramophone. Hamuduruwo used to say, “Mahaththaya, why don’t you sing? It’s not doing you any good just listening to the gramophone. So I sang into a microphone so that the whole village could hear,” he reminisced. His formal education commenced at the same temple. He later entered Welimada Central College, where he laid the foundation for his musical journey. He studied music under KVS Perera, who was the music teacher at that school. “Looking back, I think it’s the first landmark of my career,” he said. He had to choose subjects for higher studies after graduating to grade eight. He chose Arts subjects ignoring the objections of his family. “I had good grades and I was the first in the class.

“My family thought I was going insane when I chose music as a subject,” he recalled his stubborn decision which enabled him to become one of the best musicians in the country. This period was quite hard for little Rohana because he lost his father and his music teacher had to leave school following a transfer. School became dull since there were no more music lessons. “I came to a cousin who worked in Colombo and got into Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya for the Advanced Level,” he said. Yet, his dreams were shattered since there wasn’t a good music teacher. “I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do. To suppress my devastation I got into the habit of watching Hindi movies,” he recollected how he used to adore Hindi melodies.

“However, I failed the Advanced Level at my first attempt and I was asked to return home. They were already disappointed about me since I was the stubborn one,” he smiled. After returning home he met Kithsiri Aluthge, the music master at Gamini Maha Vidyalaya, Nuwara Eliya. He encouraged him to repeat his Advanced Level Examination. “When the Gazette announcement was made to declare open the Government Music School, master Aluthge himself told me that I would do well to join it, since my passion was music,” he said. He joined the Government Music School in 1969. “That is the second landmark of my journey,” he added.

At the Government Music School, he met a few lifelong friends including Lakshman Wijesekara, Bandula Wijeweera, Malini Bulathsinhala, Somapala Ratnayake and Ananda Weerasiri, who are well-known in the Sri Lankan music field. “We all studied music under HDS Jayasekara. He was attached to the amateur artiste’s programs at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and he used to make us participate in these programs,” he said. “This was during the 70s, which was considered the golden age of SLBC,” he added.

He was introduced to the field through SLBC and his talents were recognized by few veterans in the field at that time. Dr. Premasiri Kemadasa having noticed young Rohana’s skills invited him into his orchestra as a sitarist. This was a big breakthrough for young Rohana as it helped his journey as a professional musician. As a musician playing various instruments including sitar, Rohana contributed to Sa concert of Victor Ratnayake, Shravanaaradhana of Nanda Malini and Swarna Kundala of Sanath Nandasiri. He attempted to master his singing when he passed his light classics (Sarala Gee) test at SLBC. “But I wasn’t very good at that. I didn’t receive good feedback like I received for my music. In fact I was discouraged by the feedbacks,” he admitted.

Discouraged to sing, he started music composition. “People like my melodies. I was also happy they admired it. Therefore I continued with music composition and gradually lost interest in singing.” In 1977, he settled down in matrimony with Beatrice de Silva and started the journey of family life. In 1979, he composed music for his debut cassette recordings, including songs like Eka sitha dethanaka and Hiruta horen - sanduta horen by TM Jayarathne and Punchi sithe punchi sina by Neela Wickramasinghe. He was introduced as a music composer to the silver screen with the release of Aaradhana by Vijaya Dharmashri in 1980. Yet his debut music composition for the silver screen was for Sathischandra Edirisinghe’s Vadula. He received his first Sarasavi award for music composition in 1980. He started contributing to teledrama, directing music for DB Nihalsinghe’s Rekha. Other than that, Sinhala films like Adara Hasuna and Saptha Kanya and teledramas like Du Daruvo and Giraya won him an array of national awards.

He believes that music can be mastered through practice if a person has an innate talent. “People like Jothipala had the gift. Amaradeva mastered his talent through learning and practice. Latha Walpola established a name in the field using her inborn talent where Nanda Malini studied the subject,” Weerasinghe explained. "I do not have much talent in singing; I cannot sing some of the musical ornaments (Alankara) properly. That's why I thought of sticking to music composition,” he added. Yet, songs he voiced like Muthu kuda ihalana mal warusawe or Nathi bari mohothaka pihitata enne fascinates the listeners as any other singer, even though he underestimates his own singing.

Weerasinghe emphasized that there are many talented musicians and singers in the new generation who are awaiting an opportunity. “I have met many talented young students during Kavitha, university talent show,” he iterated. Yet according to him, it’s less likely that they come into the field as professionals. He put the blame on contemporary media for this regrettable situation. “Not all, but many media institutions are responsible for this. Their commercialized motives do not allow the new generation to come up with respectable creations,” he pointed out. "We were less interested in money but valued the sensation of making a musical creation. It was the mentality of that era,” he recalled. “All our advice on media ethics are in vain, despite how hard we try,” he lamented. “Media is in a race to give the worst possible to the society. No surprise that they have to pay the audience to watch or listen,” he added.

Weerasinghe was appointed a presidential adviser on cultural and aesthetic affairs in 2005. In 2011, the University of Visual and Performing Arts conferred upon him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his outstanding contributions. When asked about the insinuated step motherly treatments towards artistes, Weerasinghe said, “Artistes earn money and spend it all without a proper plan, waste it on drinking and put the blame on the government when they don’t have a way of living out their old age. How fair is it in a country where there are farmers, teachers and laborers who go through untold troubles?” He went on to say that he is aware of the dissatisfaction among artistes. “I am doing my best as a presidential adviser making plans and suggestions. That is the farthest I can go. It’s up to authorities to operate them,” he further explained. According to him, there is a clear upbeat in the teledrama and film industries. “I’m not sure whether people who always complain are aware of these positive facts,” he said.

He further expressed his grief on the failure to implement a working set of media ethics on contemporary media. “People put the blame on the government for not controlling this unfortunate situation in media. But when we try to implement ethics the opposition party protests that the government is trying to censor media,” he emphasized. “I’m not sure how to make things work in this country, it is complicated,” he added.

He also spoke about remaking and remixing of music. He emphasized that that these improvements are always a good sign as long as there is a mutual understanding between the remaker and the original creator. “It is very hard to cope with the mafia of remaking, downloading and ringtones. We went through a lot of hardship to draft a law on royalty payments under the Intellectual Property Act. Only one or two channels follow this rule,” he affirmed. “These channels have been breaking the law for almost three years now. No one talks against them,” he reiterated.

Speaking about the Sannaliyane musical show, Weerasinghe said that everything is ready to stage the event. He said that he believes it is a blessing for him to receive the opportunity to direct music for the event. “Pundit Amaradeva’s songs will be sung by various other artists on stage. My responsibility was to recreate these songs without harming the original, maintaining quality,” he said.