Kumaradasa Saputhanthri - In tune with human emotion

 

Pic by Sakuna Gamage

Though they fly from flower to flower, they are not butterflies. Though they suck the nectar from the flowers they are not bees. They are just poor human beings who make a living by beating the coconut flower, trying to feed their starving kids, overwhelmed by immense hardships that life entails. While on a train from Colombo to Matara, Kumaradasa Saputhanthri, veteran lyricist, noticed that there is more to the nectar producing process of a coconut flower. To him it was as if the tears of the flower were rushing out, as if in sympathy for the life of the toddy tapper, turned into nectar.

“The train used to stop for a while before the Kalutara station. On the seaside I could see the toddy tappers at work. One day I saw a little girl coming to one of the tappers who was ready to climb a tree. She was dressed in a school uniform. She worshiped the man and he stroked her head. She left with her books and the man climbed the tree. I remembered this incident. I was wondering what would happen to the girl. ‘She will not be able to get a government job in the future. She will have to get married to another toddy tapper and her life will be the same,’ I thought,” said , Kumaradasa Saputhanthri. “After about 12 years, I went in search of them. The toddy tapper was already dead. Villagers said he died after falling from a tree. The girl was still in the village, married to another toddy tapper just as I predicted. I felt sad for them. This story later became the song Malin malata igilunata samanalayin nowe,” he explained how the much admired song Malin malata was written.

Kumaradasa Saputhanthri was born in Aththudawa, Matara. He lived in his grandparents’ house since his father worked in Colombo. His father had to travel from Colombo to Matara to see little Kumaradasa, which was not an easy task. When Saputhanthri turned seven, their parents decided that they should all move to Colombo and live there. Therefore they moved to a rented house in Kotta Road. Their home was located near Gothami Viharaya and this closeness encouraged a great bond between this family and the temple. He first learned to read at the Gothami Viharaya from its chief incumbent at the time. He received his primary education from Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Kotta Road. “It was called Jaadi iskole at that time. Later we moved to a house in Rajagiriya, but I didn’t have to change schools. But I had to change schools when our father wanted us to move to his village, Beruwala since he wanted to look after his father,” he recalled.

He entered Kalutara Maha Vidyalaya after moving to Beruwala. As a child, he was amazed by the natural beauty of the village. “There were fields and cinnamon gardens where we could play all day,” he said. He had to stay home after finishing his ordinary level exams since there were no advanced level classes in his school at that time. Again, his father decided to bring his child to Colombo, so that he could obtain higher education. They moved to Welikada. With the support of his uncle, who lived in Kiribathgoda, he received admission to the popular Institute of Commerce. He also joined the Jethavana Piriven University and continued his Advanced Level. “I met few friends there who changed my life. I was inspired by their socialist political ideologies and my priorities shifted accordingly. I passed my advanced level exams too, but my interests were no more educational,” he recalled.

As a young man inspired by socialist ideologies he joined Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). He remained an active member of the party for long. When the JVP spilt in 1970s, he chose GID Dharmasekara’s faction and continued his work in politics. During the same era, a cousin encouraged him to write to newspapers such as Lankadeepa. “I also got the opportunity to go to Sudarshi Sinhala Cultural Center. It was headed by Dayananda Gunawardena and Chandra Kaluarachchi back then. I received their blessing and my interests started deviating from politics to arts,” he reminisced.

He remained as a member of Dayananda Gunawardena’s drama team for a long time as a set designer and a makeup artiste. “I even got a chance to act in Jasaya saha Lenchina,” he reminisced his time working with Gunawardana. “There was a time when the actors boycotted a show. But Mr. Gunawardena was so confident that we could do the drama without them. I was beside myself, I finally got to act. Fortunately there weren’t any dialogue,” Saputhanthri explained how he enjoyed working with Dayananda Gunawardena.

With the invitation of Dayananda Gunawardena, Saputhanthri joined the programs in Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) where he started writing songs instead of poems. “Sunil Edirisinghe, Edward Jayakody and Rohana Weerasinghe helped me immensely at SLBC,” he iterated. Unlike today, as he said, he received plenty of opportunities and the blessings of the seniors to blossom as a lyricist. Since then he has written hundreds of memorable songs for almost 40 years. Speaking of his achievements he mentioned the Presidential Award he received as the best lyricist for writing Ran malak lesa dev bambun during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunge’s regime. It was also selected as the best patriotic song of the decade. With this recognition, he staged his debut show, Malin Malata and along with it, published a collection of his lyrics. “I continued to hone my abilities. Looking back, I am extremely satisfied with what I have achieved,” Saputhanthri said. He currently works as a working director for SLBC.

He believes that some of his songs like Landu owiti kalal mathin or Karakena rode were influenced by the political ideologies he followed. “I was travelling with Rohana Weerasinghe one day in his scooter. We observed a few laborers engaged in road construction in Narahenpita. They were working in the hot sun, their legs covered with gunny bags. They were hard at work. It got me thinking. Although they sweat like this, none of these roads will be named after them. It will be named after some politico who didn’t even know how this road was laid,” he said, remembering what inspired him to write the song, Landu owiti kalal mathin…aluth paara hadenawa. He also mentioned how the late poetess Monika Ruwanpathirana also encouraged him to write songs.

He considers the song as a weapon capable of reminding people what’s right and wrong. Yet he lamented that a politician’s lie is stronger than the messages sent to society through songs. Therefore, this system where laborers get undermined despite their hard labor, will be difficult to change. However, he strongly believes that an artiste should not be involved in party politics directly. “It hinders your freedom. If you work solely for one political party it will be disadvantageous to his creative work as well,” he pointed out. “The artiste’s political partiality should be in his heart. He or she should be sensitive to what’s happening to the society as a whole regardless of which party is doing more harm or good. But that’s not what’s happening today,” he added.

He speaks about the underdog in his songs. He has tried to bring out the feelings of the isolated people in the society through songs. The lonely boy, who isolates himself from the children going home after school in Issara man giya pasala aril; where a lonely girl stands in the fork of her parents’ divorce in Santhapa mawathe; or the untold troubles of the child who pushes his disabled father’s cart, is capable of forcing people to ponder different aspects of life, which they choose not to see otherwise. He believes that he has honed this ability through living in the village, interacting with villagers in their good times and bad. “I always saw people. I felt for them. I didn’t care whether they were rich or poor,” he reiterated. “That is why they are mostly about human emotions.”

Separation is one of the most unbearable things in life. Among hundreds of songs written about separation, Saputhanthri’s Hade kothanaka ho hindi oba - nida nonida men tops the list. He describes the pain of a man, left by his girlfriend, in Sunil Edirisinghe’s voice. It is astonishing how he understands the stages of pain this man undergoes. Only a broken heart would know the pain of another broken heart. Proving that, Saputhanthri said that he also had tried walking in those shoes long ago while he was still a student.

“I was in love with a girl from Kiribathgoda during the time I was in politics. She was from a well-to-do family with powerful relatives who strongly believed in UNP ideologies. I was known as an active JVP member. And when they were informed about the relationship, all hell broke lose. We knew we don’t have a future together and we decided to end it. It was a mutual decision but it was hard,” he explained how his experiences in early life later became a great song.

Another notable significance of his songs is that he always finds connections with nature and environment. He pointed out that the young amateur songwriters lack the skills to see the connections between life and nature. “This is the result of the contemporary education system. It has destroyed their senses. Today, young people would not notice even if the aesthetic hits them between their eyes. The child imprisoned in this system does not have the time or the patience to observe nature,” he pointed out. “I admired and enjoyed the environment in both my villages, Beruwala and Matara. That’s what’s mixed with the songs,” he added.

He also expressed his grief about the lack of opportunities in the field for amateur lyricists and drew the attention to the lack of high quality programs dedicated to broadcasting decent songs. “There are veterans who are willing to do better at SLBC. But they stay idle because of improper administration,” he noted. “Recognition for the lyricist is poor in this country anyway. Good lyricists will further dwindle if this system continues,” he added. He also said that this frustration could also be the reason for the absence of new songs by veterans including him. “It’s a shame if it happens. We still have potential to take the new song to the previously admired quality,” Saputhanthri concluded.