Abeywardena Balasuriya

Abeywardena Balasuriya (9 March 1945 – 26 March 2010 ), was a Sri Lankan musician, playback singer, writer and a television program producer. An A-grade singer with a career spanned more than three decades, Abeywardena made a vital contribution to the music field of Sri Lanka.

Personal life He was born on 9 March 1947 in Mugunuwatawana, Chilaw, Sri Lanka.

He was married to a fellow singer, Niranjala Sarojani. He met Niranjala while singing in for Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation’s (SLBC) "Upuli" album. Niranjala is the younger sister of veteran songstress Malkanthi Nandasiri. Malkanthi is married to Prof. Sanath Nandasiri, an icon in Sri Lankan music. Some of the other popular members of the family include, Nirmala Ranatunga, Kumar Pieirs, Manoj Peiris, and Sakunthala Peiris. Sakunthala worked at Veritas Radio in Manila. Manoj Peiris is a renowned tabla player and musician of Sri Lanka. Nirmala Ranatunga is also a singer who was married to late Wijeratne Ranatunga, a prominent tabla player. Nirmala's daughter Sewwandi Ranathunga is also a singer.

In his late years, he had a nervous breakdown and had difficulty speaking. He died on 26 March 2010 at the age of 63 while receiving treatment in ICU at the Colombo National hospital. His remains laid at his residence at No. 38, Yahampath Mawatha, Maharagama. The funeral took place at the Borella cemetery at 4 p.m. on 31 March 2010.

Career He started his music career as a vocalist at Sarasvathi Mandapaya. On 29 January 1963, he passed the singing examination conducted by Navaka Mandala program under the guidance of Amara Bandu Rupasinghe and Elmo Fernando. Since then, he voiced several popular songs for the lyrics made by Sunil Ariyaratne, Ajantha Ranasinghe and Premakeerthi de Alwis. He also participated in many radio musical programs such as Swarna Varna, Swarna Rangana, Miyarasa Vindana, Nurthi Gee and Prabuddha Gee. Some of his other popular hits include: "Anurādhapuraya Obayi", "Man Næthidā Mē Raṭa", "Avasan Husma Poda", "Bhavayen Bhavē", "Oba Maṭa Mal Kækulaki" (with Nanda Malini), "Malavungē Nagarayē" (with Nalani Ranasinghe), "Vælibath Ivvā Matakayi" (with Indrani Perera), "Nohan̆ḍan Sūriya Kānthā" (with Indrani Bogoda), "Kumbuke Liden" (with Nirmala Ranatunga), and "Kīra Palā Dalu" (with Chandrika Siriwardena).

Meanwhile, he attained a scholarship to Germany. In 1982, when Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation was established, M.J. Perera who was the Chairman of the Rupavahini invited Abeywardena to produce the musical program Nandana Vindana. Then he became the director and producer of the show. The program became very popular among the public and one of the iconic musical programs in Sri Lanka. Then in 1985, he produced the program Anduna where the program won the Vijiya Rupavahini Sammana Award for the best television program in 1987. During the show, a CD comprises 20 tracks, titled "Apa Gayu Prem Ge Gee" sung Abeywardena-Niranjala was launched. On 12 July 2013, the patriotic song series sung by the Abeywardena and Niranjala was released under the name "Ran Divaina" at 4.00 pm at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. It is the first time that a duo has released a CD of sixteen patriotic songs. The song collection was to be released in 2008 for the 60th Independence Diamond Jubilee, but they could not finish the job as Abeywardena got sick.

Filmography Year Film Role Ref. 1976 Madol Duwa Playback Singer 1976 Duhulu Malak Playback Singer 1976 Asha Playback Singer 1977 Hariyanakota Ohama Thamai Playback Singer 1978 Veera Puran Appu Playback Singer 1978 Anupama Playback Singer 1979 Sarungale Playback Singer 1979 Chuda Manikya Playback Singer 1980 Kanchana Playback Singer 1980 Seetha Playback Singer 1980 Kinduru Kumari Playback Singer 1981 Sayuru Thera Playback Singer 1981 Valampuri Playback Singer 1981 Bamba Ketu Hati Playback Singer 1982 Sandaa Playback Singer 1983 Subodha Playback Singer 1994 Sahodariyakage Kathawa Playback Singer 1987 Podi Vijay Playback Singer 1988 Sandakada Pahana Playback Singer