Sunil Santha

Sunil Santha was a Sri Lankan composer, singer and lyricist. Known as the "Father of the Modern Sinhala Music" He was pivotal in the development of Sinhala music and folk songs in the mid to late 1940s and early 1950s. He composed the beloved soundtracks to Lester James Peries' films Rekava and Sandesaya in 1956 and 1960. In a later comeback, he produced several experimental works.

Personal life Sunil Santha was born on 14 April 1915 on the Sinhalese New Year's Day in Dehiyagatha, Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka. Both his parents died before he was two years old, and Santha was raised by his grandmother. At an early age he came to the limelight when he played King Dutugamunu in a village play. One villager adorned him with a battery-powered, lighted necklace. He had his education at Dehiyagatha Vidyalaya, St. Benedict's College, Colombo, Thudella school and St. Aloysius' College, Galle.

At St. Benedict's College, Santha passed the school leaving certificate examination as the first in the island, with the highest marks in his class as a young adult and was awarded the Weeraratne Award. In 1933, he completed the Teachers’ Final Examination and began his career as a teacher at Mt. Calvary School, now known as St. Aloysius' College, Galle. During his tenure, Santha guided the school to three consecutive victories at the Southern Schools Music Competition. In 1939 he passed the Intermediate Gandarva Examination and received a certificate in physical training. He also learned to play the piano and guitar at that time.

Music career In 1940 Santha gave up teaching and travelled to Shantiniketan to study music. The following year Santha enrolled at the Bhatkhande Music Institute and worked to get his Visharadha Degree in 1944. He passed the final exam as the first in the first division in Sitar and Vocals, the first non-Indian Asian to do so. Joseph graduated in “Sangeetha Vishaarada” from the Bhathkanda University of Musicology and returned to Sri Lanka in 1952 and shunned his English name, Joseph John and adapted Sunil Santha. He then adopted the name "Sunil Santha". Santha experienced monetary problems after being terminated from Radio Ceylon. His songbooks were plagiarised, his songs were sold without consent or royalties by copyright violators. He tried his hand at various trades like photography, selling clothes and electronics over the next few years.

In 1955 journalist DB Dhanapala started a campaign to expose Santha's plight and raised some money through his column on Lankadeepa.