This site is a tribute in memory of W.S. Wickramasinghe (Wickey) a loving husband and father, devoted friend and loyal colleague of the Ceylon Insurance Corporation in Colombo - he was born on the 12th of September 1935 and died in 1990.

 

Sumith Wickramasinghe was born on the island of Ceylon as it was known in 1935. His illustrious parents were Wickremarachige Subatheris and Somawathie Wickramasinghe - both his parents were Headteachers in two different village schools - Sumith's mother was Principal of Ambaraluwa Maha Vidyalaya in the village in Weliweriya in the Gampaha district. To this day Sri Lanka enjoys one of the highest literacy rates in Asia - the key message is education, education, education and Sumith's parents played a pivotal role in Ambaraluwa - their students went on to greater heights.

 

This ethos on learning and the value of education came from the hearts of Subatheris and Somawathie Wickramasinghe, they would certainly have agreed that 'knowledge is power.' As a result of their status as Headteachers they were accorded the highest respect in Buddhist circles in the village.

 

Teachers were held in such high regard because of the value of education. The schools in Ambaraluwa were absolutely vital, the lifeblood of the village and Headteachers were very powerful people in the life of the village they would be today's community leaders  - Ambaraluwa hasn't changed much over the years and the family house still stands off the main road. Sumith's surviving brother Daya lives there. Dayananda Wickramasinghe is also known as Podi Mahaththaya in the village of Ambaraluwa, Sumith was known as Punchi Mahaththaya.

 

Sumith grew up in Ambaraluwa, he was one of five children and his only surviving brother Daya lives in the sprawling family home in the village of Ambaraluwa - his nephews and nieces still live in houses built on adjoining family land. Ambaraluwa is off the beaten track in the island of Sri Lanka, the village is a very quiet area, the pace of life is slow certainly much slower than the commercial capital of Colombo - you find the usual shops and boutiques on the main road in Ambaraluwa - selling everything from Coca Cola to bananas. Sumith attended the local school during World War II.  

 

The island became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. Sri Lanka is situated at the tip of India.Ceylon was going through a transfer of power when Sumith was born in 1935. The British were ruling Ceylon at the time and the Governor and Commander-in-Chief was Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs.

 

The cry for freedom and independence grew stronger in the 1930s and the Ceylon National Congress were calling for responsible government for the people of Ceylon, others followed the Gandhian ideal of 'swaraj,' advocating more forceful expressions of opposition to British rule. D.B.Jayatilake, D.S.Senanayake, Ponnambalam Arunachalem, Ponnambalam Ramanathan, A.E.Goonesingha, C.E.Corea, Victor Corea (father of Sumith's good friend Charlie Corea), E.W.Perera, and the 'younger generation' of Ceylonese politicians -G.G.Ponnambalam, S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayake, J.R.Jayewardene were among those who were deeply involved in the political struggle at the time.

 

These politicians were fearless and spoke out for the rights and freedoms for their people. It was partly to acknowledge this and to encourage the freedom movement that Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Ceylon on his first and last visit in November 1927 - Gandhi travelled the length and breadth of the island - from Jaffna to Chilaw - promoting his message of non-violence.He even visited Sumith's alma mater, Ananda College and spoke to the teachers and students. Gandhi also visited Kalutara - Sumith and Prema Wickramasinghe were to make Kalutara their home. The people of Kalutara raised Rs. 1,695.85 for Mahatma Gandhi's fund during that historic visit in November 1927.

 

The Ceylonese looked to him as a role model and embraced his concept of 'swaraj.'  Sumith's parents longed for a free Ceylon and the goings on in Colombo were the talk of the verandahs in Ambaraluwa. They were avid readers and were fully aware of current affairs in Ceylon. They talked about the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Ceylon even in the village of Ambaraluwa.

 

 

 

In terms of a future career Sumith felt his heart was in the medical profession.He joined Suleiman Hospital in Colombo as an X-Ray Technician Apprentice. He learnt the tools of the trade moving on to Philip Memorial Hospital in Kalutara. Now the town of  Kalutara is steeped in history - it has a beautiful temple and the invading Portugese forces who were in Ceylon in the 15th Century built a major fort in Kalutara. Sumith started his business activities by launching a motor repair garage called 'Udaya Motors,' named after his son Udaya Wickramasinghe. The garage they say is still in existence in Kalutara, still bearing the same name. Sumith always had an  entrepreneurial streak in him, this garage in Kalutara was one of many business start-ups in his lifetime. It was only later on in his life that Wickey found his true vocation when he joined the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation as a Motor Assessor.

 

The Gurusinghe Family have branched out to various parts of the world and are even found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. They are a close knit, powerful family and Prema belonged to this world. The couple were married in 1959 and moved to Kalutara. Sumith worked  at the Philip Memorial Hospital in Colombo and worked with the well known Dr.Christopher Fernando.

 

Sumith still felt the call of the health world and decided to branch out on his own - for a while he had his own Clinic and then his own Pharmacy. The Wickramasinghe Family moved to the outskirts of Colombo to Mount Lavinia with its famed beach and the legendary Mount Lavinia Hotel. Sumith, they resided at 5th Lane in Ratmalana, close by to the old Ratmalana Airport. This airport was at one time Ceylon's main terminal with the Dakota DC-4 planes and the Lockheed 749 Constellation airacraft of Air Ceylon flying in to land at Ratmalana.

 

In 1934 the State Council of Ceylon made a historic decision  to construct an aerodrome and found that Ratmalana was the best area because it was within easy reach of the capital city of Colombo.

 

The first plane landed at Ratmalana was on 27th November 1935, a de Havilland Puss Moth flown by Tyndalle Bisco, Chief flying instructor of Madras Flying Club.This was the year of Sumith Wickramasinghe's birth. Little did Sumith Wickramasinghe know that both his daughters would join Air Lanka in the 1980s and 1990s and his youngest actually flew all over the world with one of the great small airlines of South Asia. 

 

Ratmalana was a hive of activity when Sumith and his family rented a house down 5th Lane. Ceylon was well into the 1960s and Sumith spent several years as an independent representative of several drug companies - as a salesman he made frequent trips to Jaffna, Kandy, Nuwawa-Eliya,Trincomalee, Galle. Ceylon elected the world's first woman prime minister in Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Dudley Senanayake, sone of Ceylon's first Premier after independence in 1948 D.S.Senayake succeded Mrs Bandaranaike as the Leader of the Nation.  

 

 

 

Life was simple in the 1960s and 1970s in Ceylon. There was no television, radio ruled the airwaves and every Ceylonese family had a radio in their home tuned into Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Sumith's family were no different.Sumith Wickramasinghe's radio at home was tuned into Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation through out the 1960s and 1970s.

 

His favourite Sri Lankan musician was the great C.T.Fernando who thrilled the Sri Lankan crowds with 'Sinhala Pop' one of Sumith's perenial favourite was  Piyumehi Panibothi by C.T.Fernando who had a wonderful voice.Sumith and his friends loved to sing a few of CT's songs on an evening as the sunset over Colombo. He also sang one of CT's hits Ambili Mame to put his little grand-daughter Thrishana to bed. (If you would like to hear a string of CT Fernando's hits on this website please click on the CT Fernando photograph below and it will take you to the Sinhala Jukebox website)

 

'Cyril Tudor Fernando showed signs of becoming a great singer from his formative period, which began in 1946. It was in that period he joined Radio Ceylon as a singer when he was auditioned by Prof. Ratnajankar who was invited to grade one singer.

His popularity rose up with "Pinsinduwanne" in which he addressed children to spare bird's without causing any harm. The manner in which he sang this song touched the hearts and minds of the listeners. It was an appeal to young and old.

He sang the thoughts of a bird who built a nest with its beak bringing twigs by bits and pieces. The music that accompanied his rendering was essentially western in style. The use of simple words with a catchy tune remained in one's mind for sometime.

The scintillating music with the slow rhythmic movements of his voice was his style of singing. The words were written by R.N.H. Perera and the song became an instant hit.

CT was born in the pioneering city Moratuwa on January 28, 1921 at Kadalana. He received his education at St. Mary's College Nawalapitiya as his father was working in Nawalapitiya at that time. CT participated in school dramas, joined the church choir in Moratuwa and showed his ability as a promising singer.

In 1952 he became a professional singer and recorded his songs under HMV label for Cargills Company who were Agent for the HMV company then. Some of the songs recorded on HMV label were 'Pinsiduwanne', 'Suwanda Rosa', 'Bara Bage', 'Ambilimame', 'Lo Ada Ninde', 'Gilimale Taruwa', 'Kimada Sumihiriye', 'Amba Ruk' and 'Bilinda Nelawe Ukule'.

Before long CT's songs became popular and they were relayed over radio daily. From 1949 to 1950 and he was rated as the most sought after singer in the country.

His second recording was a LP which was released under the label titled. The Golden Voice of C.T. Fernando for Lewis Brown Company. His Columbia record included compositions by Lalith S. Maithripala, Karunaratna Abeysekara, Sarath Wimalaweera and Wimaladasa Perera.

CT sang with Rukmani Devi in 'Pun Sanda Hinahenne' and also with Latha Walpola, 'Selalihini Kovul Handa' which became popular no sooner than they sang together. These song are in demand even now for gigs, for functions and leisure trips.

In the course of his singing career as a vocalist, CT created a trend in Sinhala music. He freely used the guitar, accordian and violin that made Sinhala music rich by deviating from the usual so-called oriental music set to Hindi melodies.

He did not imitate, instead he evolved an innovation style of singing, slow with effortless tempo which reached a high pitch lifting up the listener's mind to a world of enchantment.

His contemporaries Sunil Santha, Ananda Samarakoon, Amaradeva, Mohideen Baig, H.R. Jothipala, Dharmadasa Walpola enriched Sinhala music during the period. But CT kept the rhythm and beat going for any get together. His choice of simple themes based on love, nature, beauty and life around him created romantic feelings.

There was imagery, which created the mood to appreciate what was beautiful in life and enjoy it even to this day....'

 

Sumith enjoyed the lyrics of the legendary Karunaratne Abeysekera - he loved the Sinhala cinema too - Gamini Fonseka, Rukmani Devi and the old actors and actresses of Ceylon who were classy performers on stage and screen in Colombo. 

 

The Wickramasinghe Family  enjoyed listening to the radio, going to the Cinema to watch wonderful movies like Gone With the Wind, Hatari and the Sound of Music, a family outing to a Chinese Hotel for a slap up Chinese Meal on payday, a stroll down Galle Face Green in Colombo. These were the joys of family life. Sumith used to speak about 'Gone with the Wind' a story from the American Civil War highlighting the love-hate relationship between the hot tempered Southern Belle Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and the questionable, rebellious, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The film was directed by Victor Fleming. Although Sumith was 4 when it was released he saw the film many years later - it left a lasting impresion on him.

 

One of his favourite film stars Vivien Leigh, actually visited Ceylon in 1953 and stayed at the Galle Face Hotel to shoot the film 'Elephant Walk.' Due to illness - they say she suffered a mental breakdown while she was filming 'Elephant Walk' in Ceylon Vivien Leigh had to leave the island and she was replaced in the film by Elizabeth Taylor.

 

'Gone with the Wind' was a massive hit on the island. Queues of Ceylonese stood outside cinema halls to see this film as well as Hatari with John Wayne (released in 1962 and directed by Howard Hawks.)  People  in Colombo used to whistle the 'Baby Elephant Walk' theme song from this intersting film - you could feel the sense of danger as John Wayne and his crew attempted to capture the wild rhino and other animals. Henri Mancini provided a wonderful score including the popular 'Baby Elephant Walk' which was played over and over again on Radio Ceylon.

 

Sumith also loved the 'Sound of Music' (Directed by Robert Wise and released in 1965)  the amazing real story of Maria Von Trapp and her family from Austria starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. This is the moving story of a former nun who captures the hearts of a strict disciplinarian, a widower and his children.

 

With the introduction of television to Sri Lanka in the late 1970s Sumith enjoyed the new Sri Lankan tele-dramas and foreign programmes such as 'Oshin.' Television had replaced the radio and families sat around the box - it was a new visual experience in Sri Lanka. Sumith was used to the radio era of Ceylon and he was an avid listener to the radio programmes of Radio Ceylon. Once television was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1979 he and the Wickramasinghe family were 'glued to the box.' They loved the Sinhala tele dramas - a new genre on television and enjoyed the comedy shows. Sumith used to howl with laughter at the antics of the veteran American actor Bill Cosby on the Cosby Show which was so popular in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans were amazed at the likeness of Bill Cosby to the President of the day - J.R.Jayewardene!

 

(To watch CURRENT TV NEWS from Sri Lanka click on the link: http://www.asianworldnews.com/  for MTV/SIRASA current news bulletins with the latest news in English, Sinhala and Tamil from Sri Lanka.To go to the official website of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation please click on the following links: http://www.slbc.lk/ The website contains LIVE STREAMING from City FM Radio in Sinhala)

 

To watch video clips of some of Sumith's favorite songs please click on the link:

 

http://www.ourlanka.net/video.htm ( The website on ourlanka has video clips of the Super Golden Chimes with Annesley Malawana, Dharmaratne Brothers, Desmond de Silva and others).

 

Sumith loved to sing the favourite songs of the day and he marvelled at the talented voice of the great Rukmani Devi. Bertram Joseph Fernando writing in the Daily News in Colombo paid a tribute to the 'Nightingale of Sri Lanka,' one of Sumith's favourite stars:

 

'Rukmani Devi was born as Daisy Daniels on January 15, 1923. At the age of seven she was picked to sing Christmas carols. Watching her ability to sing, dance, also to act, she was selected to perform a main part in a Christmas play, "The Cobler's Wife".

The stage play was trained and presented by St. Clare's School, Wellawatte. Then at the age of just 12 years she was picked to perform the stage play, "Ramayanaya" presented by 'Sinhala Natya Sabha'. Since her performances were highly appreciated by the packed audience, well-known dramatist Dick Dias selected her to act in two of his stage plays, "Jana Kiharanaya" and "Mayawathie". In 1936 her first recording of famous song "Siri Buddhagaya Vihare" with Master H. W. Rupasinghe brought her fortune. She captured the hearts of the masses.

With her unique voice she was in a position to be picked and selected by many music directors. Her singing career continued on stage and screen. She in fact was able to sing with pop groups in the latter part of her life.

Rukmani Devi reached the dizzy heights of stardom in Ceylon when  the popular play 'Broken Promise' was turned into a film by B. A. W. Jayamanne. This was the first Sinhala film - 'Kadavunu Poronduwa', screened on January 21, 1947. Thus Rukmani became the first local actress, acclaimed as "the Nightingale of Sri Lanka". Her film career covered a period of three decades. At the time of her death, she had acted in around ninety films.

Rukmani Devi played the main role in  B. A. W. Jayamanne's drama 'Seethala Nadiya.' This was staged at Mary Margaret Convent's School Hall Mutwal, somewhere in 1958. With her there were many artistes like Joe Abeywickrema, Eddie Jayamanne, Mili Kahandawela, Eddie Junior and BAW. They jointly made the drama stunning.

Rukmani Devi, the singing star, stage and screen idol died in a tragic motor accident near St. Mary's Church, Thudella on September 25, 1978. She was returning after her last musical show in Uyanwatte, Matara. Her funeral ceremony was attended by a very large gathering, mostly film makers and dramatists, friends, politicians and relations. One could remember how people stood on the walls of Negombo cemetery on September 28, 1978. In fact part of the wall collapsed. One can also remember the speech delivered by late President Ranasinghe Premadasa on that day acclaiming Rukmani's life for art and culture....'.

On the international stage Sumith admired President John F.Kennedy who took up the US Presidency in 1961 the very same year that Ceylon appointed the world's first woman prime minister, Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the widow of Prime Minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike.(who was assasinated).

 

 

Sumith bought his children books and urged them to read the works of Martin Wickramasinghe. One of his personal favourites was 'Madol Doova.' The tome has a fascinating storyline:

 

 

                               Martin Wickramasinghe's MADOL DOOVA