Latha Walpola

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Latha Walpola
ලතා වල්පොල
Born
Matharage Rita Genevieve Fernando

(1934-11-11) 11 November 1934 (age 89)[1]
Galkissa, Sri Lanka.
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationSt. Anthony College in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
OccupationPlay-Back Singer
SpouseDharmadasa Walpola
ChildrenAmith, Dhammika, Chaminda, Suneth, Sumith.

Deshamanya Matharage Rita Genevieve Fernando,[2] better known by her stage name Latha Walpola (Sinhala: ලතා වල්පොල), is a Sri Lankan singer. Her fans refer to her as "The Nightingale of Sri Lanka"[3]

Personal life[edit]

Walpola was born on 11 November 1934[4] in Mount-Lavinia to Joseph Fernando and Elizabeth Muriel.[5] She was one of five children. Her mother, a teacher, encouraged her to become a singer.[3][6] Walpola received her primary education at St. Anthony College in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, where she led a church choir.

She married Dharmadasa Walpola in 1959, becoming known as Latha Walpola. A ceremonial wedding was held at Sirikotha, Kollupitiya. The couple has four sons and one daughter.[7]

Career[edit]

Latha Walpola was a member at 12 years old of Radio Ceylon's Choir in 1946. C.A. Fonseka, a family friend and radio dramatist, brought her to Radio Ceylon to perform in his Sarala Gee programme with his son C.D. Fonseka.

In 1947, Walpola sang her first solo song, "Kandulu Denethe Vehena", which had lyrics by Sarath Wimalaweera and music composed by Vincent de Alwis, the resident violinist at Radio Ceylon. She then began to sing under the direction of Mohammed Gauss, P.L.A. Somapala, and B.S. Perera. By 1950, she was well-known in the country, covering the songs "Sukomala Banda Lelawa", "Dunhinda Helena", and "Diyaluma Helena", originally sung by Chitral Somapala. Walpola has recorded for both the Columbia and HMV record labels. "Malbara Himidiriye Pipune Esala Araliya Mala", sung with C. T. Fernando, is one of her most popular songs. Many of her most popular songs were composed by Premasiri Khemadasa. At the age of 86, she sang a song with music by Sarath de Alvis and lyrics by Jude Prasanna.[8]

Work in cinema[edit]

In 1952, she was a playback singer for the film Eda Rae, released in 1953, and in three films with Dharmadasa Walpola during the same year. Walpola contributed to nearly 600 films during her career.[9]

Awards[edit]

Walpola won the Kala Suri award from the Sri Lankan government in 2005.[10] In 2017, she was awarded the second highest civil award, Deshamanya, by the government. She has won the Sarasaviya Award, presented to individuals involved with the cinema of Sri Lanka,[11] four times. In 2021, she received a lifetime achievement award during a ceremony held for 21 artists who made contributions to Sinhala cinema in its early decades.[12] In 2022, she received a lifetime achievement award at the Ceylon International Film Festival in Santa Barbara, California; the awards ceremony was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February 2023.

Other awards include:

  • The Deepasika Award in 1974.[13]
  • The Golden Swan Award in 1992.
  • The Golden Conch Award in 1995.
  • The Golden Jubilee Presidential Award for Pioneers of Film Industry in 1997.[citation needed]
  • The U.W. Sumathipala Award in 2004.
  • The Appreciation Award of OCIC in 2006.

See also[edit]

References.[edit]

  1. ^ "Sri Lankan Nightingale". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  2. ^ Jayasiri, Sunil (21 March 2017). "National Honours – 2017". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b Premadasa, T.K. (11 November 2014). "Latha Walpola – Nightingale of Sri Lanka Becomes Octogenerian". Asian Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Latha Walpola". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  5. ^ "අසූ හතර වියට පා තබන ගී ලොව රැජන ලතා". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017.
  6. ^ Premadasa, T.K. (12 November 2014). "OCTOGENARIAN NIGHTINGALE". Daily News Online. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Tribute to a songstress". nation.lk. 9 November 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016.
  8. ^ Samarasinghe, Sarashi (6 June 2012). "Latha to dazzle again". Daily News. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. ^ Premadasa, T.K. (16 November 2014). "Latha's lilting songs still reverberate". Sunday Observer.
  10. ^ "PART I : SEC. (I)" (PDF). GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA. 7 November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2014.
  11. ^ Premadasa, T.K. (16 December 2016). "60th anniversary of Rekawa: Silver lining of silver screen". Daily FT.
  12. ^ "සිනමාවේ පුරෝගාමී කලාකරුවන්ට සම්මාන පිදුමක්". සරසවිය. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Robin Tampoe". Chithrananda abeysekara. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.

17.Lifetime achievement award, Ceylon International Film Festival 2022

External links[edit]

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