Leela Asoka

Leela Asoka ලීලා අශෝකා
Born	Hewa Geeganage Leelawathi (1927-07-07)7 July 1927 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Died	22 April 2019(2019-04-22) (aged 91) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	British Ceylonese (1927–1948) Ceylonese (1948–1972) Sri Lankan (1972–2019)
Other names	Camila Ismail
Education	Musaeus College Maradana Central College
Occupation	Singer
Spouse	M. A. Kamaldeen
Children	3
Parents	Hewa Geeganage Andoris (father) Jocelyn Perera (mother)
Relatives	Sarath de Alwis (brother) Suranga de Alwis (cousin son)
Musical career
Genres	Pop rhythm and blues Indian classical music
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1945–1960
Labels	HMV

Hewa Geeganage Leelawathi (7 July 1927 – 22 April 2019; Sinhala: ලීලා අශෝකා), popularly known as Leela Asoka, was a vocalist from Sri Lanka. She is most notable for being one of the four singers who sang the national anthem for the first time during the 1948 Independence Celebrations.

Personal life

Leela Asoka was born on 7 July 1927 in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was the second child (of eight) and the only daughter in her family. Her father was Hewa Geeganage Andoris and her mother was Jocelyn Perera. Her father died when she was a child, and her mother later remarried. She was educated at Musaeus College, Colombo and then studied at Maradana Central College. During this period, she learned to draw and play the flute and harmonium. After school, she worked at the post office for a short time.

She had one elder brother, named Sugathadasa, and six younger brothers: Somapala, Newton, Winton, Linton, Shelton, and Sarath. The youngest brother, Sarath de Alwis, was a renowned musician in Sri Lanka. Her cousin's son is a popular film director Suranga de Alwis.

She was married to M. A. Kamaldeen, a Muslim who worked in a government trading company. Her name was changed to Camila Ismail after marriage and she left the singing profession at the request of her husband. Kamaldeen told Leela to write a letter asking to refrain from broadcasting her songs on the radio The couple had three sons: Hafeel, Reza, and Fazal.

She died on 22 April, 2019 at the age of 91 after a short illness. Her body was laid at 32, 2A, Ramanayaka Dakshina Mawatha, Hokandara, her residence, for public viewing. Funeral services were held at Hokandara Public Cemetery on 24 April, 2019.

Career

Her passion for music from an early age was greatly supported by her uncle V.M.Perera, who was the Secretary of Hela Havula in the 1940s. Recognising the singing ability of the young Leela, he helped her to sing poems and songs for Hela Havula festivals. During these festivals, her talent was recognised by Sunil Shantha. She sang duets for Sunil Shantha's songs including: Mewan Pitisare, Kirilla Saha Kuduwa, Hela Rate and Rella Nagenne. Meanwhile, she became a B-grade singer in Radio Ceylon.

In 1948 when Leela was 17 years of age, she was selected to sing the National Anthem for Sri Lanka. Then she trained under school teacher Karunaratne and Fr. Marcelline Jayakody along with three other girls. Later she sang the national anthem for the first time at the first Independence Day celebrations in 1948.

Apart from singing, she was also a prolific artist. She also started teaching as an art teacher in a school in Dematagoda. She was honoured with an award in 2019 which was presented by the Women's Front of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party on the occasion of Women's Day on 8 March.