Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKoh Ewe
Facebook/Nanda MaliniNanda Malini, a famed Sri Lankan singer whose voice was seen as a soundtrack to some the country’s political and social upheavals, has died at 82.
Songs from her album Pawana, which touched on social issues and urged people to stand up to injustice, were banned from national airwaves in the 1980s, during a particularly turbulent period of Sri Lankan history.
Her political advocacy continued well after those years, and today Malini is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Sinhala music industry.
She died at her home in Nawala, just a few days shy of her 83rd birthday.
Born on 23 August, 1943, in a village in Kalutara, Malini was the fourth in a family of nine children.
She went to school in the capital Colombo, where she won a poetry singing competition in 1956, which was seen as the start of her music career.
In the 70s and 80s Malini became known for her songs about social justice, from satirical lyrics about corruption to rallying calls for Sri Lankans to look past racial and religious divides and stand up against tyranny.
Sri Lanka at the time was undergoing a period of upheaval, as Leftist activists spearheaded an anti-establishment movement, airing frustrations against youth unemployment, social inequality and the elite class.
It was also a time of ethnic tensions, which culminated in the eruption of civil war in the 1983.
Authorities at the time banned Malini’s songs from being played by national broadcasters – though that did not stop fans from listening to the tracks and attending her concerts.
Her 1987 album, Pawana, which contained songs about human rights and state oppression, is remembered today as the defining music of those turbulent years.
Her advocacy continued even as the country’s political landscape transformed over the decades.
In 2022, as the country saw large-scale anti-government protests amid a spiralling economic crisis, Malini was a vocal supporter of the movement and performed to a gathering of demonstrators.
The months of protests led to the toppling of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Sri Lanka government has declared a three-day mourning period for Malini, as tributes poured in for the veteran singer.
In a statement on social media, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said he was “deeply saddened” by Malini’s death and called her a “true musical legend of our time”
“Her timeless music inspired generations of Sri Lankans, young and old alike,” he wrote.
About The Author
