Tribute to the maestro

Ruwanthi ABEYAKOON

‘Gandharvaabhinandana 2012’ , a classical musical event featuring Amarasiri Peiris, one of the most prominent maestros in local classical music will unfold for the second time on July 20, 6pm onwards at Nawaragahala, Royal College. The show is organized for the second time by Direct Intake of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry students of University of Colombo in hands with ChemSoc and Department of Chemistry (University of Colombo).

Amarasiri Peiris

“The first show was staged in March 2010 with Sunil Edirisinghe one of the most popular singers of Sri Lankan classical music. This is an annual event of the university. Our objective is to appreciate someone who has done a valuable service to our culture. Even though there are musical awards there is no platform that appreciate great personalities,” said Vajira Weerasekara, lecturer, Molecular Biology.
“This is not a musical show which merely entertains people. We will be inviting the lyricist, music director and have a discussion on the song and its theme. Professsor Sarath Wijesooriya will be the compeer of the evening. This will help the audience to appreciate the song. We want to inculcate this value in our university students,” he added.
While appreciating Amarasiri Peiris who has made a vast contribution to the field of music, the event will be a fundraiser to upgrade the Biotechnology Laboratory of Department of Chemistry, University of Colombo to meet the modern state-of-art facilities for Life Science research.w
“More than 100 research students including both undergraduates and graduates would benefit each year through this project. We believe that it is our responsibility to stabilize the institute. Thus we create molecular biology products such as Recombinant proteins, Enzymes, DNA extraction kit, RNA extraction kits which we sell to hospitals and other universities,” Weerasekara said.
Commenting on why science students are involved in organizing a musical event, Weerasekara says a scientist is a person who can appreciate arts and literature. “You can not separate arts and science. Even science students should learn to appreciate literary works,” he added.
Meanwhile, the veteran singer feels fortunate to participate at this event. “Most of my life I have been a violinist although I had the talent for singing. When the opportunity came my way to sing I grasped it eagerly as I love singing. There onwards I have made a lot of contributions to this field. I was a playback singer for many films and teledramas and have won several awards. However I feel my work is not adequately appreciated. Media does not talk of my works in an appreciative manner. Amidst such a situation I feel privileged to be invited to sing at a mega musical event of this nature. It is a great opportunity and am looking forward for it. I will present few songs from my latest album Ganga Gala Yaden to the audience,” he said.
Chief Organiser of the event, Gayan Parakrama thanked Dr. N. V. Chandrasekharan, Professor K. R. R. Mahanama and all the students for their tremendous support rendered to him in organising the event.
“Nalaka Anjana Kumara and the crew will provide music for the evening. This is bound to be a unique experience for the audience,” he said.
Daily News is the official media partner of the event. Tickets can be obtained at Sarasavi Bookshop (Nugegoda and Dehiwala), Sadeepa Bookshop Borella, Godage Book Emporium Maradana and Salaka Senkada.