Albert Perera born to a family of carpenters in Moratuwa ... becomes Amaradeva and trounces the music world!

Albert Perera born to a family of carpenters in Moratuwa ... becomes Amaradeva and trounces the music world!

Though the older generation is aware of the beginnings of Dr. Amaradeva who enjoyed the apex of the music field in Sri Lanka, the new generation however to a great degree is ill-informed about it. Some have no idea that he was born with the name Albert Perera as a carpenter's son and how he learnt music from public funds at a later stage and how he rose up and the name Albert came to be changed later and finally reached the highest apex in the Sinhala music field.

Maestro Amaradeva himself exposed his past about four years ago in 2012 in this manner: "My father
was a carpenter by profession. So there were always about 10 or 15 violins at home for repairs. I started playing those and managed to get some sort of a basic knowledge about music. By the age of seven or eight I knew something about Bambara chord and Kovul chord. But right from the start I had in my mind, that to become a good musician there should be a classical knowledge about the tradition of music. 

I, like most people in the country, became a singer through chantry (Kantharu) music groups in the church. Actually, though my father was a Buddhist, my mother was a Methodist (Christian). So because of that I used to go to church with her. It was that religious background that paved the way for me to join the chantry music group in church. You know I have also sung Christmas carols. It was after listening to Ananda Samarakoon's 'Ese madura jeewanaye' song that I also began to think that such creations could be done. Sunil Shanta had the influence of the church chantry music. What influenced Samarakoon was Rabindra music. 

In 1953 I had the desire to learn music. I didn't have money to go to India and study music. It was the great Journalist D.B. Dhanapala who instituted a fund across the Lankadeepa newspaper and funded my travel to India. Professor Ediriweera also joined in this effort. Some singers are known and called populist singers and others as public singers, in our country. Actually I was the singer of the public. Why ... because it was from the rupee or two of the music-loving public of this country that I managed to go to India and study music. I bow down to them and salute them. I had to spend Rs. 200 for a month in India. I got that money from this fund. For 4 years I existed with the support of that money. 

I went to London after getting down from Dhanuskodiya and in the train after that. It's because it was my first overseas journey. So because of that I never forget that journey. Right at the entrance to the Bhathkand Music School I saw an individual of a lean type. What I thought was that he may be a peon. I asked him who the Principal was and where he (Principal) was. He broke into a smile and said "I am the Principal" and that was Pundit Krishna Narayana Rathan Jankar. Some time before that he had been to our country. That was to categorise us. It was on that occasion to the distinhuished grade as a singer and player. It was only Kokila Devi and I only that were successful in finding a place in the distinguished grade in the field of singing. He directed me to the best violin teacher in the school, Shri Vishnu Govind Jorg. I studied violin at the school as well as at Vishnu Govind's home. Finally I became his best student. To say how much he was taken up by me he named a nephew of his by my name as Amaradeva Vijaya Jorg. Professor Sarachchandra changed my initial name to Albert Perera Amaradeva. Gunadasa Amarasekera put me a name no ... called Meghavarna. If the name Amaradeva didn't come into force then ... today my name would be W.D. Meghavarna. 

I am never a person who piled up wealth or riches. If there wasn't anything to eat ... I and my wife had the ability to drink some conjee and live. Till I die I won't stop with my creations. Just as much as all cells in our brain are not useful for us ... so far I have made use of just a bit of my talent only. More than what I have done ... there's more that I have not done. My best creations are yet to dawn in future. Everybody must have some sort of target. Without that nothing can be done successfully. The other thing is that it is important that life be lived according to the Middle Path as Lord Buddha has preached. He gave that dhamma sermon to Sona Thera. Sona Thera was earlier a good player of the veena (fiddle). Will there be a good sound if a chord in the veena is tightened too much? If it's loosened too much ... will there be a good sound either? No. It won't give a pleasant sound. It should be done in a medium way. It's only then that the real tone comes. It's not good for it to go over too much or for it to decrease too much. That is life".