My elder sister died on the day I was born - That's why I don't have birthday celebrations - Deepika Priyadarshani

Renowned vocalist Visharada Deepika Priyadarshani Peiris has shared extremely sensitive and sorrowful memories from her life on Hareendra's YouTube channel. She states that the event of her elder sister passing away on the very day she was born into this world was a cause for shock.

This bitter reality of one daughter being born into the family while another daughter passed away has become a powerful emotion that affected her entire life.

Deepika Priyadarshani Peiris was born on July 13th, and her elder sister passed away the very next day, on the morning of July 14th. At that time, this three-year-old girl was extremely beautiful, loving, and possessed a lovely voice. When she sang songs while holding onto the window bars of the main house, even people at the nearby bus stop could hear her voice, and she was known among the locals as the little girl who sang songs.

When her mother was preparing to be hospitalized for Deepika's birth, it was this three-year-old elder sister who even prepared the bag with clothes needed to take to the hospital. In an era when medical scans were not available, she even had a premonition, asking her mother, "Is mother bringing a baby sister?" However, despite being in good health, she suddenly told her father that she had chest pain, and although she was taken to the hospital, she passed away under circumstances where even the cause could not be determined at the time.

Since reaching an age where she could understand, Deepika has been deeply affected by this incident and believes that her elder sister made way for her and went to heaven. Her uncle, writer Mr. Richard Thanthiriwatta, wrote an article titled "Adaraneeya Sudu Manike" (Beloved White Gem) based on this incident, and from the day she learned to read as a child, she would read that letter and cry in secluded corners of the house. Having understood the futility and reality of life with her birth, she has never held birthday parties in her life and continues to dedicate merits to her deceased elder sister throughout her life.