Manilal does it with ‘Island In The Sun’

We all know Manilal Perera as a singer, and with a voice that generally captivates…the fair sex, especially. But, what about his talents – as a composer!

I never knew about his ability to create songs…to produce originals, until I was told that Manilal had worked on a song, for an online Independence Day event, organised by the Sri Lanka American Association of Southern California.

And, yes, Manilal did indicate to us that he has been working on originals, during the days when he was associated with bands, and has about 15 creations to his credit.

This online Independence Day celebrations highlighted Sri Lanka in various formats – singing, dancing, etc.

The President of the Association, Sondra Wise Kumaraperu, was in touch with Manilal and requested him to do a popular English song, composed by another local artiste, for their online event

Manilal, however, convinced her to do something new and volunteered to create the song, himself.

Within a few days, with the help of fellow musician Kevin Almeida, the singer came up with ‘Island In The Sun.’

Manilal says he worked on the lyrics, while Kevin did the music.

The finished product, which took the form of a video, was shown during the telecast of the Association’s Independence Day celebrations, which was seen by many, via YouTube.

The Association’s President, Sondra, expressing her views, said that ‘Island In The Sun’ is a beautiful song and quite appropriate in glorifying the beauty of our paradise island.

Sondra has been associated with the Sri Lanka American Association of South California for many years. Her term 2020-2021 ends in April. Although she has been asked to stay on, she has declined to do so because of pressure of work, from other sectors, she is involved in.

Sondra runs a montessori school, and has a beauty salon, as well. So, the work load is heavy for her.

In Sri Lanka, Sondra had success, coming her way, as a singer, and even performed with Manilal, on a few occasion – not only in Colombo, but in California, as well.

She also won the Miss Working Girl contest, held in Colombo.

Due to the pandemic, Manilal does a duo scene now, performing at a five star venue, in the city, Sunday evenings.

He says he plans to hand- over the video of the song ‘Island In The Sun’ to the tourism authorities with the hope that his creation would do justice to their promotion of Sri Lanka.