Features
The world has lost an outstanding human being
Although he is no more in the land of the living, what the legendary Sunil Perera did for the music scene, and the public, in general, through his creations, will never ever be forgotten.
Social media is inundated with tributes for this great entertainer, and I don’t think any artiste, who has left this world, has received such glowing tributes.
Sohan Weerasinghe, another legend in the music scene, and a very close friend of the late and great Sunil Perera, has this to say about his gone forever colleague:
Where do I begin? How shall I describe, in words, the life and times of Sunil Perera – songwriter, band leader, entertainer, singer, and, most of all, my friend, for over 50 years!
My earliest recollection of Sunil was at the Navarangahala where Raj Seneviratne introduced an up and coming band, called the Gypsies, to the music loving public of Sri Lanka. They were a smartly dressed, young set of musicians, who made a great impact at their musical debut.
Sunil’s father, Anton Perera, was the first to contact me, to inquire about sound equipment for his young sons, who had just entered the music field, and that’s how I really got to know them, at first hand.
Sunil, Piyal, Lal, Nihal and Nimal then became my instant friends, in the entertainment field. They led a pretty reclusive life and their father was a strict disciplinarian and ensured that they learnt to play multi instruments. Sunil loved to sing and play guitar.
One day, Anton called me and said: “Sohan, these fellows have never got on a plane; can you take them on a five-day trip to Singapore and show them a little bit of the outside world? I jumped at the idea of an all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore, with five brothers whom I had grown to like so much! We had a great time there, which included tourist attractions, nightclubs, music shops and interesting food courts, and some shopping, too.
A few years later, I toured Australia, with the Gypsies. It was a one month tour of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. My roommate was Sunil and he kept me awake, on many a sleepless, and told me many hilarious stories, and then I realised what an entertainer he was! He had radical ideas and a great thinker, and quite fearless when he had to voice his opinion.
He believed in humanity and equality and said all communities must come together as one. He believed that religion should unite people and not divide them.
On many occasions, Sunil and I did trips to Singapore and he became a great travelling companion, and a man with great ideas, who could think out of the box. He loved to travel, but hated flying, although it was unavoidable. His solution was to get sloshed on the long flights and fall asleep, so that he was not reminded that we were flying high, at 35,000 feet.
At his musical performances, he impressed people by wearing outrageous clothes, a larger than life personality, humorous jokes and electrifying guitar wizardry, and his infectious bailas, and his original creations.
Although our two bands had to compete at musical shows, and dances, the competition was healthy and on many occasions Sunil joined me on stage for the final session, or vice versa.
Right through our 50 years of friendship, we remained staunch friends and respected each other and shared our experiences. Whenever he needed my advice, on a crucial matter, he would always call me and ask for my opinion. I, too, learnt many things from him, regarding band management, keeping proper accounts, maintaining files, etc.
Unfortunately, I was unable to join him at many of his so called ‘wild parties’ because I was a teetotaler and Sunil loved to have his drinks and, I guess, I was no drinking companion.
Our friendship continued to grow and, on some days, we had long conversations, on the phone, which went on for hours.
He invited me to join him on many of his original songs, like ‘Loway Sama,’ ‘This Land Belongs To You,’ and ‘Koththamalli.’
He was the first to congratulate me when he heard one of my original songs, called ‘Aadaray.’ He always said, ‘create your own songs and think out of the box.’
Sunil had a heart of gold and helped many people, in various ways, but never bragged about it. He looked after all his band members, like a big brother, and was always fair minded when dealing with them.
Over the years, ‘Sunil and Piyal’ became a household name, and loved by Sri Lankans all over the world.
On many occasions, I tried to convince him to take the vaccine but I regret I wasn’t successful. While he was hospitalised, he called me and said he will be home soon and wanted me to thank all his well-wishers as he was too weak to call them up, personally.
Four days before he passed away, he called me, from home, and told me to find him a Cadillac automobile which he wanted to buy as a prop for a new restaurant he had hopes of launching, and wanted to name it as the ‘Pink Cadillac’ restaurant!
A man who was fearless, forthright, generous and simple, full of humour and kindness, slipped away in the wee hours of the morning and the world lost an outstanding human being, and I lost a great friend.
May your journey through samsara be a speedy one and may you Rest In Peace dear Sunil.
(Let me add that this great performer should be honoured in many special ways. As a start, the street, which leads to his present residence, should be named
‘Sunil Perera Mawatha.’)