The Nightingale of Radio - Indra Ramanayake
in London
Picture Credit - Google
By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando
If I begin
to get a glimpse of the miraculous richness of the ‘human being,’ I could
not help getting depressed by the fact that most of that potential remains
unrealised in the vast majority of people. One such example amidst our Sri
Lankan community in the UK today is Indra Ramanayake, once
renowned as the Nightingale of Radio Ceylon.
Indra’s
rise to fame within the Radio Ceylon (SLBC) is a tribute to the power
and efficiency of modern means of communication. Like a clock needs two hands
to move forward within a ‘time-frame’, she could not have moved forward
without the full backing and the hand extended to her by her sister Karuna
Ramanayake (Bodhinayake), who in her own capacity was at the helm at the time
in Radio Ceylon presenting programmes such as Vanitha Latha.
Indra was also propped by Dr. Buddhadasa Bodhinayake, renowned journalist and
broadcaster, through his science programmes on radio.
Providence
When Indra
got through her ‘A’ Level examination she responded to a SLBC advertisement for
radio announcers. Her previous part-time experience in radio broadcasting, enhanced by her opulent voice, helped her to be selected as a Grade ‘A’
announcer along with few others Dharmasiri Wickremanayake, Kusum
Peiris, Tilaka Ranasinghe and Ariyasiri Vithanage.
Indra
worked for some time as a relief announcer during which period she successfully
completed her university entrance examination. However, she acted on impulse
and followed her instincts with aggressive frankness of being a radio artiste.
Ever since, a combination of childish face, mature body, innocence and her
‘nightingale’ voice became the basis for her ascent to popularity, which
vibrated through radio waves and had a magnetic effect on thousands of radio
listeners throughout the country.
She
handled thirty musical and commercial programmes a week on both,
National, and Commercial Service of the SLBC and dominated the Commercial
Service primarily by promoting the Ceylon Film Corporation releases
covering their Sinhala and Hindi films. In addition, she became part and parcel
of the radio-drama team (Radio Rangamadala ) rubbing shoulders with
famous names such as Lucian Bulathsinhala, Dharmasiri Bandara, Somalatha
Subasinghe, Wijaya Nandasiri, Wijeratne Warakagoda, Anula
Bulathsinhala, Jaya Sri Sandrajith, Jayasekera Aponso, Mercy
Edirisinghe, Denowaka Hamine, Karunaratne Amarasinghe, and Bandara K.
Wijetunge.
Heartthrob
She became
a heartthrob especially with a programme called Keti Kathawa
(short story) where listeners’ submissions were dramatised solo by her giving
life to several characters in the story adding richness, feeling and emotion ‘in
one breadth,’ thus making the listeners glued to their radio sets.
She
created the character of Amara Hamu in Kele Mal, Menike
in Gaja Muthu and Samudra Devi in Veediye
Bandara and her name became ‘immortal’ among radio listeners !
Menike character in Gaja Muthu, in particular,
became so popular that when she left for London, the producer of
the drama did not want to kill the character off, in her absence. Instead it
was given a twist to the plot by making Menike ‘losing her
voice after being poisoned by someone’ in order to substitute her role with
another female artiste’s voice.
As an
announcer, she presented some of the most favourite programmes such as ‘ Sing
Lanka, Guwan Meevitha and ‘Adhunikka Gee Tharanga’ (Amateur Song Contests) in
association with famous radio icons such as Karunaratne Abeysekera, Lalith S.
Maithripala, Ariyadasa Peiris, Chandra Wymen and Ranjith Peiris. Apart from
presenting programmes, she was heard reciting Kavi (poetry) in classical
programmes such as Padyavaliya and Nava Mihiria.
Drama
She became
interested in stage drama when Sugathapala Silva introduced her to Dr.
Ediriweera Sarathchandra to take part in Mahasaara, followed by
Sugathapala Silva’s Harima Badu Hayak and Thuranga Sanniya.
Inspired by stage drama acting, she continued by partaking in Senerath Yapa’s Hiru
Nonagina Adirajyak and Bandula Vithanage’s Becket. Displaying
yet another refracted talent within her , she sang in Gunasena Galapathi’s Muhudu
Puttu and Deèsa Nisa in which her sister Karuna played the main
female characters with Cyril Wickremage and Damma Ja Goda. Just before
leaving for London, she made a brief appearance as a TV newscaster on the ITV and
Rupavahini, which she continued until she left Sri Lanka.
BBC
Sinhala Service
In London,
her entrance into the BBC World Service, Sinhala Section, was greeted
with almost instant acclaim. She believed that the best way of being on top in
radio announcement was a matter of continuity - permanence of serving the
Sinhala service and constancy of style.
Sandesayawas only a
15-minute programme once a week at the time, and she was paid £5 a week as
wages! At the BBC, she met Wasantha Raja, the then Producer of Sandesaya.
Their working relationship seemingly developed into a romance and finally ended
up in wedlock.
Indra
remained in the UK after her marriage working for the BBC. In the Sandesaya
programme, she started reading news, participated in an English-in -Sinhala
learning programme for listeners in Sri Lanka and hosted an exclusive health
programme by interviewing a series of doctors, including Dr. Buddhadasa
Bodhinayake.
Additionally,
she covered outdoor activities in London such as the Chelsea Flower Show.
Joining the BBC in London was regarded as her entering into another area by
transferring energy and talent from the stage in Sri Lanka to microphone once
again in London to be popular worldwide through the world service of the BBC.
Even to
date she is part and parcel of the Sandesaya programme, which has come a
long way covering broadcasts seven days a week for thirty minute duration where
she has become the only popular & female voice. Her newscasts can be heard
today anytime on the Internet through Sandesaya programme (http:
//www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala).
Few years
prior to Wasantha Raja’s name became associated with the LTTE, providence served
her with a sledgehammer blow on their marriage, which ended up in a divorce. In
the concept of existed political scenario that followed in Sri Lanka could be
viewed as a blessing in disguise, but not from a family perspective! She becomes
extremely disturbed when her name is dragged out still into Sri Lankan
politics, and naturally leaps in fury whenever such title-tattle raises its
ugly head.
With equal
ferocity, she defends her own privacy, refuses interviews, questions and
explanations, years after she severed her marital ties with her husband, a fact many
who point an accusing finger to her seem to forget. Wasantha Raja was ‘imported’
from the BBC to the Sri Lankan Rupavahini Corporation as its Chairman by the
Sri Lanka government (President Chandrika Kumaratunge) and placed on the
pinnacle of his career long before he was ‘branded as a LTTE sympathiser’.
Individuality
Indra
Ramanayake maintains that Wasantha Raja and she was two separate individuals,
the only common factor shared between the couple was only a marriage bond, yet
she cannot fathom how some extreme nationalists get the wrong impression about
her!
“Wasantha
has never tried to influence me into politics or whatever his activities,
nor have I ever surrendered to his political ideology”, she always
shrugged off such propaganda.
“I am
also an educated person, and furthermore, long before he got involved in Sri
Lankan politics we had been separated, divorced and in fact he had re-married
twice”! She exclaimed.
“I have
a 16-year-old son now from him, still I cannot think why some of the fellow Sri
Lankan radicals are after my blood and trying to couple me with whatever his
activities are or were! I repeat, water has flowed under the bridge long
long time ago between the two of us and should I be penalised for the rest of
my life for whatever he got involved with”? She emphasised during this rare
face to face exclusive interview.
Profound
Dedication
Her
dedication to Sinhala and radio has been profound. When Lanka Udanaya,
the half hour Sinhala radio programme in London via Sunrise transmitters,
was subjected to criticism for its lack of professionalism and in-depth
performance, Indra Ramanayake willingly came forward to serve the Sinhala
community and to uplift the Sinhala culture in England.
Being a
professional of high calibre in radio announcing, she was not after making
money but her motive was to sincerely part with her knowledge,
experience, and talents. Consequently, she volunteered to sacrifice her Friday
evenings and the income by helping the Lanka Udanaya, until midnight (on the day of the radio broadcast), amidst all her associated problems of finding ‘baby-minders’ to look after her
son who had to be kept alone at home.
She
assisted the organiser of Lanka Udanaya to prop it up when it was
sailing through a cultural as well as a financial storm and steered it into
calm waters by training the novices in the Lanka Udyanaya team to make
it an effective radio broadcasting programme, while herself read news, the vital
feature, which attracted the listeners as well as advertisers during that half
hour of broadcasting.
When the
programme presenter was out of the country (in Sri Lanka) for a considerable
period of time and the red alarm bells started ringing to announce its imminent
death due to financial constraints of continuing the programme, she took the
plunge and held the fort and steered the programme single handed, while another
patriotic member of the Sinhala community in London, Shantha de Saram,
did all the spade work in approaching advertisers and collecting payment to be
made to Sunrise Radio to save this Sinhala programme in the UK.
Sadly, in
certain quarters in the Sri Lankan Community in London, whiskey began to
lubricate the gossip machine, where some men started to adjust their tie knots
and made thier vocal codes open up viciously to sling mud and spread
numerous rumours to the extent that she was being financed by the LTTE to run
the radio programme!
“Some
chauvinists looked at me wearing coloured glasses, which is nothing but may be
out of an element of professional jealousy I guess; they held propaganda
meetings against me, and even presented a ten page petition castigating me to
President Chandrika Kumaratunge” she lamented. “This is the prize
I received by trying to do something for the sake of my own culture, my own
language, my own nation and my own community in London, and it was absolutely
shameful and unfortunate”, she endorsed.
TBC
Once an
Indian businessman launched a satellite radio programme called the TBC,
Tamil Broadcasting Corporation, to offer the Sri Lankan community in the UK
and Europe seven days a week, with one hour for Sinhala programmes, absolutely
free of charge. Indra was approached, as she was known as a Radio Announcer.
She tried her very best to get some of her Sinhala colleagues from the
community involved as it was too much for her to do it alone with other
activities at the BBC, and other personal commitments and responsibilities. She
gave it a try however temporarily. During her efforts to find experienced and suitable people to run the programme TBC Sinhala programme
became extremely popula,r especially in Europe among the Sri Lankan expatriate
community of all races.
TBC had a good response and feed backs, and I was offered a golden opportunity on a platter, but had to abandon it because Lanka Udanaya at the time was finding it extremely difficult to manage financially with exorbitant charges levied by Sun Radio.
“Even
during that short period, some elements were trying to fabricate that it was a
LTTE backed programme and I was assisting them! I can only laugh at these loose
talk without getting worked up and treat it as peculiar humour prevalent in our
London community”, she said with a cynical grind during the interview.
“It is
the same when it comes to various other Sri Lankan social activities in London
where compeering or Sinhala presentations are involved” she says. “Either
such activities get overshadowed by the pseudo accusation; or they look at me
with squinted eyes and carry on with the usual mudslinging campaigns against
me, or more shamefully they all want everything free of charge saying it’s all
for a good cause” !
Expressing
her feelings further she said, “from my experience, this is applicable to
the whole of our Lankan community across London, and that’s why I have no time
or energy any more for such preposterousness. I consider myself a professional and
equally expect payment for my services, as much as they earn out of their do’s
in whatever name and form they perform”.
“Furthermore,
I have learnt my bitter lesson and cut my losses on several occasions in the
past when organisers of functions have approached me with all sincerity and promises
to honour my payments, but after the show, they have completely shown a Nelsonian
eye to such agreements”, she continued with a slight professional pride and command.
Circumstances
that have been created by some people in London have made Indra Ramanayake to
withdraw into her own shell and continue her radio career only with the BBC, and oblivious to her community activities reluctantly.
Indra
Ramanayake’s closest friends and her family will admit privately that ‘she
is very emotive, not malicious and uninterested in the vagaries
of Sri Lankan community gossip, which most of them unfortunately continue to
enjoy. She remains an absolute mystery. Her
capacity for passion, compassion, gentleness and ‘fire’ are more
profound than anything that can be expressed in words.
She lives
with simplicity, direction, and modesty. She has a strong instinct and a clear
idea of what she wants to do. She is not a controversial beauty, which is rather lucky, and it has kept her on the narrow, thorny little path towards
becoming a popular Radio cum TV presenter.
London - 2001 - News Lanka