ධනපාල උඩවත්ත
12 songs performed · 1 composition · 1 lyric written
Danapala Udawaththa (also spelled Dhanapala Udawaththa, ධනපාල උඩවත්ත), born Thelge Wayaman Peiris in Moratuwa, is a Sri Lankan singer best known as one of the enduring voices of Sinhala baila and popular song. His warm, conversational delivery on tracks like “Ae Neela Warala Peerala” and “Ranga Nadeeka” has kept him a fixture of Sri Lankan radio and family gatherings for decades.
Udawaththa was raised in Moratuwa, a coastal town long associated with Sri Lankan baila and brass-band music, and studied at Sri Sunandopananda Vidyalaya. He began performing in the mid-1960s. Between 1968 and 1970 he recorded his first cassette of fourteen songs under the “Sisara” label, produced through Sing Lanka, and went on to record for the Nilwala and Ransilu labels as well.
One of those early recordings, “Kiyai Mihiri Katha” (also written “Kaiyi Mihiri Katha”), was composed by R. A. Chandrasena with words by Saman Chandranath Weerasinghe. In 1970 he recorded “Ae Neela Warala Peerala”, the song that would become one of his signatures.
Danapala Udawaththa’s repertoire ranges from lilting baila to tender ballads. “Ma Adaraneeya Mage Amma Wethatai”, an address to a beloved mother, remains among his most requested recordings, while “Nelum Wile Nelum Nelana” and “Modaya Numba Hari Modaya” show the playful, rhythmic side of his catalogue. His later song “Man Ithaliye Thani Una”, on which he is credited as both performer and writer, speaks to the experience of Sri Lankans living abroad.
In 1993 the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation graded him an A-grade baila vocalist, ranking him first among 88 participants in that assessment. He has since been honoured with the Kala Bhushana and Kolomtota Bhushana titles.
Across more than half a century, Dhanapala Udawaththa has built a catalogue that the diaspora still plays at weddings and reunions. His songs are valued less for spectacle than for an easy, melodic familiarity, the sound of an evening on the south-western coast. Lyrics-lk presents his songs in the original Sinhala script alongside English transliteration and translation.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Danapala Udawaththa.
Performed by: Danapala Udawaththa (ධනපාල උඩවත්ත)
Performed by: Danapala Udawaththa (ධනපාල උඩවත්ත)