දයාරත්න රණතුංග
22 songs performed · 2 compositions
Dayarathna Ranathunga (also spelled Dayarathna Ranatunga, දයාරත්න රණතුංග) is a Sri Lankan singer, composer, and broadcaster, regarded as one of the foremost exponents of ragadhari (Indian classical influenced) singing in Sinhala music. He is known both for melodic songs such as Sandak Sadisi and Gee Liyanna Mata Keewe and for a long career shaping music programming at the national broadcaster.
He was born on 29 October 1940 in Nugegoda. His full name is recorded as Ranatunga Arachchige Dayarathna Ranatunga. He studied at Ananda Sastralaya in Kotte and at Zahira College, Colombo, before pursuing formal classical music at Bhatkhande University in India, the grounding that gave his singing its ragadhari character.
In 1969 Dayarathna Ranathunga joined the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation as the first producer in its Music Unit. He rose to Controller of Sinhala Music in 1978 and later to Director of Music and Music Research in 1984, overseeing the corporation’s Sinhala, English, Tamil, Hindi, and Muslim music output until his retirement in 1996. Alongside performing, he wrote on music theory and on the use of music in therapy, work that placed him among the more scholarly figures of his generation.
His recordings carry the unhurried, raga-shaped phrasing that defines his style. Many of his best known songs are hosted here, including the duet Maha Ra Yame, the devotional Jayasiri Maha Bodhi, and lyrical pieces such as Udumbara Manaliye and Pem Sililare.
Dayarathne Ranathunga performed and recorded with his wife, the singer and academic Amara Ranathunga, whom he married in 1964, and the couple were jointly honoured with the Indian government’s Bharatha Mithra award in 1997. As a performer, teacher, and administrator, Dayarathna Ranatunga helped carry classical discipline into popular Sinhala song, and his recordings remain a touchstone for listeners who value that tradition.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Dayarathna Ranathunga.
Performed by: Saumya Kumara Yapa Bandara (සෞම්යකුමාර යාපා බණ්ඩාර)
Performed by: Abewardana Balasuriya (අබේවර්ධන බාලසූරිය)