ධර්මරත්න බ්රදර්ස්
6 songs performed · 2 compositions
The Dharmaratne Brothers (also spelled Dharmarathna Brothers, ධර්මරත්න සහෝදරයෝ) are a Sri Lankan pop group of four siblings, widely described as the first all-family Sinhala pop band. Formed in 1967, they are best remembered for late-1960s and early-1970s hits such as Kandukare and Varsity Kello, songs that helped shape the calypso-tinged group sound of that era.
The group was made up of brothers Christie, Maxwell, Melroy, and Ronald Dharmaratne, raised on College Street in Kotahena. They began performing publicly in 1967, and their first records, cut for the Phillips label, included Kandukare alongside “Vessa Wahinawa” and “Punchi Hurathala”. Each of those early singles reportedly sold over 3,000 copies, a strong number for the period, and established the family as a popular live and recording act.
Moving to the Sooriya label, the Dharmarathna Brothers recorded several of the numbers they are still associated with, including “Varsity Kello”, “Suhada Pathum”, “Sahodarayo Hathardena”, and “Kellani me Ahapalla”. Much of the writing and composing was done within the family, with Melroy Dharmaratne credited on many of the lyrics and melodies. Melroy later wrote material for the playback singer H. R. Jothipala and went on to work in directing, scriptwriting, journalism, and fiction.
The group’s range stretched beyond pop singles into seasonal and devotional music. The Sinhala Christmas carol Kalakata Pera Ae Bethlehem features the brothers alongside the veteran playback singer Latha Walpola, showing how the family act crossed between secular hits and carol recordings.
The Dharmaratne Brothers ran into the disruptions common to long careers. Christie moved to the Middle East in 1978, putting the group on hiatus, and Ronald died in a bus accident in 1987. In later years the surviving brothers reunited and found a renewed audience, with their early recordings still circulating on streaming platforms. For listeners who grew up with Sinhala radio of the period, the Dharmarathna Brothers remain tied to a particular bright, harmony-driven pop sound, and songs like Kandukare and Wasiti Kollo continue to draw new listeners.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Dharmarathna Brothers.
Performed by: Christmas Carols (නත්තල් කැරෝල්ස්), Dharmarathna Brothers (ධර්මරත්න බ්රදර්ස්), Latha Walpola (ලතා වල්පොල)