Nalin Perera

Nalin Perera (නලින් පෙරේරා), born Mahabaduge Nalin Anjelo Perera, is a Sri Lankan singer, songwriter, and composer best known as the founder and lead vocalist of the band Marians. He has fronted the group since its first performance in 1988, and his voice carries some of the most widely played pop songs in the modern Sinhala repertoire, including Anjalika and Awarjana.

Early life and beginnings

Perera was born on 15 October 1969 in Chilaw and was educated at St. Mary’s College in the town. He began singing publicly in 1985 with the vocal group Nightingales, drawn to performance partly by the example of Sunil Perera of the Gypsies. Through the 1990s he worked alongside established acts such as the Gypsies and the Sunflowers before his own band became his main focus.

Marians and his career

In 1988 Perera formed Marians with school friends, and the group’s debut concert was held on 11 February that year. As leader and frontline singer, he steered the band across pop, semi-rock, and lighter classical material, and Marians grew into one of Sri Lanka’s most-toured groups, releasing a long run of albums over the following decades. Beyond the stage, Perera hosted the music programme Kageda Gee Nada on Sirasa TV from 1997 to 2008, which broadened his audience well past concertgoers.

Signature songs

Perera’s best-known recordings are romantic pop ballads that have stayed in heavy rotation for years. Anjalika, which he composed, remains his signature song and exists in several versions, including an unplugged arrangement. He also composed and sang Awarjana and Mama Heenayak, the latter a duet with Nadeesha Randi. His catalogue on Lyrics-lk also includes festive and wedding-table favourites alongside these ballads.

• Anjalika
• Awarjana
• Mama Heenayak
• Sihina Pathum
• Narilatha Male
• Adare Obe Dase
• Sundarai Sundaree

As frontman of one of Sri Lanka’s longest-running bands, Nalin Perera occupies a steady place in the country’s popular music, and his songs continue to be sung by audiences at home and across the Sinhala diaspora.