රෝහණ බැද්දගේ
13 songs performed · 5 compositions · 1 lyric written
Rohana Beddage (රෝහණ බැද්දගේ, also spelled Rohana Baddage) is a Sri Lankan folk singer, lyricist, dancer, actor, and teacher, born 27 October 1935 in the village of Uduwa near Horana. He is best known for grounding Sinhala popular song in the older folk idioms of the countryside, and for performances such as Sirilaka Piri Awurudu Siri and Malsara Balma Hela.
Beddage grew up in a rural setting where traditional song forms such as the onchili varam (swing songs), goyam kavi (harvest verses), and seepada were part of daily agricultural and ceremonial life. That early immersion in village folk music shaped his entire career. He studied dance and drumming under regional masters and later trained formally at the Government College of Fine Arts, where his music teachers included Pandit Amaradeva, Lionel Edirisinghe, and B. Victor Perera.
Working as a singer, lyricist, and stage performer, Beddage built a body of work rooted in Sinhala folk and classical forms rather than imported melody. He won first place at an All-Ceylon schools singing and dancing competition for his song Malsara Balma Hela, an early marker of the recognition his folk-based style would earn. Across his career he also worked as a dance and music teacher, playwright, and author, extending his influence well beyond recordings.
Beddage’s catalogue draws repeatedly on rural and pastoral imagery. The hill-country song Kande Lande Gangulalle and Koswathu Kande sit alongside the lighthearted Pulli Gona and the New Year piece Sirilaka Piri Awurudu Siri. As a composer he set music for several stage and screen pieces, including Dolos Mahak with Bandula Wijeweera, and contributed to recordings featuring artists such as Suminda Sirisena and Jayalath Manorathne.
Beyond music, Beddage has served in public cultural roles, including a brief tenure as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Maldives in 2020 and as chairman of the Sri Lanka Arts Council. For listeners across the diaspora, his recordings remain a touchstone for the older, village-rooted sound of Sinhala folk song.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Rohana Baddage.
Performed by: Bandula Wijeweera (බන්ධුල විජේවීර), Rohana Baddage (රෝහණ බැද්දගේ)
Performed by: Jayalath Manorathne (ජයලත් මනෝරත්න), Nishshanka Diddeniya (නිශ්ශංක දිද්දෙණිය), Stage Drama Songs (වේදිකා නාට්ය ගීත)
Performed by: Bandula Wijeweera (බන්ධුල විජේවීර), Rohana Baddage (රෝහණ බැද්දගේ)