Thotiya Lyrics by Annesley Malawana

On the river that cuts between two banks,
he rows across in the dark.
The beauty of the land around is lovely,
the ferryman is a wish-tree (kapruka) for the village.

Putting strength into both arms, working the oar,
he carries those who come and go to the far side.
Spreading love to everyone, young and old,
they cross over, day and night, with joy.
The blue water keeps flowing downstream,
foam rising and rising as it comes.
The ripples of the river are never silent,
they speak out what is in his heart.

Putting strength into both arms, working the oar,
he carries those who come and go to the far side.
Spreading love to everyone, young and old,
they cross over, day and night, with joy.
The blue water keeps flowing downstream,
foam rising and rising as it comes.
The ripples of the river are never silent,
they speak out what is in his heart.

On the river that cuts between two banks,
he rows across in the dark.
The beauty of the land around is lovely,
the ferryman is a wish-tree (kapruka) for the village.

This song is a portrait of a village ferryman, the thotiya, the man who sits at the river crossing and rows people from one bank to the other in his small boat. In the old villages of Sri Lanka, before there were bridges, the ferryman was the one thread that tied the two sides of a river together. The song honours him, his patience, his strength, and the quiet kindness of the work he does for everyone who comes to the water’s edge.

The heart of it is one image worth pausing on. The lyric calls the ferryman a kapruka for the village. The kapruka is the wish-fulfilling tree of Sinhala and Buddhist folklore, a magical tree that gives whoever stands beneath it whatever they ask for. To call a humble boatman a kapruka is high praise. It says that to the people on both banks he is precious, a giver, someone they cannot do without. Whatever you need, he is there to carry you across. Young and old, rich and poor, morning and night, he treats them all the same and rows them over with love.

Then the river itself starts to speak. The blue water runs downstream, foam gathering and rising as it flows, and the waves at the crossing are never still or silent. The song says those restless ripples are speaking what is in the ferryman’s heart. It is a gentle way of telling us that this man, who works alone in the dark and rarely says much, carries a full inner life. He may be quiet, but the river that he has worked his whole life talks for him, and what it tells is steady, tireless care for the people he serves.

What you are left with is a warm tribute to an ordinary working man and a way of life that is mostly gone now. The ferryman asks for nothing, gives constantly, and pours strength into his arms day and night so that strangers can reach the other side. By the end the song has quietly turned a simple boatman at a village crossing into something close to a blessing.