Sithin Sina Sisi Lyrics by Chandralekha PereraRookantha Gunathilaka

Smiling in our hearts, fingers laced together,
come and go along the flower path.
Filling your ears, softly, secretly, shall I tell you
a little love story?

In the lamp that glows in the name of love, on its wick of flame,
the bright spark is your eyes.
The light of that lamp smiled along with us,
the feelings of youth’s world are beautiful.

Smiling in our hearts…

In the night, drawn upon the silver clusters of stars
are lines of love in golden form.
That living fragrance, fresh and tender in the bloom of youth,
even love’s sighs are beautiful.

Smiling in our hearts…

A young couple is walking together, hands held, hearts full, and one of them leans in to ask if they can whisper a little love story into the other’s ear. That is the whole world of this song. There is no heartbreak or longing here, just two people in the first glow of being together, and the song moves between their two voices the way new lovers finish each other’s thoughts. The “flower path” they walk down is not a real lane so much as the feeling of being young and in love, where everything underfoot feels soft and blooming.

The heart of the song is the image of the oil lamp. In a Sri Lankan home the lamp, the pahana, is sacred and tender, lit at dusk, kept burning with care. Here the singer says love itself is a lamp, and the bright spark sitting on its wick is the light in the other person’s eyes. It is a quietly devotional way of saying “your eyes are what keep this love alive,” and when the line says the lamp’s glow “smiled along with us,” it means even the light around them seemed to share their happiness. That is how full the moment feels.

In the last verse the lovers look up at the night sky, and the scattered stars become silver clusters with thin lines of gold traced between them, like love letters written across the dark. The Sinhala word hirimal points to the very first, tender bloom of youth, a flower just opening, and the song says their love carries that same fresh fragrance. By the end the feeling is so complete that even the soft sighs of being in love sound beautiful to them. The song leaves you holding that gentle, unhurried sweetness of young love, where nothing needs to be said too loudly and even a whisper is enough.