Baluwath Athi Lyrics by Nalin Perera

Even just to look at you is enough, little sister,
it brings comfort close to the heart,
I don’t even know a thing about you, sister,
yet the heart feels as if it likes you,
that smile at the edge of your lips, is it for me?
the heart imagines the very face it longs for

Those two shining eyes, to me,
are like gemstones in a city of jewels,
that row of teeth that makes up your smile,
like pearls in Salapura

Those lovely lips of yours, always,
are like lotus petals in the Tisa tank,
your dark tresses, to me,
are like the Dunhinda waterfall

A sweet, bashful song of admiration from afar. Just to look at her is enough, the singer says, calling her tenderly little sister (nango); it brings comfort close to the heart. He admits, disarmingly, I don’t even know a thing about you, yet the heart feels as if it likes you, and wonders whether the little smile at the edge of her lips might be meant for him.

The praise turns into a string of shining comparisons drawn from Sri Lanka’s own treasures and landmarks. Her two bright eyes are like gemstones in a city of jewels, and her smiling row of teeth like pearls in Salapura. Her beauty is measured against the country’s most precious things.

The images grow softer and more scenic. Her lovely lips are like lotus petals in the Tisa tank, the ancient reservoir, and her dark tresses like the Dunhinda waterfall, cascading and alive. Sung by Nalin Perera, it is a gentle, wholehearted song of first attraction, praising a girl’s beauty through the gems, pearls, lotuses and waterfalls of the island itself.