Api Saw Diya Lyrics by Victor Rathnayake

Let us raise the toast,
filling the mouth, taking the honey-wine in hand,
let us raise the toast….

Pressed at the two lips,
like a white foam-bubble bursting,
the weariness is quenched, the heart made well….

The bound mask slips away,
the heart comes to rest between ten fingers,
in the milk-glowing, gentle moonlight

Having become kin to each other,
on one sleeping-mat, in one same hut,
we lose ourselves for two hours in the dense dark

A warm, celebratory love song about intimacy and letting the guard down, built around the image of raising a toast together. Let us raise the toast, it begins, filling the mouth, taking the honey-wine in hand, an invitation to share wine, and closeness, as equals.

The middle turns to release and comfort. Pressed at the lips like a white foam-bubble bursting, the wine, and the moment, quench all weariness and make the heart well. Then the loveliest turn: the bound mask slips away, the social face people wear falls off, and the heart comes to rest between ten fingers, cradled in cupped hands, in the milk-glowing, gentle moonlight.

The close is tender union. Having become kin to each other, the two share one sleeping-mat, in one same hut, and lose themselves for two hours in the dense dark. It is intimacy rendered with warmth and dignity, closeness as the dropping of all pretence. Sung by Dr. Victor Rathnayake to words by Prof. Sunil Ariyarathne, it is a mellow, tender classic about raising a toast, shedding the mask, and losing yourself in closeness under a milk-white moon.