Niya Pela Sindalay Lyrics by Victor Rathnayake

Trimming the row of nails, showing the hands,
to take you into my arms, with love,
filing the nail-edge, showing the cheeks,
to kiss your face, with love

In the motherless hours, upon my shoulder,
lips seek out the scent of milk,
did you catch a scent of sweat, my son,
you who are merging into the earth?

In the sleepless hours, in the embrace of my heart,
bringing glimmers, blooming a soft smile,
did you feel a warm sigh, my son,
you who are merging into the wind?

A profoundly moving song in the voice of a father caring, alone, for his infant child. Every small gesture is tenderness: he trims the row of nails and files the edges so his hands and cheeks are soft enough to take you into my arms and to kiss your face, with love. A parent making his own body gentle for a baby.

The ache underneath surfaces in the phrase the motherless hours. He holds the baby to his shoulder where lips seek out the scent of milk, a mother’s milk that is not there, and asks, heartbreakingly, did you catch a scent of sweat, my son, you who are merging into the earth? The line suggests the child, too, is slipping away, merging back into the earth.

The last verse repeats the pattern into the sleepless nights: cradled at his heart, the baby brings glimmers and a soft smile, and the father asks whether the child felt a warm sigh, now merging into the wind. Sung by Dr. Victor Rathnayake to words by Sisira Dissanayake, it is a devastatingly tender song about a father’s love for a motherless child who is slipping from him into earth and wind, love poured out in the smallest, softest acts of care.