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Kumar Navaratnam was a popular rock and roll singer in Colombo, Sri Lanka during the 1960s and 1970s.
The dominant music genre in Sri Lanka is (and still remains) Sinhalese and Tamil pop songs based on Bollywood film music and the local Baila music. Thus, the emergence of Western rock bands in the 1980s was regarded as an unusual phenomenon. Further, Navaratnam was a minority Tamil musician in a field dominated by Goans, foreigners and other locals.
As a musician, he started as a bass guitarist and switched to lead guitar, introducing Rock and Hard Rock to Sri Lankan audiences. His departure to Bourneville, USA at the height of his popularity in the late 1970s created a void in the music scene in Sri Lanka that lasted for sometime. The sheer number of rock music festivals and concerts Navaratnam conducted (famed for running from 6.00pm to 6.00am, particularly at Havelock Park) is yet to be matched by contemporary rock groups on the island. Kumar remains regarded as a pioneer of Sri Lankan Western music.
The music of Sri Lanka has its roots in five primary influences: ancient folk rituals, Hindu religious traditions, Buddhist religious traditions, the legacy of European colonisation, and the commercial and historical influence of nearby Indian culture—specifically, Kollywood cinema and Bollywood cinema.
Baila is a form of music, popular in Sri Lanka and among Goan Catholics in India. The genre originated centuries ago among the Portuguese Burghers and Sri Lankan Kaffirs. Baila songs are played during parties and weddings in Sri Lanka, Goa, and Mangalore accompanied by dancing.
Radio Ceylon is a radio station based in Sri Lanka and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Department in 1923, just four years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.
Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP, known professionally as Clarence Wijewardena, was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician. Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s. Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the "father of Sri Lankan pop music".
Ketheeswaram temple is an ancient Hindu temple in Mannar, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest temple in Sri Lanka with at least 1400 years of evidence. Overlooking the ancient Tamil port towns of Manthai and Kudiramalai, the temple has lain in ruins, been restored, renovated and enlarged by various royals and devotees throughout its history. Thirukketheeswaram is one of the Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva and is venerated by Shaivas throughout the continent. Throughout its history, the temple has been administered and frequented by Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils. Its famous tank, the Palavi tank, is of ancient antiquity and was restored from the ruins. Thirukketheeswaram is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of Shiva glorified in the poems of the Tevaram.
Bathiya & Santhush, also known as BNS, are a Sri Lankan pop duo consisting of Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman, who met while at the "Mary Anne David School of Vocal Music" in Colombo. They both were born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have been one of the most commercially successful music acts in Sri Lanka in the last two decades.
Sri Lankabhimanya Wannakuwattawaduge Don Albert Perera, better known by his adopted name Amaradeva, was a prominent Sri Lankan Sinhalese vocalist, violinist and composer. Primarily using traditional instruments like sitars, tablas and harmoniums, he incorporated Sinhala folk music with Indian ragas in his work. Many consider his contribution to the development of Sinhala music as unmatched; hence, he is occasionally cited as the "Maestro of Sri Lankan Music".
Pandara Vanniyan was a Tamil Chieftain who ruled in Vanni Nadu in 18th century AD. He is referred to by some as the last Tamil king in Sri Lanka, who also rose to revolt against the British Ceylon empire and Dutch Ceylon empire, who died battling the British colonial rule on the island. He was officially declared a National Hero of Sri Lanka in 1982.
Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was a presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead in January 2000 in an assassination many suspect to be ordered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. It began with anti-Tamil rioting in Colombo, followed by anti-Sinhalese rioting in Batticaloa. The worst of the violence took place in the Gal Oya valley, where local majority Sinhalese colonists and employees of the Gal Oya Development Board commandeered government vehicles, dynamite and weapons and massacred minority Tamils. It is estimated that over 150 people, mostly Tamils, had died during the violence. The police and army were eventually able to bring the situation under control.
Manicavasagar Kanagasabapathy Eelaventhan is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former Member of Parliament.
Vallipuram Nallathamby Navaratnam was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
Tamil cinema in Sri Lanka is not as developed as Sinhala cinema or its Indian counterpart, the Tamil cinema of Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is especially due to the high production rates of the influential commercial Tamil films from Tamil Nadu, India and the long run ethnic civil war in Sri Lanka. Tamils contributed significantly to Sinhala cinema as well as Indian Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood. Only a few Tamil language films were produced in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Earlier Tamil movies produced were all most destroyed or unrecovered due to civil war.
Mariazelle Goonetilleke is a Sri Lankan singer and musician.
Dinesh Subasinghe is a Sri Lankan composer, violinist, and music producer. He composed Karuna Nadee, a Buddhist oratorio, and re-introduced a lost, ancient musical instrument known as the ravanahatha to Sri Lanka. He is also a film and television composer whose works integrate western and eastern classical music with electronic music, Buddhist music, folk music, traditional orchestral arrangements, and world music genres. From 2002 to 2009 he led the pop classical band, Dee R Cee Members.
Velupillai Kumaraswamy was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.
Navaratnam is a Tamil male given name. Due to the Tamil tradition of using patronymic surnames it may also be a surname for males and females.
Dharmalingam Siddarthan is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant turned politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament. He is the leader of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam, a member of the Tamil National Alliance.
M. Velu Kumar is a Sri Lankan politician, former provincial minister and Member of Parliament.
Sumanthiran Navaratnam, also known as Sumana Navaratnam or Summa Navaratnam, was a Sri Lankan track and field athlete, rugby union player, coach and business executive. He was regarded as one of the finest sportspeople from Sri Lanka. He was considered as the oldest living Sri Lankan athlete until his death.
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