'Karu Ayya' - A Genius In Lyrics And Commentary!

Today is 'Trivia Tuesday' and we decided to do something different - asking a trivia based question from the readers, and getting the correct answer since today is Karunaratne Abeysekera's 95th birth anniversary!

Born today in 1930 in Matara, 'Karu Ayya' as he would be known later, learned his Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit at the Galkanda Vihara and Vidyodaya Piriven, alongside his education at Nalanda College. It was here he harnessed his potential in languages and at 12 years, was inspired to become a broadcaster after participating in a program Lama Pitiya in Radio Ceylon conducted by his teacher Mr. Siri Gamage (known as Siriayya).

Then in 1950, he faced the difficult decision of choosing between higher education at the University of Peradeniya or pursuing his dream as a broadcaster at Radio Ceylon. Due to the financial state of his family at the time, he chose the latter, but it turned out to change the course of one aspect - Cricket Commentary.

Sinhala Cricket commentary was something unheard of in a time when matches were only listened to or commentated in English. At tender age of 20, he made the initiative to commentate on the Island's favourite sport in Sinhala, which paved way to other renowned Sinhala commentators such as Premasara Epasinghe and Palitha Perera, and made a key partnership with Vernon Corea, another broadcasting veteran.

He was the first voice of Sri Lankan Cricket in the Sinhala Language whenever England, Australia and India arrived in Ceylon as visiting teams in the Pre Test era. The kind of words he used to describe what happens in a match, is indeed a story that deserves more recognition as it involves many linguists, known as the 'Hela Havula' from the School by the Sea, mainly Kalasuri Arisen Ahubudu and Vini Vitharana (whose birth anniversary we could not write yesterday as he was the key initiator of making Volleyball the National Sport).

With a few other notable names carrying the baton from 'Karu Ayya,' he may not be widely remembered as a commentator, but for his outstanding contribution to Sinhala music as a lyricist. It's said that 2000 is only an estimate since there is no proper documentation of how many songs he wrote for upcoming singers who made huge hits (there was more), and we unknowingly listen to them without knowing that he was the genius behind the lyrics.

Here's a video of how 'Dileepa Podi Putha' was inspired at the birth of his son, Dileepa Abeysekara who is the founder of Heensare Advertising and also the translator for Shehan Karunathilake's famous Cricket book Chinaman.

With utmost respect to his contributions in the non-cricketing field, let us remember the first Sinhala Cricket commentator of Sri Lanka today, and a special thanks goes to Dr Upul Wijayawardhana and Ivan Corea whose articles largely influenced the content for today's trivia.