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id=68cea18e-351e-47d7-a61d995796b60ffd A tribute to a legend Lionel Ranwala and Sri Lankan folk music The rudiments of any musical system could be traced back to the very basic forms of sounds and tones. Those sounds are commonly found in the folk music and among the not-so-formal sound patterns in folk songs. In the ancient times, the folk songs were composed instantaneously and spread throughout the country principally by word of mouth. In the process, the composers of the folk songs who were the folks engaged in diverse trades had altered the wording as well as the rhythms of those songs resulting in the formation of several versions of the same song. This happened in almost all countries before those sounds and tones take the form of well developed musical systems. The oriental musical system was born making India as its focal point and based fundamentally in religious devotional songs dedicated to Hindu Godess in India and various chanting in Buddhist monasteries and temples in Tibet. The Iranian and Chinese musical systems were also developed with limited number of tones. The occidental music system was, perhaps based on church music hymns, choral music. Smaller nations like Sri Lanka came under the influence of bigger nations such as India. After gaining independence from Britain, a cultural resurgence was began which was extended to realms of langauge, music and literature. A new generation of musicians who were educated in India at Shanthi Nikethan a seat of aesthetic studies founded by Rabindranath Tagore came back to Sri Lanka. However, the music they taught and practised here was Hindustan music based on ragas; basic forms of tones which serve as a foundation for compositions. Some of the musicians from this generation tried to create a true Sri Lankan musical system. W.D. Makuluoluwa pioneered the research into Sri Lankan folk music, folk poems and dance in search of a truly indigenous musical system. As a result of a meticulous research, a subject area dedicated to Sri lankan music was introduced to the curricula. However after the demise of Makuloluwa, no one apparently takes interest in Sri Lankan music. After Makuloluwa it was maestro Lionel Ranwala who started research into the folk music specialising in the subject area of folk songs. He rediscovered the rich heritage of folk poems and folk songs.

"It is true that we do not have our own tradition of dramas but we have certain forms of presentations associated with our lives. Before we enrich other tradition of drama, we should try to understand those forms of presentations. Makuloluwa demonstrated this in the ballad 'Hela Mihira' by using folk songs in its original form. He also proved this by integrating folk songs into his drama 'Depano'. Another successful drama was 'Sakhaya Ditti". Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra in his dramas tried to create an indigenous tradition. He did these researches after studying our existing forms of presentations", Ranwala said referring to the attempts made by Sri Lankan dramatists to create a Sri Lankan drama tradition. His singular contribution to Sri Lankan folk poems and folk songs was the collection of folk songs and poems from various parts of the island and his attempt to keep this tradition alive by crating songs based on folk music. He derived his music from folk songs; pel kavi, seth kavi, pathal kavi, gel kavi and paru kavi. He will be remembered for his unique contribution to Sri Lankan folk music and his attempt to create a Sri Lankan music.