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Not many who have had small beginnings or difficult times in their young days like to be frank about those days. They prefer to hide those experiences. Among possibly the handful of persons candidly discussing the young days is Sri Lanka’s foremost female singer Nanda Malini.
Addressing the annual gathering of Grade 5 winners who get selected for the scholarship program of the AIA Insurance Company, Chief Guest Nanda Malini – obviously no stranger to the winners who had possibly not seen her in person – spoke of her young days.
“My father was a tailor who received a weekly wage. He had to provide for nine family members. He had to plan the household expenses carefully and efficiently to meet all our needs. He sewed dresses for children and I had to sell them by walking around our neighbourhood. We had very limited meals to survive on. The temple often donated cloth material to help us,” she said.
“I can see all you children wearing nice shoes. I had a pair of slippers which often made a ‘katas katas’ noise. I was called ‘kattaya’ due to the noise my cheap slippers made. It cost 30 cents and was the cheapest pair available then,” she added. 
Singing the popular song, ‘Sarungale’, Nanda Malani appealed to the recipients of the 19th batch of AIA Grade 5 Scholarship awards to serve the country and not to forget what the country has done for them. The song written by Professor Sunil Ariyaratne compares the kite that flies away to those who leave the country for greener pastures having benefited from the free education system.
AIA winners are the best students in every district at the Grade 5 scholarship examination. They start receiving a monthly cash grant from the time they enter the Advanced Level class until they finish their university education.
The program was started in 1996 with a fund of Rs. 16 million. Today the fund stands at Rs. 74 million. If a qualified student does not enter a university, a special cash grant is given to start an optional career. The uniqueness of the scholarship program is that it is being offered purely on merit.
Annually an event is organised to present entitlement certificates to the Grade 5 scholarship winners that year identified as ‘pahe hapannu’. The class teacher and the principal of the school too are recognised at that stage.
After the first batch of students entered the Advanced Level the entitlement certificates were distributed at the respective schools while the main event was held in Colombo to present the grants. At every event AIA invite an eminent personality who can inspire the students to address them.
One of the highlights was the 1996 scholarship winner from Badulla District attending the event one year as the Chief Guest. He addressed the audience as Dr. Heshani Dissanayaka.
Gratitude
Throughout her speech Nanda Malani recalled numerous persons who had helped her in life.
“Due to hardships, our parents didn’t get a chance to invest in our future aspirations. I schooled at Kotahena Gunananda Vidyalaya. My teacher, Ms. Margaret Perera, discovered my singing abilities and took me to Mr. Karunaratna Abeysekara at Radio Ceylon (SLBC), who introduced me to the children’s program ‘Lama Pitiya’ when I was only 10 years old. My teacher bought my first-ever pair of shoes and a new dress. I met my mentor Pandit Amaradeva, who paved the path for a successful career. In 1962, he picked me to sing the song ‘Galana Gangaki Jeevithe’ in Sri Lanka’s first colour movie, ‘Ranmutu Duuva’. He changed my life completely by making me the lead singer.”
She remembered winning the first place in a reality show. The prize was an air ticket to Mumbai.
“I asked my father to request the organisers to give us cash instead, since I was not keen on travelling to a strange place. My father never thought they will give cash, but to our surprise they did. We purchased food for the family and had a good meal. I suggested we buy an electric iron for the father. He was using a charcoal iron which stained him in smoke and dust. He wasn’t thrilled by the idea since we didn’t have electricity either. We were able to get electricity and get him to use the iron.
“My father always taught us the right values in life. Let me relate a small story. There was a papaya tree in front of our house and we eagerly waited for its first fruit to ripe. When it was red and right time to pluck, we asked our father to pluck it. He kept a ladder and climbed. We were all waiting round the tree looking up. He looked at the ripe fruit carefully and came down without plucking it. Naturally we were very disappointed. ‘Lamaine, eka kurullo kanna patan aran, eka untama ithuru karamu’ – ‘Kids, birds have started to eat it and let them have it’ – he said. It was such a powerful lesson to all of us. A ripe fresh papaya was a luxury even those days for us – yet my father had the magnanimity to think of the birds than all of us.”
Firm stand
She then related how she sang to boost the youth. “For me, singing was always a platform for positivity. During the darkest period of Sri Lankan politics, when the civil war was at its worst, we sang for our youth to uplift their spirits. The youth were angry…disappointed…frustrated… they were educated and qualified but had no employment or outlet for their learning. Their spirits were crushed.
“We organised a concert called ‘Pavana’ to mend their broken hearts and spirits. We constantly faced death threats during these concerts for trying to make a positive change for the youths. We had to flee to India to seek refuge. We lived on a pavement without any means of income. I decided to use my time in India to learn Tamil folk songs. In fact, I remember at a media conference I stressed the importance of understanding the Tamil language and culture and making friends with our Tamil community.
“Politics had drawn a border between our two communities for their own gain and we needed to tear down those walls and bring all of us together by means of music. We released a CD of Tamil songs as a sign of solidarity. Of course, there were some people who found fault in our efforts. We did not give in.”
Stressing the value of education, she said: “In life you can lose many things, but your education is your most valuable wealth.”
“My life’s journey has not been an easy one. So many people ask me how I learnt to be so modest. My life has made me modest. My hurdles, challenges and the lessons I learnt made me humble. I am never ashamed to share my life story with anyone. Our lives with humble beginnings are so precious. I wish my parents were still alive to see how far we’ve come. If they were around I could have taken care of them. But they have left, having taught us the best lessons of life.
“My siblings and I did not have any financial support at all for our studies. But you are lucky to have the backing of AIA Insurance. If I can leave with you some advice, it would be to make use of the support they are giving you and use the scholarship to shine in what you do. Keep learning and broaden your horizons. Learn new languages. Learn new things. Be respectful to your parents and your teachers. There can be many ways to describe the value of your mother but none can really do justice to what a mother can do.”
She then sang ‘Mihi Madale, Anuduru Kuse Diya Ulpatha Amma’ on the value of the mother, moving many in the audience to tears. “Be grateful to all those who helped you progress. Be of service to your country,” she advised.
Addressing the audience CEO Nikhil Adwani said that taking part in the scholarship awards is one of the most satisfying moments in his career.
“Every time I posted pictures of this event over the last few years in Facebook I always get messages from my teachers appreciating the work we do at AIA as a company. Over the years this scholarship scheme had been done in keeping with the core values of the company such as commitment to excellence, and always doing the right thing.”
