15 Facts About Karunaratne Abeysekera

Karunaratne Abeysekera was one of Sri Lanka's most famous Sinhala broadcasters.

Karunaratne Abeysekera was a poet and songwriter and was widely admired for his excellent command of Sinhala.

Karunaratne Abeysekera's compositions are still covered by some of the island's top musicians to this day, introducing his lyrics to new audiences in South Asia, and his songs are played regularly by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

Karunaratne Abeysekera was born on 3 June 1930 in Ratmale near Matara in Southern Sri Lanka.

Lama Pitiya was a showcase for young talents, and Karunaratne Abeysekera performed with his poems on the Radio Ceylon programme in the 1940s.

Karunaratne Abeysekera was an instant hit with the general public and remained a pop icon until his death.

Karunaratne Abeysekera's younger brother Daya Abeysekara was a renowned journalist and an actor.

Karunaratne Abeysekera died on 29 March 2019 at the age of 80.

Karunaratne Abeysekera was a rare breed, a "teenage broadcaster" launching a broadcasting career with Radio Ceylon, which he joined in 1950 at the age of 20.

Karunaratne Abeysekera was an announcer, compere, lyricist, dialogue writer, and poet - he wrote children's stories.

Karunaratne Abeysekera worked very closely with another famous broadcaster, Vernon Corea.

Karunaratne Abeysekera won the prestigious Sarasaviya Awards for his lyrics on two occasions.

Karunaratne Abeysekera made history in the world of radio by being the first cricket commentator using the Sinhala language.

Karunaratne Abeysekera commentated on matches played by Ceylon against visiting English, Indian and Australian teams from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Karunaratne Abeysekera had to devise cricket terminology to describe cricketing actions - this was uncharted territory in Sinhala; his words to describe various aspects of cricket are used to this day.