Gunadasa Kapuge
Encyclopedia
Early life
Kapuge was born on August 7, 1945 either in the village of Miriswatte in the GalleGalle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
District or in the tiny village of Thanabaddegama in Elpitiya
Elpitiya
Elpitiya is a municipality located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka.Elpitiya is easily accessible from the Colombo - Galle main road and is about from Ambalangoda. Also there are 3 other access roads from the Colombo - Galle main road at Bentota, Kosgoda and Ahungalla. Elpitiya is...
. He was the second of eight children. He went to school until grade five at Karandeniya Central College
Karandeniya Central College
Karandeniya Central College is a high school situated in Galle District of Southern Province of Sri Lanka.The main building was declared open in 1953 by the Minister of Education M. D. Banda. The College is one of the early schools that offered science education in Sinhalese in Sri Lanka...
and later at Dharmasoka College
Dharmasoka College
Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda, is a leading mix school in Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1913.It is one of the educational institute supported by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, and accordingly is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools...
in Ambalangoda, where he initially studied science before switching to music. In 1963, he left Haywood college of music, where he was studying at that time, to follow a degree course in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In the late 1960s, Kapuge joined the Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
Broadcasting Corporation. 1969 he was worked as a Operational Assistant and 1975 was a Programme Producer. in 1981 he appointed as a Raja Rata" Broadcasting Corporation - Director Music and Director Rajarata Broadcasting Service.
Beginning
Kapuge released his first song "Daesa Nilupul Thema" in 1973, which became an instant hit. After, Kapuge was selected as a Grade "A" vocalist by the Radio Ceylon and started his three decade long music career. The First Stage Drama for which he provided back-ground music was "Thuranga Sanniya" by Sugathapala De SilvaSugathapala de Silva
Sugathapala De Silva is an acclaimed Sri Lankan dramatist and novelist, translator, radio play producer, and Sinhala Radio Play writer.-Early life:...
. Since then he provided background music for the highly popular musical "Tharawo Igilethi" by Lucien Bulathsinhala and several other popular dramas. His first movie back-ground music gig was for the Stanley Perera's "Sandha." He married Prema Withanage in 1978.
Works
In 1980, Kapuge released his first music cassette titled "Dhampatin Laa Sandha" with Malini Bulathsinhala. He released several cassettes during the 1980s, most of them selling very well.Music cassettes- 1980-Dampatin La Sanda Basa Yanawa,1981-Seethala Sanda Eliye,1983-Unmada Sithuwam,1983-Mawathe Geethaya,1990-Kampana,1990-Piya Satahan,1995-Mirivedi Sangalalak,1998-Sunflower (1,2,3),1999-Irabatu Taruwa,2000-Sanda Ree Sihine,2000-Nesena Gee Rasa(1,2)
Stage Plays-Thuranga Sanniya,Paraputuwo, Nandi Visala, Tharavo Igilethi, Sira Kandawuru, Sath saha Satha,Sasara Sevanel,
Tele dramas-Gigiri Walalu,Ayammawaru,Randoli,Dolospaya,Sira Kandawuru,Parameedam
Sasara Sevaneli,Rail Peeli Sanda Maddahana ,Sanda
Films-Sanda,Rathu Makara,Maala Giravi,Chuttey,Puthuni Mata Samawanna,Bawa Duka,Bawa Karma
Kapuge staged a one-man musical show titled "Kampana" during the 1990s and also released a cassette and CD with the same title
Death
He died on April 3, 2003, at the age of 58, at the ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
National Hospital, after sustaining critical injuries in a fall from the shuttle bus at Bandaranaike International Airport. He had been returning from a show in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. There was a delay in taking him to the hospital ..
Awards
1996 swarna Sanka Award - Best VocalistVishwa Prasadini Award
Sarasavi Awards - Best Vocalist
1997 Rasa Sangeetha Award - Most Popular Singer
Presidential Award - Best Playback Singer
Sarasavi Award - Best Vocalist
OCIC Award - Creative Music Direction - "Bawa Duka"
1998 Presidential Award - Best Vocalist
1999 Sarasavi Awards - Prasada Pooja Award