Voice of Sri Lanka’s Underprivileged:
Nanda Malini — The Singer Who Refused to Bow to Power
Nanda Malini was not simply one of Sri Lanka’s greatest singers. For generations of Sri Lankans, she became a voice for people who had little political power, a voice for workers and the underprivileged, and a voice that refused to remain silent when confronted with injustice.
Her death at the age of 82, only days before her 83rd birthday, marks the passing of an extraordinary artist whose music became intertwined with some of the darkest and most turbulent periods in Sri Lanka’s modern history.
Born on 23 August 1943 in a village in Kalutara as the fourth of nine children, Nanda Malini later attended school in Colombo. Her musical journey began when she won a poetry-singing competition in 1956. From those early beginnings, she developed into one of the most influential voices in Sinhala music.
But her significance cannot be measured merely through her musical achievements.
Nanda Malini used her voice as an instrument of social criticism.
At a time when Sri Lanka was experiencing political violence, economic hardship, social inequality, ethnic tensions and state repression, she refused to use her popularity simply to enjoy the privileges that fame could provide.
She refused to become a voice of the establishment
The late 1980s were among the darkest periods in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history. Political violence and disappearances created an atmosphere of fear, while young people in particular experienced enormous uncertainty and insecurity.
During this period, Nanda Malini had a choice.
She could have remained within the safe boundaries of the entertainment industry, maintained good relations with those in power and benefited from her popularity.
She chose a different path.
Rather than becoming an artist who praised those in power in exchange for awards, recognition or official positions, she decided that her voice should become a weapon against injustice.
Together with Professor Sunil Ariyaratne, she created Pawana.
Pawana was far more than a collection of songs. It became an artistic response to the political climate of the period, addressing allegations of state repression, political corruption, violence and the suffering of young people.
The songs resonated with people because they expressed emotions that many ordinary Sri Lankans were afraid to express publicly.
When Pawana concerts were held, thousands of young people and members of the public gathered. Halls became overcrowded, while audiences responded passionately to the songs.
The popularity of Pawana demonstrated that music could become a vehicle for political consciousness.
For a government facing widespread criticism, that presented a serious challenge.
The authorities feared that such music could awaken public opinion and encourage people to question political authority.
What followed was censorship and repression.
The banning of Nanda Malini’s voice
Her songs were banned from national broadcasting.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation were prevented from broadcasting her music, while performances associated with Pawana faced restrictions.
But banning a song does not necessarily destroy its influence.
Indeed, censorship can sometimes have the opposite effect.
People began to value the music precisely because authorities were attempting to silence it. Her songs circulated among the public and remained deeply embedded in the memories of those who experienced that turbulent period.
The repression went beyond censorship.
According to accounts surrounding that period, Nanda Malini and Professor Sunil Ariyaratne faced serious threats because of their political and artistic expression. In an era when political violence and killings were realities faced by opponents of the government, such threats could not simply be dismissed as political rhetoric.
The danger was real.
The two artists were reportedly forced to leave Sri Lanka temporarily and secretly in order to protect their lives.
For an internationally recognised singer and an academic of Professor Ariyaratne’s stature, being forced to leave the country because of threats was an extraordinary consequence of artistic expression.
Yet Nanda Malini did not surrender her principles.
She refused political pressure
Her opposition to political interference was evident in other areas of public life as well.
When influential politicians pressured her to withdraw her signature from a campaign opposing the removal of former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s civic rights, she refused.
Even when her own songs were being banned from the national media, she maintained her position.
That decision demonstrated an important characteristic of Nanda Malini: her political principles were not dependent upon whether a government was rewarding or punishing her.
She was prepared to accept the consequences of dissent.
A voice for workers
Nanda Malini’s commitment to social justice was not limited to national political questions.
She lent her voice to the struggles of workers, including the Bogala mine workers and those affected by the July 1980 general strike.
The July 1980 strike remains one of the major episodes in Sri Lanka’s labour history. Thousands of workers lost their employment and suffered severe economic consequences following the government’s response to the strike.
At a time when workers had limited political influence, Nanda Malini used her artistic platform to express solidarity with their struggles.
This was consistent with the wider character of her music.
She repeatedly returned to questions of inequality, dignity, exploitation and the rights of ordinary people.
More than a singer
At various points in her career, critics attempted to diminish her artistic importance. One commentator closely associated with the establishment reportedly sought to portray her as an unsuccessful background singer.
But Nanda Malini's artistic legacy makes such descriptions difficult to sustain.
Anyone familiar with her singing, including her performance of songs such as Eka Mawaka Ge Diyariyak Nowi from the film Yahalu Yelih, can hear the extraordinary emotional power of her voice.
Her strength was not simply technical.
It was emotional and spiritual.
She could communicate pain, compassion, anger, hope and resistance through a single song.
That is why her music reached audiences beyond conventional boundaries of popular entertainment.
Music as resistance
Nanda Malini belonged to a generation that witnessed some of Sri Lanka’s most painful experiences: youth uprisings, political violence, ethnic conflict, economic hardship, censorship and the erosion of public trust.
Her response was not to remain silent.
She transformed her artistic ability into a form of social commentary.
Her songs asked Sri Lankans to consider what kind of country they wanted to build. They challenged people to look beyond racial and religious divisions and recognise the common suffering of ordinary citizens.
Her message was particularly important because Sri Lanka was becoming increasingly divided.
At a time when political leaders could exploit divisions between communities, her music repeatedly returned to the dignity of the human being.
Her voice returned to the people
Nanda Malini’s political advocacy continued long after the turbulent decades of the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2022, when Sri Lanka experienced its unprecedented economic crisis and the mass protest movement known as the Aragalaya, she again stood with protesters.
She performed before demonstrators, demonstrating that her commitment to questioning political power had not disappeared with age.
The protests eventually contributed to the departure of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and became one of the most significant expressions of public anger in Sri Lanka’s recent history.
For Nanda Malini, supporting those protesters represented a continuation of the same principle that had guided her decades earlier: when ordinary people suffer, an artist has a responsibility to listen and, when necessary, speak.
A legacy that cannot be censored
Sri Lanka has seen many governments since Nanda Malini began her career.
Political leaders have changed. Governments have changed. Ideologies have changed.
But her songs have survived.
That is perhaps the strongest evidence of her importance.
A government can prevent a song from being broadcast on television or radio. It can restrict a concert. It can attempt to silence an artist.
But it cannot easily erase a song that has become part of the emotional memory of a nation.
Nanda Malini's music gave courage to people who felt powerless.
It gave words to those who were afraid to speak.
It gave dignity to the struggles of workers and the underprivileged.
And it reminded Sri Lankans that political power should never be allowed to become more important than human dignity.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described Nanda Malini as a true musical legend and expressed deep sadness at her passing. The government has also declared a three-day mourning period in recognition of her contribution.
But the greatest memorial to Nanda Malini will not necessarily be an official ceremony or a government statement.
It will be the continued listening to and singing of her music.
Her voice became a weapon against injustice because she refused to surrender it to those in power.
She could have chosen comfort.
She chose conscience.
She could have chosen silence.
She chose to sing.
And for generations of Sri Lankans who experienced hardship, fear and injustice, Nanda Malini’s voice became a reminder that even when political power appears overwhelming, the voice of an ordinary citizen — amplified through art — can still challenge authority.
Nanda Malini is therefore more than a celebrated singer in Sri Lankan history.
She is remembered as a cultural symbol of resistance, social justice and human dignity.
Her voice may have fallen silent, but the struggles she sang about have not disappeared — and neither has the power of the music through which she gave those struggles a voice.