Background
Abeysekera was born on June 3, 1930 in Ratmale near Matara in Southern Sri Lanka.
Abeysekera was born on June 3, 1930 in Ratmale near Matara in Southern Sri Lanka.
He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo.
He was also an acclaimed poet and songwriter and was widely admired for his excellent command of Sinhala. Abeysekera wrote the lyrics to over 2000 songs, a record for a lyricist in Sri Lanka. His 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.
Rupa Karunathilake, Honorary
Doctor Dharmasena Attygalle, Doctor Henry Jayasena. He was discovered by the children"s radio programme Ḷamā Piṭiya ("Children"s Field") hosted by Siri Aiya (Also known as UASPerera - Siri Perera Queen's Counsel) and broadcast over Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Ḷamā Piṭiya was a showcase for young talents, and Abeysekera performed with his poems on the Radio Ceylon programme in the 1940s. He was an instant hit with the general public and remained a popular icon until his death.
Abeysekera was a pioneering Sinhala broadcaster.
He was a rare breed, a "teenage broadcaster" launching a broadcasting career with Radio Ceylon, which he joined in 1950 at the age of 20. In 1958 he was sent to London for specialist broadcasting training with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Studio 5 of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation has been named after him. Abeysekera was an announcer, compere, lyricist, dialogue writer, and poet - he also wrote children"s stories.
He worked very closely with another famous broadcaster, Vernon Corea.
lieutenant was one of the most productive radio partnerships in Sri Lanka. His songs have been sung by a range of musicians, among them Pundit Amaradeva, Nanda Malini, H. R. Jothipala, J. A. Milton Perera and Mignonne Fernando and the Jetliners.
Abeysekera was also behind the Sinhala translation of classic hits such as " Master Sir" written and composed by Nimal Mendis. The Government of Sri Lanka named a road after him in the capital city of Colombo.
Abeysekera made history in the world of radio by being the first cricket commentator using the Sinhala language.
He commentated on matches played by Ceylon against visiting English, Indian and Australian teams from the 1950s to the 1970s. He also commentated on local cricket matches. He 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.
Karu loved cricket." - Daily News (Colombo).