LOS ANGELES: The famed musical show 'Sandakadapahana' was staged on Saturday May 3 at the Rosemead High School Auditorium in the City of Rosemead, Los Angeles. Maestro Sunil Edirisinghe, the versatile and popular singer of Sri Lanka who is the solo singer of the concert, was accompanied by the equally talented instrument players, Hemapala Gallage (tabla), Mahinda Bandara (guitar), Kalani Perera (violin) and Suresh Maliyadde (keyboard).

"The concert is staged to bring honor to the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives and limbs in defense of the territorial integrity of our motherland, Sri Lanka, and not for personal gains or to boost up the ego and glory of an individual or a group", declared Kanthi Edirisinghe, a committee member of the 'Sri Lankan Patriots', in her brief introduction at the beginning of the musical concert.

The event was organized by the LA based 'Sri Lankan Patriots' (SLP), in aid of Pangolla Ranaviru Gama (village for the war veterans) in Ibbagamuwa, Kurunegala.The concert began with the public crier, "Anabera-karu", (Bhadraji Jayathilaka) announcing the event and its purpose to the audience at the beat of his drum (ana-bearaya).

This was followed by the singing of the national anthems, led by Eranthi Jayawardene. The traditional lighting of the oil lamp was conducted by Consul General of Sri Lanka to Los Angeles Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Mrs Priyanga Wickramasuriya, Mrs. Sunil Edirisinghe, Rana Viru Seva, Chairman Lt. Col. Lalith Guneratne, Narada Gangadhara, Neil Amaraweera and Mrs. Sujatha Sathkumara.A moment of silence was observed in memory of the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the unitary state and the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

The grand show began with the song 'Sandakadapahana', with which Sunil began his musical career and concluded with 'Ranmalak', which pays tribute to soldiers at the battlefront. The colorful backdrop designed by Kusumal Silva deepened the nostalgic feeling in our hearts and added a unique dimension to the musical experience.

Sunil, time and again, praised his team of instrument players stating that they were the best of Sri Lanka. His popular songs of yester year were sung to the loud cheering of the gathering. There were many other songs requested by the audience after Sunil completed his list. He pleased them by singing portions of the requests. A colorful souvenir commemorating the event was issued by the SLP.