It is needless to force the stars to shine as they naturally shine forth forever. Mario Ananda, a versatile artiste has marked a milestone in his journey by composing an Olympic Day Song. Mario Ananda’s trilingual sports music video ‘Living On The Edge’ was screened at the Tharangani Hall of the National Film Corporation on the 9th of April 2021.
The National Olympic Committee secretary Maxwell de Silva and media head Ram Pathiravithana, impressed by the song, extended an invitation to Mario Ananda to compose the Olympic Day Song to fuel the enthusiasm of all the athletes who represent Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Olympic. It has to be mentioned that the theme of the Olympic Day Celebrations 2021 will be ‘Respect, Understand and Move Forward’.
The Sinhala lyrics of the song have been penned by Irusha Shamintha, the Tamil lyrics by Bhagawathsing Nithyananthan and the English lyrics composed by Mario Ananda. The director of photography is Nalin Sanjaya Suraweera. And the makeup artist is Sandun Athukorala. The English version of the song is titled ‘Running in a new formation - Get up!’.
Let’s think out of box
One of the biggest social issues is that many people do not like to think out of box, as stated by the versatile artiste Mario Ananda. The main reason for this tragedy is that many people confine themselves into one corner. For example, there cannot be a better place for English lyricists in Sri Lanka.
“Some people are reluctant to welcome songs written in another language because they are conservative. Though there are very talented children and people who can write well in English but sadly it is really difficult for them to find a place in Sri Lanka. As a result many talented people are forced into different fields. For example, we can witness many talented writers involved in selling food items and many talented musicians involved in repairing musical instruments,” he said.
Obviously budding artistes have to face a sea of problems when they enter the field of music. As a remedy to this issue, young talented singer Mario Ananda said that it is wise to believe in one’s own skills and talents. “No one can judge you by your appearance, no one knows your talents. Therefore, after you achieve your goal, no one can hold you down.”
Obviously, efforts and talents never die. After the caterpillar breaks the cocoon and flies away, no one can hold it down as she belongs to the sky. Similarly, when we find our true talents and prioritise our goals, the opportunities that we can gain are limitless.
Inspiration
Bajjala Walauve Mario Ananda Abeykoon, born on the 12th May 1991, has distinguished himself in the Sri Lankan music industry. He attended the St. Bridget convent in the kindergarten and later he had his education at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. It is significant to point out that Mario served the school as a senior prefect for the last three years in school.
Mario Ananda who inherited the unique and heart-throbbing voice from his father late Gration Ananda Abeykoon, has created a new trend in the Sri Lankan music industry by composing many English songs such as ‘Baby You And I’, ‘I have been trying to tell you’ and ‘Justify my life’.
Speaking of the Sinhala songs, the most popular ones are ‘Atha Atha Nil Ahase’, ‘Dili Atha Hiru Se’, ‘Dutuwe Edine Rahase’, ‘Hanthana Geethaye’, ‘Mal Wage Sinaseela’ and so on. Mario Ananda is considered to be a talented musician who has rendered a brilliant service to the young generation of Sri Lanka through his songs. For example the ‘Living On The Edge’ which was composed in order to rekindle the youth.
This music video titled ‘Living on the Edge’ also known as ‘Randee Noseli’ in Sinhala and ‘Pudiyadai Pirikerein’ in Tamil, is Mario Ananda’s remarkable creation. It has been based on a unique concept. The main objective of this music video is to encourage sports among children and to inspire them to adopt sports as a lifestyle.
Because sports enables them to prevent themselves from addictive consumption of drugs, alcohol and smoking. Furthermore, this music video could fuel any sportsman’s enthusiasm to keep records in any sport or to break the world records or at least to inspire them to go for the big break.
Mario Ananda, being a philanthropist, has dedicated his entire life and time to pave the way for young talented children to come up with their inborn skills. For example, thanks to the ‘Living on the edge’ even unpopular sportsmen could get chances to establish their own identities. Some sportsmen could be seen running and swimming together with Mario in the music video.
Perhaps you might know that Mario Ananda in his endeavour to build a generation of sportsmen through his spirit of creativity, has found a boy named Hathim aged 10 who is a national record holder for the butterfly stroke.
After Mario had found out that another young talented child named Clark Kent had broken Micheal Phelps’ record for butterfly stroke, he began to believe that Hathim also would be able to break Clark Kent’s record one day. That is why he had dedicated himself towards the talented youth.
Undoubtedly the Olympic song can stimulate many talented youth to enter the field of sports. Speaking of Mario Ananda’s success, we can not forget the commendable sacrifices made by his mother Srima and beloved sister Dulanjali. It was his sister who has created a peaceful atmosphere for Mario to shine in the music industry. “My sister Dulanjali Ananda Abeykoon was developing the idea as a partner of the production team (Mario Ananda Productions) of this song and the visual,” Mario said.
