Leela Asoka

Leela Asoka ලීලා අශෝකා
Born	Hewa Geeganage Leelawathi (1927-07-07)7 July 1927 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Died	22 April 2019(2019-04-22) (aged 91) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	British Ceylonese (1927–1948) Ceylonese (1948–1972) Sri Lankan (1972–2019)
Other names	Camila Ismail
Education	Musaeus College Maradana Central College
Occupation	Singer
Spouse	M. A. Kamaldeen
Children	3
Parents	Hewa Geeganage Andoris (father) Jocelyn Perera (mother)
Relatives	Sarath de Alwis (brother) Suranga de Alwis (cousin)
Musical career
Genres	Pop rhythm and blues Indian classical music
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1945–1960
Labels	HMV

Hewa Geeganage Leelawathi (7 July 1927 – 22 April 2019; Template:Lang-si), popularly known as Leela Asoka, was a singer from Sri Lanka. She is well-known for being one of the four singers who sang the Sri Lankan national anthem for the first time during the 1948 Independence Celebrations.

Personal life

Leela Asoka was born on July 7th, 1927 in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was born to Hewa Geeganage Andoris and Jocelyn Perera. She was their second child out of eight children and the only daughter. Her father died when she was a child, and her mother later remarried. She studied at Musaeus College, Colombo and later went to Maradana Central College. During this period, she learned to draw, play the flute and the harmonium. After school, she also worked at the post office for a short time.

She had one older brother, Sugathadasa, and six younger brothers: Somapala, Newton, Winton, Linton, Shelton, and Sarath. Her youngest brother, Sarath de Alwis, was a renowned musician in Sri Lanka.

She married M. A. Kamaldeen, a Muslim who worked in a government trading company. She changed her name to Camila Ismail after she married and left the singing profession at the request of her husband. Kamaldeen told Leela to write a letter asking to refrain from broadcasting her songs on the radio. The couple had three sons: Hafeel, Reza, and Fazal.

She died at the age of 91, and her body was laid out at her residence for public viewing. Funeral services were held at Hokandara General Cemetery on 24 April, 2019.

Career

From an early age, her passion for music was supported by her uncle, V. M. Perera, who was the Secretary of Hela Havula in the 1940s. Recognising the singing ability of Asoka, he helped her to sing poems and songs for Hela Havula festivals. During these festivals, her talent was recognised by Sunil Shantha. She sang duets for Sunil Shantha's songs, including Mewan Pitisare, Kirilla Saha Kuduwa, Hela Rate and Rella Nagenne. Meanwhile, she became a B-grade singer on Radio Ceylon.

In 1948, when Asoka was 17 years old, she was selected to sing the National Anthem for Sri Lanka. She trained under her school teacher Karunaratne, and Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, with the other girls. Later she sang the national anthem at the first Independence Day celebration in 1948.

Apart from singing, she was a prolific artist. She started teaching as an art teacher in a school in Dematagoda. She was honoured with an award in 2019, which was presented by the Women's Front of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to mark International Women's Day on 8 March.